| Gonda district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Uttar Pradesh |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Gonda, Uttar Pradesh |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Uttar Pradesh |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Devipatan |
| Established Title: | Town |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Gonda |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 4 Colonelganj Gonda Mankapur Tarabganj |
| Area Total Km2: | 4003 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 3433919 |
| Population Urban: | 225029 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Effective literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 58.71% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 921 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Uzma Rashid |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Gonda |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | 7 Colonelganj Mankapur Gonda Sadar Gaura Mehnaun Tarabganj Katra Bazar |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Registration Plate: | UP-43 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 4 NH27, UPSH 30, UPSH 9, UPSH 1A |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Average annual precipitation |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 22.4 mm |
| Government Type: | Municipal council |
| Governing Body: | Gonda Nagar Palika Parishad |
| Population Demonym: | Gondvi, Gondvian |
| Established Title1: | District |
| Native Name Lang: | hi |
| Native Name: | गोंडा |
| Founder: | Raja Maan Singh |
| Named For: | Gonard |
| Postal Code: | 271001 |
| Area Code: | 0-5262 |
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 .[1]
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.[2] It was created as a separate district by the British when they annexed Awadh in 1856.[2] In 1875, parts of Gonda district between Baghaura Tal and the Arrah river were ceded to Nepal by the British government.[2]
More recently, ancient Buddhist remains dating to the early days of Buddhism have been found throughout the region, including at Sravasti.[3]
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,[4] freedom fighters like Chandra Shekhar Azad took shelter in the district, and Rajendra Lahiri was incarcerated and hanged in the Gonda Jail.
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.[5] [6]
There are several sugar mills, 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.[7]
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Gonda one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[8]
According to the 2011 census Gonda district has a population of 3,433,919,[9] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[10] or the US state of Connecticut.[11] This gives it a ranking of 95th in India (out of a total of 640).[9] 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%.[9] The district has a population density of 857PD/sqkm.[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.17%,[9] higher than the average of Uttar Pradesh (20.09%). Gonda has a sex ratio of 921 females for every 1000 males,[9] 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.[9]
The human development index of the Gonda district is very low.[12]
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.[13]
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.[14]
There are four Tehsils in Gonda district.[15]
Gonda district comprises 16 Blocks:[16]
The effective literacy rate (7+) is 58.71%, the state average (69.72%).[9] [17] 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.[18]
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[21]
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.[22] [23]
