| Gonda district |
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|---|---|
Location of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh |
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| State | Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Administrative division | Devipatan |
| Headquarters | Gonda, India |
| Area | 4,448 km2 (1,717 sq mi) |
| Population | 3,431,386 (2011) |
| Tehsils | 4 |
| Lok Sabha Constituencies | Gonda, Kaiser ganj(partial) |
| Official website | |
Gonda (Hindi: :गोंडा जिला) is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division.
With an area of 4,448 square kilometres (1,717 sq mi), Gonda is bound by Shrawasti district to the north, Balrampur and Siddharthnagar districts to the northeast, Basti district to the east, Faizabad district to the south, Bara Banki district to the southwest, and Bahraich district to the northwest.
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The territory covered by the present district of Gonda formed part of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. After the death of Rama, the celebrated sovereign of the Solar line who ruled Kosala, the kingdom was divided into two portions defined by the Ghaghara river. The northern portion was then ruled by his son, Lava with the city of Sravasti as his capital.[1] Sravasti was prosperous and progressive during Buddhas time, and he made twenty one visits to the city during his Mahaparinirvana.
More recently, ancient Buddhist remains dating to the early days of Buddhism have been found throughout the region, including at Sravasti.[2]
During the medieval period, the first Muslim invasion of the region, to the north of the Ghaghara River, took place in the second quarter of 11th century under Syed Salar Masood. The rulers of Gonda and surrounding districts formed a league to offer united resistance to Masood. In the second half of the 13th century Gonda was included in the government of Bahraich by the early Muslim rulers, and hence has no independent history of its own. Further, there is no specific reference about the district until the reign of the Tughlaqs.
In 1394, the district came under the rule of Khwaja Jahan Malik Sarwar, the founder of the Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur. From earliest days of Muslim domination till the advent of Akbar, the history of Gonda district is primarily the history of local clans. During the early phase of this period the whole of Gonda was ruled by aboriginal Dom, Tharu Tribe, Bhar, Pasi and the like. The district formed an integral part of the empire of Akbar (1556–1605).
With the annexation of the province of Awadh by the East India Company in February 1856, Gonda became a separate district in the Gonda-Bahraich Commissionership. Annexation passed off quietly, although the Gonda raja exhibited strong disapproval of the measure and was with difficulty persuaded to leave his fort at Gonda and meet the district officer.
In the Non Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi people from this district actively participated. On October 9, 1929, Mahatma Gandhi visited the district along with Jawaharlal Nehru.
Gonda played a significant part in the Indian struggle for independence, with many people from the region actively involved: including Maharaja Devi Baksha Singh, who escaped to Nepal,[3] freedom fighters like Sh. Chandra Shekhar Azad took shelter in the district, and Rajendra Lahiri was incarcerated and hanged in the Gonda Jail.
The district lies between 26° 47' and 27° 20' north latitude and 81° 30' and 82° 46' east longitude.
The holy rivers Saryu and Ghaghara pass through the district. The soils of the district are composed of the fluvial deposits of these two rivers, making it one of the most productive soils in the Tarai region.
Rivers have played a significant role in the development of Gonda. Ghaghara is the main river flowing through the district, formed from the united waters of the Kauriala, Saryu, and Chauka & other rivers which drain the submontane tract to the west. It enters the district in the extreme west and flows along the southern borders. Within its wide bed it rolls from one side to the other, changing its channel almost every year. The land along the river is always liable to be cut away during the rains and for this reason the area of the district is libel to annual verialims. Saryu is the second most important river, rising in the Bahraich district, and joining the Ghaghara in Gonda. The Kuwano river flows along the northern border, with the Bisuha, a small stream of a similar character. The Manwar, Chandai and Terhi rivers are little more than streams.
There are several important lakes in the district, including the Banki, Kodar, Aranga, Parwati & Pathri.
Gonda has three seasons: summer (Mar-Jun), rainy (Jul-Oct) and winter (Nov-Feb).
The average summer temperature is nearly 40 °C. A hot wind named Loo blows in May and in early June.
During the rainy season, rains take place up to September.
Minimum winter temperature is 1.4 °C
Average Rainfall in the district is 1152mm.
The district is heavily dependant on agriculture, with some 277.77 thousand hectares cultivated, of which 159.46 thousand hectares are irrigated.
Total production for the district
Agricultural produce also includes wheat, paddy (rice) and various pulses.
There is a Krishi Vigyan Kendra [4] (Agriculture Research Centre) situated at Jai-prabha Gram, Balram Pur Road, Gonda
There are several sugar mills, rice mills and many other small industries and handicraft industry. One of the India's six Indian Telephone Industries is situated at Mankapur, and the largest sugar mill in India is situated at Kundarkhi.[5]
Gonda has multiple chini mills located at Bhabhnan, Kundarkhi, Tarabganj, Maizapur and Mankapur.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Gonda one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[6] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[6]
There are 4 Tehsils in the District: Gonda, Colonelganj, Tarabganj and Mankapur.
According to the 2011 census Gonda district has a population of 3,431,386,[7] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[8] or the US state of Connecticut.[9] This gives it a ranking of 95th in India (out of a total of 640).[7] The district has a population density of 857 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,220 /sq mi) .[7] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.07%.[7] Gonda has a sex ratio of 922 females for every 1000 males,[7] and a literacy rate of 61.16%.[7]
Languages spoken in the district include Awadhi, a tongue in the Hindi-Urdu continuum spoken by over 38 million people, mainly in the Awadh region,[10] and Hindi.
There are many religious places in the district, and the district headquarter itself is very close to the holy city of Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama.
Gonda is said to be the birth place of the great poet Tulsi Das who wrote the epic Ramacharitamanas, depicting the life and virtues of Lord Rama.[11]
The founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, "Lord Swaminarayan" was born at Ghanshyam Pande in Chhapaiya, Gonda. Akshardham is believed to be the divine abode of Swaminarayan.
Acharya Patanjali (200 BCE), founder of yoga came from the district of Gonda. [12]
One of India's Presidents, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, was educated in Gonda, and the school is now named after him.
There are two remarkable areas of forest in Gonda:
Gonda is categorised as one of the socially and educationally backward districts of Uttar Pradesh. The government of India has created a special scheme for such district through the backward region grant fund. Gonda is one of the recipients of this fund.[13]
The human development index of the Gonda district is very low.[14]
All colleges of Gonda are affiliated to the Faizabad University.
Gonda has 15 Allopathic hospitals, 27 Ayurvedic hospitals, 11 Homeopathic hospitals and 2 Unani hospitals, in addition to 66 Government Primary Health Centres.
| Bahraich district | Shrawasti district | Balrampur district Siddharthnagar district |
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| Basti district | ||||
| Gonda district | ||||
| Bara Banki district | Faizabad district |
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