Barabanki district
Barabanki district is one of the five districts of Faizabad division (officially "Ayodhya division"), in the central Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barabanki city is the administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. Total area of Barabanki district is 3891.5 Sq. Km. It has a population of 2,673,581, with a population density of . Barabanki district is situated between 27°19′ and 26°30′ north latitude, and 80°05′ and 81°51′ east longitude; it runs in a south-easterly direction, confined by the nearly parallel streams of the Ghaghara and Gomti. The extreme length of  the district from east to west may be taken at , and the extreme breadth at ; the total area is about . It borders seven other districts of Uttar Pradesh. With its most northern point it shares borders with the Sitapur district, while its north-eastern boundary is defined by the Ghagra, beyond which lie the districts of Bahraich district and Gonda district. Its eastern border is shared with Faizabad district, and the Gomti forms a natural boundary to the south, dividing it from the Amethi district. On the west, it adjoins the Lucknow district. In 1856, the district came, with the  rest of Oudh State, under British rule. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the whole of the Barabanki talukdars joined the mutineers, but offered no serious resistance following the capture of Lucknow. Barabanki district stretches out in a level plain interspersed with numerous lakes and marshes. In the upper part of the district the soil is sandy, while in the lower part it is clay and produces finer crops. The district is fed by the rivers Ghaghra (forming the northern boundary), Gomti (flowing through the middle of the district), Kalyani and Rait and their tributaries, for the major part of  the year. Some rivers dry out in the summer, and become flooded during the rainy season. The changing course of the river Ghagra alters the land area of the district. The principal crops are rice, wheat, pulse and other food grains and sugarcane. Both of the bordering rivers of Barabanki are navigable. The district is traversed by two lines of the Northern Railway and North-Eastern Railway, with branches having total length of . The district roadways include connections to National Highway 28, state highways and various link roads. Etymology. The area was once known as Jasnaul, from "Jas", a Raja  of the Bhar tribe, who is said to have founded it before 1000 AD. Following the Muslim conquest, the lands were divided into twelve, with the new owners quarrelling so incessantly that they were called the "Barah Banke", or twelve quarrelsome men. "Banka", in Awadhi, meaning a bully or brave. Others derive the name from "ban", meaning wood or jungle, and interpret Barabanki as the twelve shares of jungle. History. The current Barabanki district was first established by the British upon their annexation of Oudh State in 1856. Originally, the district was known as Daryabad district because its headquarters were  at Daryabad, but in 1859 they were relocated to Barabanki. The name "Barabanki" was chosen for the district's official name over "Nawabganj", then the more common name of the town, for two reasons: first, to avoid any possible confusion with other places calleed Nawabganj, and second, because the civil station was technically located outside of Nawabganj in the small revenue village of Barabanki. Previously, under the Nawabs of Awadh, the area that would become Barabanki district was divided between five chaklas: Daryabad-Rudauli, Ramnagar, Dewa-Jahangirabad, Jagdispur, and Haidargarh. Early history and legends. Barabanki district is mostly within what  was the Pachhimrath division of the kingdom of Rama. Parijaat tree is a protected baobab tree in the village of Kintoor, and is considered sacred to Hindus. Located near the Kunteshwar Mahadeva temple (established by Kunti), the tree is said to grow from Kunti's ashes. The tree is very old, though its age has not been scientifically determined. Before 1000 AD, Jas, a raja of the Bhar tribe, is said to have founded the locality of Jasnaul which later became Barabanki. Medieval India. Muslim Infiltration was first tried in what is now the district at Satrikh, in 1030 AD  (421 AH). The Muslim conquest saw Sihali attacked and its Hindu sovereign killed, ]. Bhar-Pasi chief Raja Sohil Deo (or Sohel Dal) of Sahet-Mahet and Rathor monarch Sri Chandradeo of Kannauj fought a battle in Satrikh village of the district and drove out the Foreign Muslim Army in the Battle of Bahraich. In 1049 AD (441 AH), the kings of Kanauj and Manikpur were