Jump to content

Gonda district

Coordinates: 27°15′N 82°00′E / 27.250°N 82.000°E / 27.250; 82.000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.

Gonda district
District of Uttar Pradesh
Statue of Rajendranath Lahiri at Gonda District Jail
Statue of Rajendranath Lahiri at Gonda District Jail
Location of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh
Location of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh
Country India
StateUttar Pradesh
DivisionDevipatan
Town1620; 405 years ago (1620)
District1856; 169 years ago (1856)
Founded byRaja Maan Singh
Named afterGonard
HeadquartersGonda
Tehsils4
Colonelganj
Gonda
Mankapur
Tarabganj
Government
 • District magistratePriyanka Niranjan[1]
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesGonda
 • Vidhan Sabha constituencies7
Colonelganj
Mankapur
Gonda Sadar
Gaura
Mehnaun
Tarabganj
Katra Bazar
Area
 • Total
4,003 km2 (1,546 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
3,433,919
 • Density857.8/km2 (2,222/sq mi)
 • Urban
225,029
Demonym(s)Gondvi, Gondvian
Demographics
 • Effective literacy58.71%
 • Sex ratio921
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Postal code
271001
Area code0-5262
Vehicle registrationUP-43
Major highways4 NH27, UPSH 30, UPSH 9, UPSH 1A
Average annual precipitation22.4 mm
Websitegonda.nic.in

Gonda district is an administrative district in the Awadh region of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The district headquarters is located at the city of Gonda, which also serves as the administrative centre of the Devipatan division. The district covers an area of 4,003 km2 (1,546 sq mi).[2]

District-wide vote share by party in Gonda (Assembly elections, 2022). Data aggregated from all seven constituency result pages of the Election Commission of India: Mehnaun (AC 295), Gonda (AC 296), Katra Bazar (AC 297), Colonelganj (AC 298), Tarabganj (AC 299), Mankapur (AC 300), Gaura (AC 301). Accessed 3 October 2025.
  1. BJP (51.7%)
  2. SP (37.3%)
  3. BSP (4.25%)
  4. INC (3.56%)
  5. Others (incl. smaller parties, independents & NOTA) (3.19%)

History

[edit]

Early / Ancient period

[edit]

The area of present-day Gonda district lay within the ancient kingdom of Kosala, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of early India, with Ayodhya and Shravasti as major centres.[3][4] Archaeological remains associated with early Buddhism have been discovered in the region, particularly around Shravasti.[5][6][unreliable source?]

Medieval and early modern period

[edit]

In the early medieval era, the region was ruled by the Kalachuris of Sarayupara (c. 8th–11th centuries), whose domain along the Sarayu (Ghaghara) included parts of Bahraich and Gonda.[7] From the 12th century onward, Gonda was gradually absorbed into larger north Indian polities and became part of the administrative apparatus of the Awadh region under successive sultanates and later the Mughal Empire.[8]

Company and British period

[edit]

Gonda was originally part of the Nizamat of Gorakhpur. After the cession of Gorakhpur to the British in 1801 under a treaty with the Nawab of Oudh, Gonda was united administratively with Bahraich.[5][9]

When Awadh was annexed in 1856 by the British, Gonda was constituted as a separate district.[5][10] On 7 January 1875, a boundary settlement ceded the tract between Baghaura Tal and the Arrah River to Nepal.[5][11]

Swaminarayan's birthplace – Chhapaiya

[edit]

The village of Chhapaiya in Gonda district is widely recognized as the birthplace of Swaminarayan (born Ghanshyam Pande in 1781).[12][13] This is an established fact in local government and pilgrimage sources, though academic historical research on the early life of Swaminarayan is limited.

Role in the Indian independence movement

[edit]

Gonda was involved in India’s struggle for independence. Notably, Raja Devi Bakhsh Singh escaped to Nepal during the 1857 rebellion.[14] It is also recorded that Chandra Shekhar Azad sought refuge in the region, and Rajendra Lahiri was imprisoned and executed in Gonda Jail.[citation needed][15]

Recent history

[edit]

In independent India, the district came into the national spotlight following the 1982 Gonda Encounter, in which 13 persons were killed in a staged police encounter. In 2013, a special CBI court sentenced three policemen to death and five others to life imprisonment for their roles in the case.[16][17]

Economy and development

[edit]

Agriculture and the sugar industry are the mainstays of the economy of Gonda district. Several sugar mills are located in and around the district:

  • The Balrampur Chini Mills Limited unit at Babhnan is operational. It also hosts a molasses-based distillery, commissioned with a capacity of 60 kL/day in 2004.[18][19]
  • The Balrampur Chini Mills Limited unit at Mankapur is operational.[20]
  • The Sarju Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd. at Belrayan is also operational.[21]
  • The Kisan Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd. at Gonda remains of uncertain operational status.[citation needed]

In addition to sugar processing, alcohol production through molasses-based distilleries contributes to the industrial economy of the district.

