# Araria district

Araria district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. Araria district is a part of Purnia division. The district occupies an area of 2,830 km$^2$ (1,090 sq mi). Araria town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Distance from Nepal border is only about 8 km from Forbesganj head quarter.

## Etymology

During the British Raj, the area was under the administration of a British district collector and municipal commissioner, Alexander John Forbes (1807-1890) of East India Company. Forbes had a bungalow at the same location. Consequently the area was known as 'residential area' also abbreviated as 'R-area'. Over time, the name transformed to 'Araria' and the neighbouring subdivision came to be known as 'Forbesganj'.

## History

Araria district is a part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Mithila Kingdom (also called Kingdom of the Videhas).
During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Kingdom of the Videhas became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Kingdom of the Videhas were called Janakas. The Mithila Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajjika League, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila. The territory of the present-day district became Araria sub-division of the erstwhile Purnia district in 1964. Araria district was formed in January 1990 as one of the administrative districts of under Purnia Division.

### 2017 North Bihar Floods

2017 Floods affected 19 districts of North Bihar causing death of 514 people, in which Araria district accounted for 95 deaths alone. Floods have claimed 215 lives in Araria over 18 years, of which 61 in 2016.

## Geography

Araria district occupies an area of 2,830 square kilometres (1,090 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to Russia's Zemlya Georga. Araria is also known as "Renu ki Dharti" (The Land of Renu). who was one of the most influential writers of Modern Hindi literature after Munshi Prem Chand .The famous villages of Araria Gayari and Dehti etc.
East-West Corridor passes through the district. Train facility is in the form of broad gauge track and the district have two railway stations. This track ends one side to the Katihar Junction, which is a big and important junction from where trains to all over India are available, other end of track is Jogbani the last point of Indian rail.

## Politics

| District | No. | Constituency | Name | Party | Alliance | Remarks |
| Araria | 46 | Narpatganj | Jai Prakash Yadav | BJP | NDA | |
| Araria | 47 | Raniganj | Achmit Rishidev | JD(U) | NDA | |
| Araria | 48 | Forbesganj | Vidya Sagar Keshri | BJP | NDA | |
| Araria | 49 | Araria | Avidur Rahman | INC | MGB | |
| Araria | 50 | Jokihat | Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam | RJD | MGB | Switched from AIMIM to RJD |
| Araria | 51 | Sikti | Vijay Kumar Mandal | BJP | NDA | |

## Economy

In 2006 the Indian government named Araria one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640) though it has also been enlisted in the list of 112 aspirational districts of India by NITI Aayog. It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

## Demographics

According to the 2011 census Araria district has a population of 2,811,569, roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica or the US state of Utah. This gives it a ranking of 139th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of992 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,570/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 30%. Araria has a sex ratio of 921 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 55.1%. 6.00% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 13.61% and 1.38% of the population respectively.
Religions in Araria district (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 56.68% | 56.68% |
| Islam | Islam | 42.95% | 42.95% |
| Other or not stated | Other or not stated | 0.37% | 0.37% |
Hinduism is the majority religion. Muslims are majority in Araria and Jokihat blocks, and are in near-majority in Palasi block.
| Block | Hindu % | Muslim % | Other % |
| Narpatganj | 70.45 | 29.23 | 0.32 |
| Forbesganj | 62.56 | 36.99 | 0.45 |
| Bhargama | 75.26 | 24.52 | 0.22 |
| Raniganj | 69.09 | 30.3 | 0.61 |
| Araria | 39.01 | 60.61 | 0.38 |
| Kursakatta | 74.79 | 24.92 | 0.29 |
| Sikti | 65.09 | 34.73 | 0.18 |
| Palasi | 51.09 | 48.46 | 0.45 |
| Jokihat | 21.39 | 78.38 | 0.23 |
* Urdu (28.71%)
* Hindi (25.05%)
* Maithili (including Thethi) (20.57%)
* 'Other' Hindi (16.43%)
* Bengali (2.17%)
* Kulhaiya (2.1%)
* Surjapuri (1.91%)
* Santali (1.05%)
* Others (2.01%)
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 28.71% of the population in the district spoke Urdu, 25.05% Hindi, 20.57% Maithili (including Thati), 2.17% Bengali, 2.10% Kulhaiya, 1.91% Surjapuri and 1.05% Santali as their first language. 16.43% spoke languages recorded as 'Others' under Hindi on the census.

## Administration

The district is divided into two subdivisions, Forbesganj subdivision and Araria subdivision.

## Notable people

* Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', novelist and story writer.
* Mohammed Taslimuddin Former Union Minister of State
* Subrata Roy, chairman of Sahara Group
* Quaiser Khalid IPS, Maharashtra Cadre, Poet, Educationist