again attacked but the foreigners were defeated and driven away from Oudh. The Muslim invasion was not successful in Bara Banki as elsewhere. After, Tarain 1192, Moslems again attacked this region and Ayodhya but were  not very successful till the reign of Khiljis and Firoz Tuglaq.The foreigners followed a policy of religious persecution and conversions. They also settled many foreigners and gave them fertile tracts in Ramnagar,Daryabad, Zaidpur, Rudauli areas. From 1350 to about 1750 AD, Muslim immigrants settled in great number in the district. The Muslims first permanently settled in Oudh. Rudauli was occupied , in the reign of Alla-ud-din Khilji, whose forces had destroyed nearly every remaining seat of Chhattri power. Rasulpur was conquered about 1350 AD. Daryabad was founded about 1444 AD by Dariab Khan Subahdar and his brother  Fateh Khan colonized. Fatehpur. The villages of Barauli and Barai, near Rudauli, were occupied and became large estates until about the middle of the fifteenth century. Simultaneously, however, with this latter immigration of the Muslims, there was one of Chhattris. The mysterious tribe of Kalhans, which numbers some twenty thousand persons, are said to be descended from Achal Singh, who came in as a soldier of fortune with Dariab Khan about 1450 AD. Singh had large properties, with a possible capital at Bado Sarai on the old bank of the Ghagra. The wars had by then shifted to fighting between  Muslim princes, with Hindu soldiers employed. The battleground was the Oudh borderland between Sharqis of Jaunpur (where Ibrahim Shah Shargi reigned) and the Lodis of Delhi. Dariab Khan settled Hindu soldiers as garrisons. Oudh clans, said to have emigrated from Gujarat, included the Kalhans, the Ahban, the Pan war, the Gahlot, the Gaur, and the Bais. The isolated Suryavanshi estate of Haraha and the Sombanshi Bahrelia estate of Surajpur were established by small colonies of Kshatriya foot-steps soldiers. Mughal era (1526–1732). During Akbar's reign, the district was divided under the sirkars of Oudh, Lucknow and Manikpur. Ain-i -Akbari mentions the following "parganas" (administrative units) during the reign of the Akbar: Nawabs of Awadh (1732–1856). Newal Rae, the naib of wazir Safdar Jang, was defeated and killed at the Kali river by the Bangash Afghans of Farukhabad, who then overran the province except a few of the fortified towns. In 1749 AD, Jang with an army of 60,000 men was defeated. The Mughal authority might have been overthrown had the Oudh Chhattris revolted at this time, but they waited until Jang had bribed or beaten the Rohillas out of the country in 1750 AD (1164 AH). The tribes  gathered themselves together under the leadership of Raja Anup Singh of Ramnagar Dhameri, the Janwar of Balrampur, the Bisens of Gonda, and numerous other lords. The forces assembled for an attack on Lucknow, whose troops had gone into Rohilkhand. The Shekhzadas of Lucknow came out to meet the enemy, joined by the Khanziidas of Mahmudabad and Bilahra, who were connected with them by marriage. The Musalmans, headed by Nawab Muizz-ud-din Khan of Mahmudabad, were victorious in battle at Chheola Ghat on the Kalyani, on the road to Lucknow. The Balrampur raja was killed and some 15,000 were killed  or wounded on both sides. The Khanzadas then rose to power. The Raikwars were proportionately depressed; the estates of both Baundi and Ramnagar were divided, and but a few villages left with the raja. The process of agglomeration commenced again , on the death of Saadat Ali Khan II. In 1856, the Ramnagar raja had recovered the family estate and added to it, while his brother of Baundi had similarly added 172 villages to his domain. There were a total forty-three "taluqa". The principal chiefs of Bara Banki during the last years of Nawabi were: Few other later important taluqas  were: Rebellion of 1857. Unlike what occurred in the districts of Hardoi, Gonda, and Lucknow, the whole body of the taluqdars in this district joined the cause of the deposed king and the mutineers. They offered no resistance, however, of any moment to the advance of the British troops after the capture of Lucknow in the battle of Nawabganj. British Raj (1858–1947). The Sadr station (district headquarters) was placed at annexation and also after the mutinies at Daryabad. However, due to the stagnation of water in the immediate vicinity of the town, and to the prevalence of fever, the headquarters  was moved in 1859 to Nawabganj, Bara Banki. During 1869 census of Oudh, thirteen large towns or "kasbahs" were identified in the district: Nawabgunj, Musauli, Rasauli, Satrikh, Zaidpur, Sidhaur, Dariabad, Ichaulia, Rudauli, Ram