Development status

[edit]

In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj identified Gonda as one of India's 250 "most backward districts" (out of a total of 640).[22] It was also one of 35 districts in Uttar Pradesh that received allocations under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF).[23]

The BRGF programme was delinked from the central budget beginning in financial year 2015–16, pursuant to the implementation of the Fourteenth Finance Commission’s recommendations of enhanced state revenue share.[24] Subsequently, Gonda district has been included in the Government of India’s Aspirational Districts Programme under the aegis of NITI Aayog, which seeks to accelerate development across health, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, and infrastructure indicators.[24]

Demographics

[edit]

Population

[edit]

Historical population

[edit]
Historical population and sex ratio of Gonda district (1901–2011)
Year Population Sex ratio (♀/1000 ♂) Source
1901 873,630 — [25]
1911 879,226 — [26]
1921 917,115 — [27]
1931 980,987 — [28]
1941 1,070,397 — [29]
1951 1,168,645 — [30]
1961 1,279,883 — [31]
1971 1,409,722 — [32]
1981 1,749,260 — [33]
1991 2,204,445 — [34]
2001 2,765,586 — [35]
2011 3,433,919 921 [36][37]
Religions in Gonda district (2011)[38]
Religion Percent
Hinduism[38]
 
 79.77%
Islam[38]
 
 19.76%
Christian[38]
 
 0.14%
Sikh[38]
 
 0.06%
Buddhist[38]
 
 0.02%
Jain[38]
 
 0.01%
Other religions and persuasions (ORP)[38]
 
 0.00%
Religion not stated[38]
 
 0.25%

According to the 2011 census Gonda district has a population of 3,433,919,[39] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[40] or the US state of Connecticut.[41] This gives it a ranking of 95th in India (out of a total of 640).[39] The total number of literates in the district is 1,679,99 which constitute 48.9% of the total population. Population in the age range of 0 to 6 years was 572,386. The effective literacy (population 7 years and above) was 58.7%.[39] The district has a population density of 857 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,220/sq mi).[39] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.17%,[39] higher than the average of Uttar Pradesh (20.09%). Gonda has a sex ratio of 921 females for every 1000 males,[39] and a sex ratio among children 0–6 years old of 926, both higher than the state average (908 and 899 respectively). 6.55% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes made up 15.49% of the population.[39]

The human development index of the Gonda district is very low.[42]

Languages

[edit]

The official language of the district is Hindi.[43]

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 81.03% of the population in the district reported Hindi as their mother tongue, 16.04% reported Awadhi, and 2.68% reported Urdu.[44][45]

Languages of Gonda district (2011)[44][45][a]
  1. Hindi (81.0%)
  2. Awadhi (16.0%)
  3. Urdu (2.68%)
  4. Bhojpuri (0.00%)
  5. English (0.00%)
  6. Others (0.25%)

Awadhi is traditionally the dominant spoken language of the region, as Gonda lies within the cultural area of Awadh.[46] Although the 2011 Census records over four-fifths of the population as speaking Hindi, this figure includes regional varieties such as Awadhi, which 16.04% explicitly identified. Linguists note that Awadhi continues to be widely used in daily communication, folk songs, oral traditions, and local literature, while standard Hindi serves as the formal and administrative language.[47]

Apart from Hindi, languages spoken in the district include Awadhi, a variety of the Hindi continuum spoken by over 38 million people in the Awadh region,[48] as well as Bhojpuri and English, though their numbers in the district are too small to be reported separately in the Census.[44]

Tehsils (Sub-district)

[edit]

There are four Tehsils in Gonda district.[49]

  1. Colonelganj
  2. Gonda
  3. Mankapur
  4. Tarabganj

Blocks

[edit]

Gonda district comprises 16 Blocks:[50]

  1. Babhanjot
  2. Belsar
  3. Chhapia
  4. Colonelganj
  5. Haldharmau
  6. Itiathok
  7. Jhanjhari
  8. Katra Bazar
  9. Mankapur
  10. Mujehana
  11. Nawabganj
  12. Pandri Kripal
  13. Paraspur
  14. Rupaidih
  15. Tarabganj
  16. Wazirganj

Townships and villages

[edit]

Education

[edit]

The effective literacy rate (7+) is 58.71%, the state average (69.72%).[39][51] The government of India has created a special scheme for underdeveloped districts through the "Backward Region Grant Fund". Gonda is one of the recipients of this fund.[52]

Institutions and schools

[edit]
  • LBS Degree College
  • Meena Shah Institute of Technology and Management (MSITM) Degree College[53]
  • Saraswati Devi Nari Gyansthali P.G. College
  • St Xaviers Senior Secondary School.
  • Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College Malviya Nagar, Gonda [54]

Public health

[edit]

Gonda has 15 hospitals, 27 Ayurvedic hospitals, 11 Homeopathic hospitals and 2 Unani hospitals, in addition to 66 Government Primary Health Centres. Gonda is one of the districts in the list of top 100 districts in order of Infant Mortality Rate in 2011 census data. It also comes in the top 57 districts with the highest maternal mortality rate[55]

Gonda has been listed as cleanest Nagar Palika in entire Uttar Pradesh according to the Swachhta Sarvekshan 2022 overturning its last position in the country as per the 2017 survey.[56][57]

Notable people

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Many speakers of Awadhi self-report their mother tongue as "Hindi" in the Census, which leads to Awadhi being underrepresented. See "Language Census 2011: Concepts & Definitions (C-16)" (PDF). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner. 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2025. and Grierson, George A. (1916). The Linguistic Survey of India, Volume IX, Part I: Indo-Aryan Family, Central Group. Calcutta: Government of India Press. pp. 3–15. Retrieved 3 October 2025..

