Gonda district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division. The total area of Gonda district is 4,003 km2 (1,546 sq mi).[2]
History
Gonda was originally part of the Nizamat of Gorakhpur, but after Gorakhpur was ceded to the British in 1801, Gonda was united with Bahraich district.[3] It was created as a separate district by the British when they annexed Awadh in 1856.[3] In 1875, parts of Gonda district between Baghaura Tal and the Arrah river were ceded to Nepal by the British government.[3]
More recently, ancient Buddhist remains dating to the early days of Buddhism have been found throughout the region, including at Sravasti.[4]
Gonda played a significant part in the Indian struggle for independence, with many people from the region actively involved: including Raja Devi Baksh Singh, who escaped to Nepal,[5] freedom fighters like Chandra Shekhar Azad took shelter in the district, and Rajendra Lahiri was incarcerated and hanged in the Gonda Jail.[6]
In more recent times, the district received media attention throughout India due to the protracted court case surrounding the murder of 13 people known as the 1982 Gonda Encounter.[7][8]
Industry
There are four sugar mills Balrampur Chini Mills Limited in Babhnan, Balrampur Chini Mills Limited in Mankapur, Sarju Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd in Belrayan and Kisan Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd in Gonda. Apart from that there are several rice mills and many other small industries and handicraft industry. One of the India's six Indian Telephone Industries is situated at Mankapur, and the largest sugar mill in India is situated at Kundarkhi.[9]
According to the 2011 census Gonda district has a population of 3,433,919,[13] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[14] or the US state of Connecticut.[15] This gives it a ranking of 95th in India (out of a total of 640).[13] 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%.[13] The district has a population density of 857 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,220/sq mi).[13] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.17%,[13] higher than the average of Uttar Pradesh (20.09%). Gonda has a sex ratio of 921 females for every 1000 males,[13] 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.[13]
The human development index of the Gonda district is very low.[16]
The official language of the district is Hindi and additional official language is Urdu. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 81.03% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 16.04% Awadhi and 2.68% Urdu as their first language.[17]
Apart from Hindi and Urdu, languages spoken in the district include Awadhi, a tongue of the Hindi continuum spoken by over 38 million people, mainly in the Awadh region.[18]
The effective literacy rate (7+) is 58.71%, the state average (69.72%).[13][21] 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.[22]
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[25]
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.[26][27]
Notable people
Patanjali, the Sanskrit author Gonardiya is generally identified with Patanjali, the epithet denotes someone from Gonarda, which has been identified by some with Gonda.[28]
^M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Awadhi: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
