# West Champaran district

West Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India, located just 60 km (37 mi) west of Birgunj. It is the largest district in Bihar with an area of 5,228 km$^2$(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division. The district headquarters are located in Bettiah. The district is known for its open border with Nepal. One of the major location in West Champaran is Kumar Bagh for SAIL Special Processing Unit and Bhitiharwa where Mahatma Gandhi started Satyagrah Aandolan.
The district produces the most sugarcane across the state of Bihar in 2022.

## History

Mahatma Gandhi started the Champaran Satyagraha movement from here in 1917 along with nationalists Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Brajkishore Prasad.

## Geography

The district occupies an area of 5,228 square kilometres (2,019 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to Canada's Amund Ringnes Island.

### Flora and fauna

In 1989 West Champaran district became home to Valmiki National Park, which has an area of 336 km$^2$ (129.7 sq mi). It is also home to two wildlife sanctuaries: Valmiki (adjacent to its namesake national park) and Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary. Fauna include the Bengal tiger.

## The Literary History of Champaran

Freedom Fighter and author Ramesh Chandra Jha was the first person who penned down the rich literary history of Champaran. His research based books including Champaran Ki Sahitya Sadhana (चम्पारन की साहित्य साधना) (1958), Champaran:Literature & Literary Writers (चम्पारन: साहित्य और साहित्यकार) (1967) and Apne Aur Sapne:A Literary Journey Of Champaran (अपने और सपने: चम्पारन की साहित्य यात्रा) (1988) meticulously document the rich literary heritage and history of Champaran, Bihar. These seminal books continue to serve as foundational reference points for researchers, scholars, Ph.D. students, and journalists alike. Jha's insightful exploration and preservation of Champaran's historical and literary legacy have solidified his place as a cornerstone in the field of literary research.

## Administrative divisions

The West Champaran district is divided into 3 Tehsil (sub-division):
* Bettiah
* Bagaha
* Narkatiaganj

### Blocks

The West Champaran district is divided into 18 Blocks:
* Bettiah
* Sikta
* Mainatanr
* Chanpatia
* Bairia
* Lauriya
* Bagaha
* Sidhaw
* Madhubani
* Gaunaha
* Narkatiaganj
* Manjhaulia
* Nautan
* Jogapatti
* Ramnagar
* Thakraha
* Bhitaha
* Piprasi
The district is well connected by roads and railways to all major cities.

## Politics

Lok Sabha constituencies in the district are Paschim Champaran, Valmiki Nagar.
Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the district are Valmiki Nagar, Ramnagar, Narkatiaganj, Bagaha, Lauriya, Nautan, Chanpatia, Bettiah, Sikta
| District | No. | Constituency | Name | Party | Alliance |
| West Champaran | 1 | Valmiki Nagar | Dhirendra Pratap Singh | JD(U) | NDA |
| West Champaran | 2 | Ramnagar | Bhagirathi Devi | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 3 | Narkatiaganj | Rashmi Varma | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 4 | Bagaha | Ram Singh | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 5 | Lauriya | Vinay Bihari | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 6 | Nautan | Narayan Prasad | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 7 | Chanpatia | Umakant Singh | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 8 | Bettiah | Renu Devi | BJP | NDA |
| West Champaran | 9 | Sikta | Birendra Prasad Gupta | CPI(ML)L | MGB |

## Demographics

Religions in West Champaran district (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 77.44% | 77.44% |
| Islam | Islam | 21.98% | 21.98% |
| Other or not stated | Other or not stated | 0.58% | 0.58% |
According to the 2011 census West Champaran district has a population of 3,935,042, roughly equal to the nation of Liberia or the US state of Oregon. This gives it a ranking of 63rd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 750 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,900/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.89%. Pashchim Champaran has a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 58.06%. 9.99% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Tribes made up 14.08% and 6.35% of the population respectively.

### Languages

* Bhojpuri (91.86%)
* Hindi (3.32%)
* Urdu (2.97%)
* Bengali (0.99%)
* Others (0.86%)
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.86% of the population in the district spoke Bhojpuri, 3.32% Hindi and 2.97% Urdu as their first language.
Languages include Bhojpuri, a tongue in the Bihari language group with almost 51 million speakers, written in both the Devanagari and Kaithi scripts.

## Notable people

* Manoj Bajpayee, film actor.
* Vinay Bihari, actor, lyricist.
* Mahatma Gandhi, freedom fighter who started the Champaran Satyagraha movement here.
* Sanjay Jaiswal, politician
* Prakash Jha, film director.
* Manish Jha, film director and theatre actor.
* Sanjeev K Jha, script writer, filmmaker
* Sunil Kumar Kushwaha , Member of Parliament
* Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, politician, Member of Parliament.
* Krishna Kumar Mishra, politician.
* Vikas Mishra (economist)
* Gopal Singh Nepali, Hindi poet.
* Gauri Shankar Pandey, politician.
* Kedar Pandey, former Chief Minister of Bihar
* Raghaw Sharan Pandey, IAS (Retd), former Union Petroleum Secretary, politician
* Damodar Raao, film music director, actor & singer
* Valmiki Rishi, an ascetic who wrote Hindu epic Ramayana here.