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Who's Who District Gonda, Government of Uttar Pradesh". Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  2. ^ "District Gonda, Government of Uttar Pradesh". Official Website of Gonda District Administration. Government of Uttar Pradesh. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Kosala". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  4. ^ Thapar, Romila (2004). Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. University of California Press. pp. 131–133. ISBN 978-0-520-24225-8.
  5. ^ a b c d Nevill, H. R. (1905). Gonda: A Gazetteer, Being Volume XLIV of the District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 115–116, 149–150, 156–157. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Excavations at Sravasti". IndiaDivine.org. June 2002.
  7. ^ "Indian dynasty of Sarayupara (8th–11th century)". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Awadh". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  9. ^ Basu, Purnendu (1943). Oudh and the East India Company, 1785–1801. Lucknow: Maxwell Company.
  10. ^ "District Census Handbook: Gonda (2011), Part A" (PDF). Directorate of Census Operations, Uttar Pradesh. 2011. p. 5. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  11. ^ Bahraich: A Gazetteer (PDF). Government Press. 1903. pp. 83–84. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Shree Swaminarayan Temple Chhapaiya". District Gonda Official. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Chhapaiya – Swaminarayan Birth Place". Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  14. ^ Rag, Pankaj (2010). 1857: The Oral Tradition. Rupa Publications. ISBN 9788129116222.
  15. ^ Balvally, Shubhan (2024). Arihant Reprogrammed (Part 4): Mission Martyrs. Notion Press. ISBN 9798894463216.
  16. ^ "3 cops get death, 5 life term for Gonda fake encounter". The Pioneer. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  17. ^ Rai, Rajat (5 April 2013). "3 cops get death penalty, life term to 5 in Uttar Pradesh fake encounter case". India Today. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., Babhnan – Operational Status". Anekant Prakashan. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  19. ^ "About Us – Overview". Balrampur Chini Mills. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., Mankapur – Operational Status". Anekant Prakashan. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Sarjoo Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd., Belrayan – Operational Status". Anekant Prakashan. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  22. ^ Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  23. ^ "Districts Covered Under BRGF" (PDF). Ministry of Panchayati Raj. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF)". Press Information Bureau. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  25. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  26. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  27. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  28. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  29. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  30. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  31. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  32. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  33. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  34. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  35. ^ "A-2: Decadal variation in population since 1901 – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  36. ^ "District Census Handbook: Gonda, 2011 (Part XII-A)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  37. ^ "PCA: Primary Census Abstract – District Gonda, 2011". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  38. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Table C-01: Population by religious community, Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h "District Census Handbook: Gonda" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  40. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Panama 3,460,462 July 2011 est.
  41. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Connecticut 3,574,097
  42. ^ Planning commission release
  43. ^ "The Uttar Pradesh Official Language Act, 1951". Government of Uttar Pradesh. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  44. ^ a b c "Table C-16: Population by mother tongue – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  45. ^ a b "Table C-01: Population by religious community & language – Uttar Pradesh (District: Gonda)". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  46. ^ "Linguistic Survey of India (Vol. XI: Hindi and its mother tongues, incl. Awadhi)" (PDF). Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  47. ^ Masica, Colin P. (1991). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2.
  48. ^ M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Awadhi: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  49. ^ "Tehsil | District Gonda, Government of Uttar Pradesh | India". Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  50. ^ "Subdivision & Blocks | District Gonda, Government of Uttar Pradesh | India". Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  51. ^ Provisional Population Totals Paper 2 of 2011 - Uttar Pradesh
  52. ^ "Press information release". pib.nic.in. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007.
  53. ^ Wahak, The Sandesh (24 March 2021). "गोण्डा : मीना शाह इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ टेक्नोलॉजी एंड मैनेजमेंट डिग्री कॉलेज में मेधावियों को किया गया सम्मानित". The Sandesh Wahak. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  54. ^ "10 Reason Why your child should never attend the St. Xaviers Senior Secondary School, Gonda". 10 Reason Why your child should never attend the St. Xaviers Senior Secondary School, Gonda. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  55. ^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in.
  56. ^ "India's 'dirtiest city' Gonda ranks bottom in Swachh Bharat survey". hindustantimes.com. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  57. ^ "Cleanest City: स्‍वच्‍छता रैंक‍िंंग में गोंडा यूपी का सबसे स्‍वच्‍छ शहर, स्वच्छता सर्वेक्षण की रैकिंग जारी". Dainik Jagran.
  58. ^ Mahamahopadhyaya Kashinath Vasudev Abhyankar (1961). A Dictionary of Sanskrit Grammar. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
[edit]

27°15′N 82°00′E / 27.250°N 82.000°E / 27.250; 82.000

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gonda_district&oldid=1324681134"