| Karhal | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Flag Size: | 3:2 |
| Pushpin Map: | India Uttar Pradesh |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Coordinates: | 26.9976°N 78.9415°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Uttar Pradesh |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mainpuri |
| Subdivision Type3: | Tehsil |
| Subdivision Name3: | Karhal |
| Government Type: | Vidhan Sabha |
| Governing Body: | Uttar Pradesh |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Rank: | 112 |
| Area Total Km2: | 9.58 |
| Elevation M: | 159 |
| Population Total: | 27,701 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Hindi |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | SDM |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | R.N. Verma |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | MP |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Dimple Yadav (Mainpuri constituency) |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | MLA |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Akhilesh Yadav (Karhal constituency) |
| Blank5 Name Sec1: | Highways |
| Blank5 Info Sec1: | Agra-Lucknow Expressway, State Highway 83 (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 205264 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | 05677 |
| Registration Plate: | UP-84 |
Karhal is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Mainpuri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is also a tehsil that is subdivided into two blocks, Karhal and Barnahal. It is one of the Vidhan Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh.
The nearest town to Karhal is Saifai. It is situated on the State Highway 83.
Karhal is an alternate name for the main or mainphal tree, Randia dumetorum. This tree is very common in Mainpuri district, and the town was presumably named because the site was once covered with karhal trees.[1]
Karhal was historically a tappa (subdivision) of the Mughal-era pargana of Haveli Etawah; by the turn of the 20th century, it was itself the seat of both a pargana and a tehsil. At that time, Karhal was described as having a busy trade in ghee and cotton, with market days twice per week. Glass and saltpetre were manufactured here. The town had a Sanskrit school run by Jains, two other schools, a dispensary, a police station, and a sarai (inn) which had a whole gated enclosure with a mosque and a well. Behind the bazar were the prominent merchants' houses, primarily belonging to members of Saraogi subgroup of the Banias, and the spired temples in this areas were described as being visible from a long way off.[2]
As of the 2011 census, Karhal had a population of 27,701. This population was 52.2% male (14,456) and 47.8% female (13,245). The 0-6 age group numbered 3,616 (1,873 male and 1,743 female), or 13.1% of the total population. 4,852 residents were members of Scheduled Castes, or 17.5% of the total. The town's literacy rate was 72.3% (counting only people age 7 and up).[3]
As of 2011, the entire Karhal tehsil had a population of 331,718, making it the least populous tehsil in the district. The overall population predominantly rural, with 91.65% of the population (304,017 people) living in rural areas and 8.35% (27,701 people) living in Karhal town, the tehsil's sole urban area. The tehsil's overall sex ratio was 875 females to every 1000 males. Its literacy rate was 73.97%; there was an 18.5% gender literacy gap, with 82.6% of males but only 64.1% of females capable of reading and writing. This discrepancy was significantly higher in rural areas (19.35%) than in urban ones (9.46%).
The total area of Karhal tehsil is 551.92 sq.km and the population density is 601 per sq.km.
The most important commodities produced in Karhal are wheat flour and rice products. As of 2009, Karhal had 2 nationalised banks, 1 private commercial bank, 2 cooperative banks, and 5 agricultural credit societies.
Major populations of the city depend on agriculture and related products. Farmers grow the wheat, patati, tomato, garlic, onion, paddy, matured crops. Ginger, banana, sugar cane, cabbage, torhi, laouki are minor seasonal crops. Cold storage is a major food storage unit in Karhal. A local Karhal Subzi Mandi maintains the daily need of fresh vegetables and fruits of the city and neighborhood local area.
The town's neighbourhoods, or mohallas, include the Khera, or old town; the Qazi Mohalla, named because it contained the old house of the town's former qazi, the Mualliman mohalla, named after an esteemed local family of teachers who, according to local tradition, invented the shikasta form of the Perso-Arabic script; the Bhutela and Birtia mohallas, each named after a Brahmin clan who traditionally lived there; the Khakroh, or sweeper's quarter; and the Singhi mohalla, named after a Bania subcaste.[2]
As of 2011, Karhal has 1 hospital with 10 beds, 35 medicine shops, 10 schools teaching at the primary level, and 2 schools teaching at the secondary level. There is no public library; the closest one is in Etawah. Drinking water is provided by hand pump, tube well, and borehole. The town has a local fire department.[4]
Saras is the bird species have 2/3 of population in Karhal. Saman Bird Sanctuary is located 20 km from eastern side of Karhal.
The following 97 villages are counted as part of Karhal CD block:[4]
See main article: puri district.