Nagar, Bado Sarai, Kintoor and Fatehpur. The census also noted the following were "tahsils" and "parganas": In 1870, before the addition of two parganas from Lucknow (i.e. Kursi & Dewa) and one pargana each from Rae Bareli and Sultanpur (i.e. Haidergarh and Subeha, respectively), Bara Banki district had area of and had following subdivisions: In 1871 about half the district was held by 43 talukdars; there were also  5,397 village zemindars (landowners), and 1,354 under-proprietors. The talukas were as follows: In 1877, Barabanki was one of the three districts of the then Lucknow division. Its area was and population was 1,113,430. As per "1877 Gazetteer of the province of Oudh" there were: Independence movement. In the struggle for independence from 1922 to 1934 during the Khilafat movement, the district participated in the growing movement against foreign fabrics, etc. On 26 October 1942, Brij Bahadur and Hans Raj ( Sardar) planted a bomb in a police outpost at Barabanki, known as Barabanki Outpost Bomb Case. Geography. Barabanki district is  for the most part flat agricultural lands studded with groves. The most elevated point is about above sea level, and there are few points of view from which any expanse of the countryside can be surveyed. In the north, the topography is broken by a ridge running parallel to the Ghaghra at a distance of , which is said to indicate the former right bank of this river. These lands are undulating and richly wooded, while to the south there is a gentle slope down to the Gomti. The district is intersected at various parts by rugged ravines. Rivers and waters . Ghaghra. The principal river in the district is the Ghaghra at a short distance from Bahramghat; it is formed by the Himalaya-fed rivers Chauka and Sarda, which meet in the Fatehpur tahsil. It is wide in the rainy season and about wide during the dry season, when the discharge is about . For , the river divides the Bara Banki district from the districts of Bahraich and Gonda. It flows in a south-easterly direction past Faizabad, and empties into the Ganges at Arrah. This river is navigable for flat-bottomed steamers as far as Bahramghat, and is used by country  boats in considerable numbers between Bahramghat and Sarun district. The principal ferries are at Kaithi, Kamiar, and Paska Ghat; a floating bridge operates at Bahramghat during the cold season. The river's flood plains generally have fine crops of rice, but the water sometimes lies too long after the rains and rots them, and the spring crops cannot be sown. The river is not utilized for irrigation. Gomti. Next in importance is the Gomti, which runs through the tahsil of Haidargarh and some portion of the tehsil Ram Sanehi Ghat, and separates the Bara Banki district from the districts  of Lucknow, Sultanpur and Faizabad. Like the Ghagra, it runs in a south-easterly direction, has a well-defined bank and a stream which is fordable in the dry weather, when it is about wide. The circuitous course of the Gomti covers though the direct distance is half that distance. It is therefore not very efficient for transportation, though there is considerable traffic by country boats. Its dry weather discharge is . Its water is at a lower level than the Ghagra, and it is not used for irrigation. At the junction of the Kalyani, the Ghagra is only above sea  level. Kalyani. The Kalyani River rises in the Fatehpur tahsil, and empties into the Gomti near the village of Anarpatti. In the rains of 1872, the Kalyani presented a vast volume of water – broad and deep – rushing at with a discharge of . In typical monsoons, the maximum discharge is about three-quarters of this. The river is crossed by a railway bridge with six spans of . Jamuriha and Reth. The Jamuriha and Reth, both in the Nawabganj tehsil, are the only other notable streams in this district. Their general characteristics are the same: they have significant flows during rains which  have carved steep and rugged banks broken by innumerable ravines. They flow into the Gomti. Haidergarh, Deviganj, Choury and Alapur are settlements on the Reth, while Jamuriha passes through Barabanki city (Barabanki revenue village on one side and Nawabganj Tehsil hq on other). Tanks, jheels and wetlands. There are numerous tanks and jheels, especially in the tehsils of Daryabad, Ram Sanehi Ghat, and Nawabganj. Seven percent of the area is covered with water; many of the tanks are in course of being deepened, earth is removed to replenishing cultivated land, though such efforts are complicated by conflicting rights to the  tanks. Some of the jheels are navigable by small boats