Kishanganj district

Etymology

Kishanganj is a Beautiful,Clean and Evergreen town and district of Bihar, India (855107, 855108). It is also known as the 'CHERAPUNJI OF BIHAR' due to the heavy Rainfall that takes place here every year to more than any town or city in Bihar. Headquarters of Kishanganj district is in Kishanganj itself, Katihar and Purnia Division of Bihar state. Nestled in the foothill of Himalaya this border district historically has been part of Nepal and Sikkim. Kishanganj old name is 'NEPALGARH'. In 1840 Kishanganj became part of main land Indian subcontinent after the local ruler lost battle with Mughals. Subsequently it was absorbed in British Empire. It is part of the 'CHICKEN NECK'of Indian map and also the Geographical Name of Kishanganj is 'CHICKEN NECK'. During the period of Khagada Nawab, Mohammed Fakiruddin, a Hindu saint, arrived. He was tired and wanted to rest. But when he heard that this place name is Alamganj, the river name is Ramzan and the Jamindar name is Fakiruddin, he refused to enter Alamganj. After that the Nawab announced some portion from Kishanganj Gudri to Ramzan pool. As time passed, the name got converted to Kishanganj.

History

Kishanganj was an old and important Sub-Division of Purnia district. After the long and hard struggle of around seventeen years by the people of Kishanganj including social workers, politicians, journalists, businessmen, farmers, etc., the Kishanganj district was carved out of Purnia district on 14 January 1990.

For last several centuries Kishanganj was called Nepalgarh. When on the instructions of the Mughal emperor, Mohammed Reza captured the fort at Nepalgarh, the name was changed to Alamganj. It later became Kishanganj.

It is said to be Thakurganj is named after Bhim - the great hero of Mahabharata who served as a Thakur (cook) in the house of Raja Birat. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that Raja Birat gave shelter to the five Pandava brothers during their one-year incognito exile. There are two tanks of Bhatdhala and Sagdhala, which the local people say were utilized by Bhim as a receptacle of Bhat and Saag after cooking. Biratnagar of the Mahabharata is said to be located here, and not in Nepal, as some stones with inscription were dug up. East of Thakurganj a small town, Sonapur, is situated just on the Siliguri highway.

Geography

Kishanganj district occupies an area of 1,884 square kilometres (727 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to Maui in the United States. Kishanganj district is surrounded by Araria district in the west, Purnia district in the south-west, Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal on the east, and Darjeeling district of West Bengal and Nepal on the north. A narrow strip of West Bengal, about 20 km wide separates it from Bangladesh.

Kishanganj district is located between 25⁰ 20’ and 26⁰ 30’ north latitudes, and 87⁰ 7’ and 88⁰ 19’ east longitudes.

Major rivers flowing through the district are Mahananda, Kankai, Mechi, Donk, Ratua and Ramzan Sudhani.

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Kishanganj District as an economically distressed district, one of 250 out of a total of 640 districts. It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Sub-divisions

The district comprises only one sub-division, Kishanganj, which is further divided into seven blocks: Bhahadurganj, Dighalbank, Kishanganj, Kochadhaman, Pothia, Terhagachha, Thakurgunj

Education

On 30 January 2014, the foundation stone was laid down of the Kishanganj campus of Aligarh Muslim University by Sonia Gandhi Wasi Teaching Centre Chhattergatchh
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Agriculture College Arrabari foundation laid by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.

It has many schools affiliated to CBSE like BAL MANDIR SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, ORIENTAL PUBLIC SCHOOL, CRESCENT PUBLIC SCHOOL, etc.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Kishanganj district has a population of 1,690,948, roughly equal to the nation of Guinea-Bissau or the US state of Idaho. This gives it a ranking of 293rd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 898 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,330/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 30.44%. Kishanganj has a sex ratio of 946 females for every 1,000 males, and a literacy rate of 57.04%.

A vast majority of the people live in the villages. A predominantly Muslim area, with Muslims forming about 70 per cent of the population, there are also Hindus of whom are Surajpuris( Koch Rajbanshi ). There also are small Santal pockets. The inhabitants of Kishanganj mostly speak Surajpuri, one of the Rajbongshi languages which has much similarities with Bengali. Kishanganj district had a literacy rate of 31.02 per cent in 2001, the lowest amongst all the districts of Bihar. The literacy rate of Bihar at 47.53 per cent is amongst the lowest in India, which has a literacy rate of 64.84 per cent. While the male literacy rate in Kishanganj district stood at 42.8 per cent, female literacy at 18.49 per cent was one of the lowest in India.

See also - Literacy In Bihar