Mandsaur district
Mandsaur district is a District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Mandsaur is the administrative headquarters of the district.The ancient pashupatinath temple is situated in Mandsaur. Large quantities of opium are produced in Mandsaur district. Origin of name. The District takes its name from the headquarters town, Mandsaur. It is considered to have been evolved from Marhsaur, originating from Marh and Saur or Dasaur, two of the villages which merged in the town. The town was known as Dashpur during ancient times. Other etymology claims it derives from Mandodari, wife of Ravana, who  is said to have been born in the district. Geography. The district has an area of . The district is present on the border of the Mewar and Malwa so the culture is the combination of the both regions, and is bounded by Neemuch District to the north, Rajasthan state to the east and west, and Ratlam District to the south. It is part of Ujjain Division. Mandsaur District forms the northern projection of Madhya Pradesh from its western Division, i.e., Ujjain Commissioner's Division. It lies between the parallels of latitude 230 45' 50" North and 250 2' 55" North , and between the meridians of longitude 740 42' 30" East and 750 50' 20" East. The district is an average-size district of Madhya Pradesh. It extends for about . from north to south and from east to west. Climate. The climate of this district is generally dry except in south-west monsoon. Year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season is from December to February. This is followed by the hot season from March to the middle of June. Thereafter the south-west monsoon season starts and continues up to about the middle of September. The average annual  rainfall in the District is . The rainfall in the districts in the region round about Sitamau- Mandsaur- Malhargarh, and in general increases in the northern part of the district from the west towards the east. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded at any station in the district was . at Garoth on 1945 June 29. In the district there is rapid increase in temperatures after February. May is generally the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at and the mean daily minimum at . Days are intensely hot in summer and hot dust-laden winds which below during this  season add to the discomfort. On individual days in the summer session and in June before the onset of the monsoon the day temperatures often go up above . January is the coldest month, with the mean daily maximum temperature at and mean daily minimum at . Industry. Opium production and the slate pencil industry are important to the district's economy. Some parts of the district have wind farms. Divisions. The district is divided into four sub divisions and eight tehsils. The sub divisional headquarters are at Mandsaur, Malhargarh, Sitamau and Garoth. Where, Mandsaur, Malhargah, Garoth, Shamgarh, Dalauda, Bhanpura, Suwasra and  Sitamau are eight tehsils of District. Vehicle number plates beginning with MP-14 are identified as a registered vehicle under the properly followed rules and regulations. Demographics. According to the 2011 census Mandsaur District has a population of 1,340,411, roughly equal to the nation of Mauritius or the US state of Maine. This gives it a ranking of 361st in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 13.19%. Mandsaur has a sex ratio of 966 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate  of 72.75%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 18.58% and 2.47% of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 49.12% of the population in the district spoke Hindi and 28.57% Mewari as their first language. Culture. The temple of Lord Pashupatinath is located on the bank of the Shivna. The most common language is mixture of Mewari and Malwi (Rajasthani).