for sport or pleasure. The finest jheel in this district, that named Bhagghar, is situated in the Suratganj; it covers less than There is another in Dewa, covering about with water and marsh. Parva, Nardahi, and Ganhari Jheel are the major wetlands. The Gomti-Kalyani doab. This doab is a fertile area of about . It is bounded by the Kalyani river to the north, the Gomti river and its tributary to the south, the Sarda Sahayak feeder channel to the west, and the confluence of the Gomti and Kalyani rivers  to the east. Administration and divisions. Barabanki is one of the five constituent districts of Faizabad Division. The other districts being Faizabad, Sultanpur, Amethi and Ambedkar Nagar. The division is headed by the divisional commissioner. As of 2003–04, the district contained 7 "tehsils", 17 development blocks, 154 "nyaya panchayat" and 1,140 "gram sabhas". As per 1991 data, there were 1,812 inhabited villages and 31 inhabited villages. In 2001, there were 14 towns and cities, 2 "nagar palika parishads", 1 cantonment area, 10 "nagar panchayats" and 1 census town. Land administration. Barabanki District is divided into six subdivisions, popularly known as  tehsils: Nawabganj, Fatehpur, Ramsanehi Ghat, Haidergarh, Ram Nagar and Sirauli Ghauspur. The District Revenue Administration is headed by the District Collector (also known as District Magistrate), with the office at the collectorate, and these "tehsils" are under the charge of sub-divisional magistrates. Development. District-level developmental activities are coordinated by the Chief Development Officer whose office is at the DRDA at the collectorate. The district-level offices for monitoring the developmental activities of Blocks at Barabanki are located at Vikas Bhawan. Block development officers, who head each of the 15 development blocks of the district, carry out the development  schemes on behalf of the government. The development blocks are: Banki, Masauli, Dewa, Harakh, Fatehpur, Haidergarh, Dariyabad, Suratganj, Siddhaur, Pure Dalai, Nindura, Trivediganj, Ram Nagar, Sirauli Ghauspur and Banikodar. Law and order. The law and order administration is jointly coordinated by the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police. The district is subdivided into 22 police stations ("thanas"), each of which is headed by an inspector or sub-inspector of police. 12 police stations are rural and 9 are rural. These police stations are: Haidergarh, Satrikh, Dariyabad, Baddupur, Dewa, Kursi, Zaidpur, Mohammadpur, Ram Nagar, Fatehpur, Safderganj, Kotwali, Ramsanehi Ghat, Asandra , Subeha, Tikait Nagar, Lonikatra, Masauli, Kothi, Ghungter, Badosarai and Jahangirabad Urban. The district has 14 urban administrative bodies for its towns, which are: Electoral. Parliament and State Assembly. Barabanki district has seven state-assembly constituencies which fall under two parliamentary constituencies. They are: State Assembly. Sitting (As of 2021): State Council. Barabanki district sends two members to state-council. Sitting members are: Basic amenities. Following is the list of public amenities (1999–2002 data): Road transport. National Highway 28 (NH-28) passes through the district. It is well connected to other cities by means of roadways. Passenger road transport services in Uttar  Pradesh started in 1947 with the operation of bus service on the Lucknow–Barabanki route by UP Government Roadways. Railway. Both the Northern Railway and the North Eastern Railway pass through Barabanki district, with a total of of broad-gauge line and 19 stations. Water supply. Area covered under water supply using taps/ handpumps of India Mark-2: Demographics. According to the 2011 census, Barabanki district had a population of 3,260,699. It then ranked 107th out of India's 640 districts). The district had a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 26.40%. Barabanki had a  sex ratio of 887 females for every 1,000 males, and a literacy rate of 47.39%. As per the report "Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 Uttar Pradesh Series 10" of the 2011 India Census, Barabanki district ranked 28th out of 71 districts of UP by population, with 1.63% of the state's total. In 2001 census it ranked 32nd. Population density is ranked 46th, with an increase from 623 in 2001 to 739 in 2011. The district was 56th for literacy, with overall literacy rate of 63.76%. Indian census, 2011 in its "Provisional Population Totals" report for Uttar Pradesh  gives following stat for the district: Annual Health Survey 2010-11 gave following stats for the district: As per Annual Health Survey 2010-11 district's stats for wealth index were: As per AHS 2010–11, the district's effective literacy rate was 67.6 (rural 66.5, urban 80.9); for males it stood at 77.1 (rural 76.4, urban 85.8) and for females it was 56.9 (rural 55.3, urban 75.3). 