Siddharthnagar district

Siddharthnagar district
सिद्धार्थनगर ज़िला
District of Uttar Pradesh

Location of Siddharthnagar district in Uttar Pradesh
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
Administrative division Basti Division
Headquarters Naugarh
Tehsils 1. Naugarh
2. Shohratgarh
3. Bansi
4. Itwa
5. Domariyaganj
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituencies Domariyaganj
Area
 • Total 2,752 km2 (1,063 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 2,553,526
 • Density 930/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy 67.81%
 • Sex ratio 970
Vehicle registration UP-55
Coordinates 27°0′N 82°45′E / 27.000°N 82.750°E / 27.000; 82.750 - 27°28′N 83°10′E / 27.467°N 83.167°E / 27.467; 83.167
Website Official website

Siddharthnagar district (Hindi: सिद्धार्थनगर ज़िला) is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in Northern India. Naugarh town is the district headquarters. Siddharth Nagar district is a part of Basti division. The district is known for the ruins of the Shakya Janapada, at Piprahwa. 22 km from the district headquarters Naugarh. According to the Government of India, Siddharthnagar district is one of the Muslim concentrated districts in India on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators.[1]

Etymology

The district was named after prince Siddhartha, the pre-enlightenment name of Buddha, as he spent his early years (till the age of 29) in Kapilavastu, parts of which included territory in this district.

History

Siddharthnagar district was carved out on 29 December 1989 by bifurcating Basti district. The new district comprised the northern part of the erstwhile Basti district.

Siddharthnagar district encompasses the village of Piprahwa (22 km from Naugarh), best known for its archaeological site. A large stupa and the ruins of several monasteries are located within the site at Piprahwa. Ancient residential complexes and shrines were uncovered at the adjacent mound of Ganwaria.

Some scholars have suggested that modern-day Piprahwa-Ganwaria was the site of the ancient city of Kapilavastu, the capital of the Shakya kingdom,[2][3][4] where Siddhartha Gautama spent the first 29 years of his life, according to Buddhist texts such as the Pāli Canon.[5] Others suggest that the original site of Kapilavastu is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to the northwest, at Tilaurakot, in what is currently Kapilvastu District in Nepal.[2][6][7]

Notable individuals from the region have included Ahmad Hussain Akrahra, Khajuria Baadshah Mehdi Hasan Khan Khajuria, freedom fighter Qazi Adeel Abbasi, Qazi Iftekhar Ahmad, Haji Noorul Haque (Naugarh Bazar) and Maulana Abdul Qayyum Rahmani. Saddened by communal riots and massacre during the partition of India, Maulana Abdul Qayyum Rahmani, an eminent leader of Congress, abandoned politics and settled down in his native village of Dudwania in his later years. Freedom fighter Prabhudayal Vidyarthi, arrested at Sevagram and confined in an isolation cell from 1942 to 1945 in Nagpur Jail, Maharashtra, came from Siddharthnagar district. The bridge on Farenda Naugarh-Barhni Shravasti Road is named Prabhu Dayal Vidyarthi Van Ganga Bridge to honour him.[8]

Geography

Siddharthnagar district lies between 27°N to 27°28'N and 82°45'E to 83°10'E. It is part of Purvanchal. The district borders Nepal's Kapilvastu district on the north and Rupandehi district on the northeast. Otherwise it is surrounded by other districts of Uttar Pradesh: Maharajganj on the east, Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar on the south, and Balrampur on the west. Siddarthnagar's area is 2,752 km2.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Siddharthnagar one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[9] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[9]

Divisions

Siddharthnagar district comprises 5 tehsils:

5 Vidhan Sabha constituencies are located within this district. These are Shohratgarh, Kapilvastu, Bansi, Itwa and Domariyaganj. The only Lok Sabha constituency in this district is Domariyaganj.

Main sights

There are many places to visit within the district.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Siddharthnagar district has a population of 2,553,526,[15] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[16] or the US state of Nevada.[17] This gives it a ranking of 164th in India (out of a total of 640).[15] The district has a population density of 882 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,280/sq mi).[15] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 25.17%.[15] Siddharth Nagar has a sex ratio of 970 females for every 1000 males,[15] and a literacy rate of 67.81%.[15]

The minority population is about 27% of the total population of the district. Siddharth Nagar is a category "A" district; that is, it has socio-economic and basic amenities parameters below the national average.[18]

