Bhadohi district

History

Bhadohi was created on 30 June 1994 as the 65th district of the State. It is the smallest district by area of Uttar Pradesh. It was part of Varanasi district prior to its creation on 30 June 1994.

The Mayawati government changed this district's name from Bhadohi to Sant Ravidas Nagar (S.R.N.). The Akhilesh Yadav government resolved on 6 December 2014 to change the name back to Bhadohi.

Brief history of the district

It is said that during the period of Mahabharata Pandavas escaped from Lakshyagrah through a tunnel and took shelter here at a place called Semradhnath. Sant Ravi Das, known as Raidas also, was one of the twelve pupils of Saint Ramanand . The devotee of ‘Nirgun Brahama’ Raidas never discriminated between Hindu and Muslim. He established the ‘Raidasi Sampradaya’. The region covered by the present district of Bhadohi once formed part of ancient kingdom of Kashi. As the district is situated in the middle of Kashi and Prayag, the two grand Teerathas (holy places) and many legends are linked with it Sitamarhi is the place where ‘Ramayana’ was written by Maharshi Balmiki. It is said that Mata Sita, wife of lord Rama, lived here in the ashram of Maharshi Balmiki when she was abandoned by Lord Rama. Here Lav and Kush were born and Mata Sita immersed herself in the lap of goddess Earth. It is said that besides the first poet Maharishi Balmiki, the saint Goswami Tulsidas also stayed at Sitamarhi for few days. Sant Ravi Das Nagar (Bhadohi) was known by the name of Anand Van in ancient times as confirmed by many historians. It is also known by the name of Saghan Van or Kanchan van at some places while it has been shown as Sundar Van in Maunas history. After some time Bhars captured the region from forest tribes and named it as Bhardoi and declared it as the kingdom of Bhar’s. When the soldiers of Sultan Mohammad Gauri captured the Mirzapur’s forest areas, the Bhars defeated the forest chieftains and captured the forest area of Bhadhoi and established their own estate. They constructed their own forts and coats, the remains of which are still found in the villages Rohi, Bankat, Beribeesa, Bharduwar, Sarai Kot (Sair) etc. The Suriyawan was the capital of Bhar’s kingdom. Bhars ruled on Bhadoi for nearly 200 years from 1193 to 1394. After 1394 Maunas Rajputs overthrew Bhar from this region and it was named Bhardrohi which after some time transformed into Bhadohi. This place gets its name from Bhar Raj of the region which had Bhadohi as its capital. There are several mounds and old tanks that have been named after the Bhar rulers, a tributary of Kannauj kingdom. During the rule of Akbar, Bhadohi was made a dastur and included in the sarkar of Allahabad. In the ancient time the Bhadhoi region was the part of well known Kashi kingdom which was one of the sixteen Mahajanpadas of Bharatvarsha. At the end of Maunas kingdom the Banaras kingdom came into power and ruled the region from 1748 to 1948. Before 1828, in the English record it appeared as Bhadohi. The first king of Maunas dynasty was Anant Rai followed by Balwain Singh, Birabh Dev, Saeav Rai, Jagdish Rai, Harivansh Rai, Ramchandra Rai, Jodhram Madan singh, Sankatha singh, Tej singh and Pancham Singh etc. who ruled on it. The last king of Maunas dynasty Balwant Singh 10 took the throne in 1728 but due to financial crisis in the state the kingdom ended in 1728 itself. A great freedom fighter of 1857 freedom struggle, Amar Shaheed Jhoorin Singh was born on this holy land. So many great personalities like Pandit Mahaveer Prasad Malvila, Warrior poet Maharshi Sheobrat Lal, Sohar Baba, Pandit Rajnath Misra, and Swami Atmanand were born on this holy land of this district. In 1911, Banaras got the status of state. Bhadohi in 1911 came under first Maharaja of the newly created princely state of Benares ruled by Maharaja Prabhu Narayan Singh After independence when all the states of India merged with Union of India, Banaras state was also merged in it. During the period of Maharaja Udit Narain Singh, Gyanpur was a pargana of Mirzapur district and before 1911 Bhadohi was made district of Banaras state. After independence Bhadohi was separated from Mirzapur district and made a tahsil of Varanasi district. After going through so many changes Bhadohi was ultimately declared as Sant Ravidas Nagar (Bhadohi) district on 30th June 1994, by separating it from the western part of district Varanasi The Akhilesh Yadav government resolved on 6 December 2014 to change the name back to Bhadohi. Bhadohi. It is the smallest district by area of Uttar Pradesh. The district is also of international fame for its carpets. Bhadohi district is biggest carpet manufacturing centre in India. It is known for its handknotted carpet. The Mirzapur-Bhadohi region is the largest handmade carpet weaving cluster, engaging around 3.2 million people in the industry. Bhadohi employs 22 lakh rural artisans. Carpet weaving in the region dates back to the 16th century during the reign of Akbar. Well known carpet types from Bhadohi include cotton Dhurry, Chhapra Mir carpets, Loribaft, Indo Gabbeh.

Geography

This district is situated in the plains of the Ganges River, which forms the southwestern border of the district. Ganges, Varuna and Morva are the main rivers. The district is surrounded by Jaunpur district to the north, Varanasi district to the east, Mirzapur district to the south, and Allahabad district to the west. The district has an area of 1055.99 km². Rampur is a famous ghat in Bhadohi, and there are some famous temples in Bhadohi: Sita Samahit Sthal (Sitamarhi), Semradhnath Bhole Shankar Mandir, Baba Harihar Nath (Gyanpur), Baba Doodhnath (Gyanpur), Chakwa Mahaveer, Shiv Mandir (Sundarpur), Ghopaila Devi Mandir (Gyanpur), Shani Dham, Tilngeswarnath, Tilanga Shivjatpur and Bhadrakaali temples, and Baba Gangeshwarnath Dham situated in Itahara Uparwar Village.

Divisions

This district is divided into three tehsils, Aurai Tehsil, Bhadohi and Gyanpur, and six blocks, Bhadohi, Suriyawan, Gyanpur, Deegh, Abholi and Aurai.

There are 1075 populated and 149 non-populated villages along with 79 nyay-panchayat and 489 gram panchayats in the district. The district has nine police stations.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sant Ravidas Nagar district (as it was then named) had a population of 1,554,203, roughly equal to the nation of Gabon or the US state of Hawaii. This gives it a ranking of 320th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 1,531 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,970/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 14.81%. Bhadohi has a sex ratio of 950 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 89.14%.

Media

Gaon Giraw is the first Hindi daily newspaper of the District. Satyam News is the first Hindi weekly newspaper of the District.

Other newspapers distributed in the city published from Varanasi are Dainik Jagaran, Amar Ujala, Aj, Hindustan, Jansandesh Times, Awaz e Mulk, Bharat Ekta Times and City News. There is also a local television channel.