Azamgarh district

Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[2]

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Azamgarh. For its namesake division, see Azamgarh division.

Azamgarh district
District of Uttar Pradesh
Jamiatul Ashrafia in Azamgarh
Jamiatul Ashrafia in Azamgarh
Location of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh
Location of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh
Country India
StateUttar Pradesh
DivisionAzamgarh
HeadquartersAzamgarh
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesAzamgarh, Lalganj
Area
 • Total4,054 km2 (1,565 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total4,613,913
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
 • Urban
8.53%
Demographics
 • Literacy70.93%
 • Sex ratio1019
Language
 • OfficialHindi[1]
 • Additional officialUrdu[1]
 • RegionalBhojpuri
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highways
Websiteazamgarh.nic.in

Etymology

The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit, a descendant of Gautam of Mehnagar in pargana Nizamabad, had embraced the faith of Islam. He had two sons, namely, Azam and Azmat.[3] It is also known as land of the sage Durvasa whose ashram was located in Phulpur sub-district,[4] near the confluence of Tons and Majhuee river, 6 kilometres (4 mi) north from the Phulpur sub-district headquarters.

History
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
19011,103,469—    
19111,063,951−0.36%
19211,089,471+0.24%
19311,120,059+0.28%
19411,298,992+1.49%
19511,498,092+1.44%
19611,690,536+1.22%
19711,995,685+1.67%
19812,493,757+2.25%
19913,128,623+2.29%
20013,939,916+2.33%
20114,613,913+1.59%
source:[5]

Towards the end of the 16th century, a Gautam Rajput from Azamgarh district was assimilated into the Mughal court at Delhi, where he had gone in search of greater influence. His mission was a success, with the royal court eventually awarding him 22 parganas in the Azamgarh region that marked the establishment of a family line which culminated in his descendants becoming rajas of the area. This was a typical route whereby relatively obscure lineages rose to prominence.[6]

Colonial era

The district was ceded to the British in 1801 by the wazirs of Lucknow. Both Hindu and Muslim landowners (known as Rautaras) of Azamgarh aided the Sepoy Mutiny against the British in 1857. On 3 June 1857 the 17th Regiment of Native Infantry mutinied at Azamgarh, murdered some of their officers, and carried off the government treasure to Faizabad. The district became a centre of the fighting between the Gurkhas and the rebels, and was brought under control in October 1858 by Colonel Kelly.[7] The most notable rebels were Late. Janab Lal Mohammed Chivtahvin. Later, many of the local land owners were crushed by the British.[8] Later, residents of Azamgarh participated in various national movements including the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement in 1942.[3] The historian, social reformer, nationalist Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan was born in Kanaila village in this district.

Geography

Azamgarh district has an area of 4,054 square kilometres (1,565 sq mi). The district lies between the Ganges and the Ghagahara.[3] Azamgarh district is surrounded by the districts of Mau in the east, Gorakhpur in the north, Ghazipur in the south-east, Jaunpur in the south-west, Sultanpur in the west and Ambedkar Nagar in the north-west.[9]

The slope of the land is from northwest to southeast. Roughly speaking, the district consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs.[7]

Azamgarh district is further divided into 7 sub-districts, and 22 development blocks. There are 4,106 villages (3,792 inhabited and 314 uninhabited) in the district.[3]

Demographics
Religion in Azamgarh district (2011)[10]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 84.06%
Islam
 
 15.58%
Other or not stated
 
 0.36%

According to the 2011 census Azamgarh district has a population of 4,613,913,[11] This gives it a ranking of 30th in India (out of a total of 640).[11] The district has a population density of 1,139 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,950/sq mi) .[11] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 17.11%.[11] Azamgarh has a sex ratio of 1019 females for every 1000 males,[11] and a literacy rate of 72.69%. Scheduled Castes made up 25.39% of the population.[11]

Azamgarh district's total population was 3,939,916 as per 2001 census with population density of 972 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,520/sq mi). The population consists of 393,401 urban and 4,220,512 rural; 2,137,805 females and 2,082,707 males. The literacy rate is 70.93%.[3]

Languages

The official language is Hindi and additional official is Urdu.[1] Bhojpuri is the native language of Azamgarh.[12] The Bhojpuri variant of Kaithi is the indigenous script of Bhojpuri language.[13]

Languages in Azamgarh District (2011)[14]

  Bhojpuri (55.58%)
  Hindi (35.28%)
  Urdu (8.21%)
  Others (0.93%)

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 55.58% of the population in the district spoke Bhojpuri, 35.28% Hindi and 8.21% Urdu as their first language.[14]

Government and administration

Tehsil/Town in Azamgarh district

[15]

Important places in Azamgarh district

According to the district's official website,[16] the nine important places in Azamgarh district are:-

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Azamgarh one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[17] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[17]

Education

Colleges

Local media

Mostly all major English, Hindi and Urdu dailies including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Rashtree Sahara, Inquilab, Hausla News, Third eyes, Dainik Manasha Mail. Hindi and Urdu dailies also have their bureaus in the city. Almost all big Hindi TV news channel have stringers in the city.

Notable people

Notable people from Azamgarh district include:-
NB This list excludes those from Azamgarh itself which are listed in that article
Azmi is a common toponymic surname among Indian Muslims from Azamgarh.[lower-alpha 1]

See also

Notes
  1. Not to be confused with the similar Arabic surname meaning resolute or derived from azam (great) + -i.

References
  1. "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  2. "Azamgarh District Map". www.mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  3. "Azamgarh". Azamgarh district administration. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  4. "Durvasa Ashram in Azamgarh official public information web page". Archived from the original on 7 June 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  6. Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-0-52001-807-5.
  7. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Azamgarh". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 79.
  8. "Azamgarh". chestofbooks.com. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  9. "Azamgarh". UP online. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  10. "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Uttar Pradesh". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  11. "District Census Handbook: Azamgarh" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  12. M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Bhojpuri: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  13. Grierson, George Abraham (1881). A handbook to the Kayathi character. The Library of Congress. Calcutta, Thacker, Spink, and co.
  14. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Uttar Pradesh". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  15. "3560+ Villages in azamgarh District, uttar pradesh". Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  16. "Important Places". About Azamgarh. Azamgarh District Administration. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  17. 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.
  18. Abu Asim Azmi - Election Commission of India Affidavit. Chief Electoral Officer.
  19. "ممبئی: معروف مسلم سیاست داں شیخ شمیم احمد کا انتقال، آج تدفین ہوگی" [Mumbai leading Muslim politician Sheikh Shameem Ahmed passed away burial today]. Qaumi Awaz (in Urdu). 23 September 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  20. "The Allahabad Mathematical Society Founded in 1958". Maths History. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  21. "Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh". p. About IBU. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
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