Notable politicians

This district has produced many political personalities and national icons. Freedom fighter and prominent leader Prabhudayal Vidyarthi, who lived with Gandhi at Sevagram Wardha, belonged to Jogiya Udaipur of Siddartha Nagar. Freedom fighter and former state minister Kazi Jalil Abbasi belongs to Bayara Village of Siddhartha Nagar. Freedom fighter and ex-MLA Mathura Prasad Pandey was a prominent politician of this region. Lt. Minister Dinesh Singh played an important role in making the government of Samajwadi Party in 2003. Shri Mata Prasad Pandey is a prominent political face from Siddharthanagar District; he is currently Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Jagdambika Pal (a member of the Indian National Congress who has recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party) also contests in election from Dumariyaganj (Parliamentary seat in Siddharthanagar District). Ex-MLA Kamla Sahni w/o Prabhudayal Vidyarthi (who got Siddharthnagar bifurcated from Basti and 40km Lakhnapar-Baidaullah Dam in Kachchar/Terai area) is from the district. Ex-minister Abhimanyu Prasad Pandey, Taufeeq Ahmad, Mohammed Muqeem and Kamal Yusuf Malik (ex. state minister in State Government), Swayamber Chaudhary (ex-MLA BJP), Maulana Hamidullah Chaudhary (President NCP Siddharth Nagar), Ram Kripal Chaudhary (son of Swayamber Chaudhary and ex-Zila Panchayat member) also belong to this district. Congress MLA Gopi Nath Kameshwar Puri also belonged to this district; he represented Itwa constituency. Brij Bhushan Tiwari, former MP and Vice President of the Samajwadi Party who represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, came from Jamuni, a small village in this district's Soharathgarh tehsil.Last but not least a rising social worker Avadhesh kumar yadav belongs to a small village imiliya sumali which is in Barhni block .

References

  1. ↑ http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=28770
  2. 1 2 Peppe, WC (July 1898), "The Piprahwa Stupa, containing relics of Buddha", With a note by V.A. Smith. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Article XXIII): 573–88 – via JSTOR (subscription required)
  3. ↑ Bühler, Georg (April 1898), "Preliminary note on a recently discovered Sakya inscription", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Correspondence: Note 14): 387–389 – via JSTOR (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Srivastava, KM (1980), "Archaeological Excavations at Piprāhwā and Ganwaria and the Identification of Kapilavastu", The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 13 (1): 103–10
  5. ↑ Trainor, K (2010). "Kapilavastu". In Keown, D; Prebish, CS. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Milton Park, UK: Routledge. pp. 436–7. ISBN 978-0-415-55624-8.
  6. ↑ Tuladhar, Swoyambhu D. (November 2002), "The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited" (PDF), Ancient Nepal (151): 1–7
  7. ↑ Sharda, Shailvee (4 May 2015), "UP’s Piprahwa is Buddha’s Kapilvastu?", The Times of India
  8. ↑ [PDF] LegalSoft - Online Legal Library - India Law Legal Database legaldatabase.in/LegalDB/Home/ExportToPdf?SID=f1c803f3-d4f7... 24 May 2002 - known as 'Prabhu Dayal Vidyarthi Van Ganga Bridge', Siddharth Nagar. ...
  9. 1 2 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  10. ↑ http://www.easternuptourism.com/Kapilvastu.jsp
  11. ↑ http://archaeology.about.com/od/phthroughpi/qt/Piprahwa-Stupa-india.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.easternuptourism.com/Palta-Devi.jsp
  13. ↑ http://wikimapia.org/11891659/JHANDE-NAGAR-PALTADEVI-SIDDHARTH-NAGAR-UP
  14. ↑ http://wikimapia.org/13739845/MAA-YOGMAYA-KA-MANDIR
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  16. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Kuwait 2,595,62 line feed character in |quote= at position 7 (help)
  17. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Nevada 2,700,551 line feed character in |quote= at position 7 (help)
  18. ↑ MINUTES OF THE 34th MEETING OF EMPOWERED COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE REVISED PLAN FOR BALANCE FUND FOR THE DISTRICTS OF GHAZIABAD, BAREILLY, BARABANKI, SIDDHARTH NAGAR, SHAHJANPUR, MORADABAD, MUZAFFAR NAGAR, BAHRAICH AND LUCKNOW (UTTAR PRADESH) UNDER MULTI-SECTORAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN MINORITY CONCENTRATION DISTRICTS HELD ON 22nd JULY, 2010 AT 11.00 A.M. UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS. F. No. 3/64/2010-PP-I, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

External links

 Western Development Region,    Nepal
Balrampur district Maharajganj district
   Siddharthnagar district  
Gonda district Basti district Gorakhpur district
Sant Kabir Nagar district
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