1.518% of total population had some form of disability. Per 100,000 persons, the rate of severe injury was 188, major injury was 122, and minor injury was 423. Out of 100,000 persons, 691  were suffering from diarrhoea/dysentery, 966 were suffering from acute respiratory infection (ARI), 3,698 suffered from some kind of fever, 139 were suffering from diabetes, 418 were suffering from hypertension, 234 were suffering from tuberculosis, 578 were suffering from asthma/chronic respiratory diseases, and 801 were suffering from arthritis. 5,592 suffered from an acute illness. 98.3% of those suffering from acute illness received treatment (6.6% from a government source). 5,036 had symptoms of chronic illness, of which 83.1% sought medical care. 4,964 were suffering from any kind of chronic illness of which 45.5% received treatment (20.3% from a government source ). 18.3% of population was having habit of chewing tobacco while 1.1% were in habit of chewing without tobacco. 15% of population smoked, and 4.2% drank alcohol. Minorities comprised about 23% of the total population of the district. Barabanki is a category "A" district (i.e. having socio-economic and basic amenities parameters below the national average). Religion. According to the 2011 Census, the largest religious groupings are Hindus (76.84 per cent), followed by Muslims (22.61 per cent), those who didn't state any religion (0.20 per cent), Christians (0.15 per cent), Jains (0.09 per cent), Sikhs (0.06 per cent), Buddhists (0.05  per cent) and adherents of other religions (0.01 per cent). Languages. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 93.74% of the district population spoke Hindi (or a related language) and 6.16% Urdu as their first language. One of the many languages spoken in the district is Awadhi, a vernacular in the Hindi continuum spoken by over 38 million people, mainly in the Awadh region of India. Economy. The district's economy is primarily based on agriculture. Agriculture, bio-gas plants, animal husbandry, and small-scale industries provide direct and indirect employment. Agriculture. In Barabanki the net irrigated area  is 84.2% (compared to the Uttar Pradesh average of 79%). The intensity of irrigation in Barabanki is 176.9% (compared to the state average of 140%). Most of irrigation in Barabanki is done through private tube wells (69%) and canals (30%). Subsistence agriculture is practised in Barabanki, with up to five crops rotated per year. The dominant crops are cereals (occupying 68.4 per cent of cropped areas), mainly paddy (rice) (34.4%) and wheat (31.3%). Other crops include pulses (10.1%) and sugarcane 3.6%), and potatoes (2.8%). Wheat, rice and maize are chief food crops of the district. Opium, menthol oil, sugarcane, fruits  (mango, banana, etc.), vegetables (potato, tomato, mushroom, etc.), flowers (gladiolus, etc.), spices, etc. are the chief cash crops for export. Barabanki has been major hub of opium production since British rule; the district opium officer, based at Afeem Kothi, is the only one in the state. Barabanki leads the country in menthol farming, with under cultivation. Apart from crop farming, livestock-based farming, broiler farming, and fish cultivation is also prevalent in the district. Bee keeping is practised in the Dewa block of the district. The district is home to a Regional Agriculture Seed Testing & Demonstration Station of the federal  Department of Agriculture. In 2004, a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK, agricultural science centre) was established in the district under Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology. The Institute for Integrated Society Development established a Rural Technology Development and Dissemination Centre in 2002 at Nindura Block of Barabanki District. National Fertilizers Limited has established a Soil Testing Lab in the district. Information and Communication Technologies has a centre in the district. Industry. There are six industrial areas in the District Barabanki, The companies and factories include: Solar power plant. The first 2 megawatt-capacity solar power plant project of Uttar Pradesh  is situated in Sandauli village of Barabanki district, it was inaugerated on 10 May 2012 and become operational in January 2013. The plant was set up by Technical Associates Ltd. Culture. Cultural heritage. In 2011–12 almost 2 million people visited the twin sites of Deva Sharif shrine and Mahadeva temple.