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West Champaran district

Coordinates: 26°48′N 84°30′E / 26.800°N 84.500°E / 26.800; 84.500
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West Champaran district
District
Gandaki River near Valmikinagar
Gandaki River near Valmikinagar
Official seal of West Champaran district
Seal
Location of West Champaran district in Bihar
Location of West Champaran district in Bihar
Coordinates (Bettiah): 26°48′N 84°30′E / 26.800°N 84.500°E / 26.800; 84.500
Country India
State Bihar
DivisionTirhut
HeadquartersBettiah
Tehsils18
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesPaschim Champaran, Valmiki Nagar
 • Vidhan Sabha constituenciesValmiki Nagar, Ramnagar, Narkatiaganj, Bagaha, Lauriya, Nautan, Chanpatia, Bettiah, Sikta
Area
 • Total
5,228 km2 (2,019 sq mi)
 • Rank1 (in bihar)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
3,935,042
 • Density750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy58.06 per cent
 • Sex ratio906
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
PIN Code
8454XX
Major highwaysNH 28B
Websitehttp://westchamparan.bih.nic.in/

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 km2(2,019sq mi). It is a part of Tirhut Division.[1] 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.[2]

Geography

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The district occupies an area of 5,228 square kilometres (2,019 sq mi),[3] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Amund Ringnes Island.[4]

Flora and fauna

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In 1989 West Champaran district became home to Valmiki National Park, which has an area of 336 km2 (129.7 sq mi). It is also home to two wildlife sanctuaries: Valmiki (adjacent to its namesake national park) and Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary.[5] Fauna include the Bengal tiger.[6][7]

The Literary History of Champaran

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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.[8]

Administrative divisions

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The West Champaran district is divided into 3 Tehsil (sub-division):

  1. Bettiah
  2. Bagaha
  3. Narkatiaganj

Blocks

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The West Champaran district is divided into 18 Blocks:[9]

The district is well connected by roads and railways to all major cities.

Politics

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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

This section is transcluded from 17th Bihar Assembly. (edit | history)
District No. Constituency Name Party Alliance Remarks
West Champaran 1 Valmiki Nagar Dhirendra Pratap Singh JD(U) NDA
2 Ramnagar Bhagirathi Devi BJP NDA
3 Narkatiaganj Rashmi Varma BJP NDA
4 Bagaha Ram Singh BJP NDA
5 Lauriya Vinay Bihari BJP NDA
6 Nautan Narayan Prasad BJP NDA
7 Chanpatia Umakant Singh BJP NDA
8 Bettiah Renu Devi BJP NDA
9 Sikta Birendra Prasad Gupta CPI(ML)L MGB

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901762,628—    
1911812,855+0.64%
1921826,679+0.17%
1931913,931+1.01%
19411,021,217+1.12%
19511,071,382+0.48%
19611,325,122+2.15%
19711,587,019+1.82%
19811,972,610+2.20%
19912,333,666+1.70%
20013,043,466+2.69%
20113,935,042+2.60%
source:[10]
Religions in West Champaran district (2011)[11]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 77.44%
Islam
 
 21.98%
Other or not stated
 
 0.58%

According to the 2011 census West Champaran district has a population of 3,935,042,[12] roughly equal to the nation of Liberia[13] or the US state of Oregon.[14] This gives it a ranking of 63rd in India (out of a total of 640).[12] The district has a population density of 750 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,900/sq mi).[12] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.89%.[12] Pashchim Champaran has a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males,[12] 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.[12]

Languages

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Languages of West Champaran district (2011)[15]

  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.[15]

Languages include Bhojpuri, a tongue in the Bihari language group with almost 51 million speakers, written in both the Devanagari and Kaithi scripts.[16]

Culture

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The city is the birthplace of poet Gopal Singh Nepali. Mahatma Gandhi started the Champaran Satyagraha movement from here in 1917 along with nationalists Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Brajkishore Prasad.

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ http://tirhut-muzaffarpur.bih.nic.in Archived 2015-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Bihar Economic Survey 2022-23". state.bihar.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  3. ^ Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Bihar: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. pp. 1118–1119. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 1998-02-18. Archived from the original on 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2011-10-11. Amund Ringnes Island 5,255km2
  5. ^ Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Bihar". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Jhala, Y. V.; Gopal, R.; Qureshi, Q., eds. (2008), Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India (PDF), TR 08/001, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi; Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2013
  7. ^ Jhala, Y. V., Qureshi, Q., Sinha, P. R. (Eds.) (2011). Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR 2011/003 pp-302
  8. ^ Apne Aur Sapne : Online PDF book at Archive.org
  9. ^ "Blocks in Pashchim Champaran District, Bihar". www.census2011.co.in. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  10. ^ "Table A-02 Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901: Bihar" (PDF). census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  11. ^ "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Bihar". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "District Census Handbook: West Champaran" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  13. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-01. Liberia 3,786,764 July 2011 est.
  14. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Oregon 3,831,074
  15. ^ a b "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Bihar". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  16. ^ M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Bhojpuri: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Champaran".
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