| Sheohar district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Bihar |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Native Name: | Shivahar |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Sheohar |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Bihar |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mithila |
| Subdivision Type3: | Division |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tirhut |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Sheohar |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| Area Total Km2: | 349 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 656,246 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 893 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Sheohar |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Sheohar |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Gorakhpur - Siliguri Expressway, SH-54, NH-227, Ram - Janki Marg, Mehsi - Sheohar Rd, Sheohar - Muzaffarpur Expressway |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Average annual precipitation |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 720.4 mm |
| Postal Code: | 843329 (Araria)[1] |
| Website: | http://sheohar.bih.nic.in/ |
Sheohar (pronounced Shivahar) is an administrative district in the Mithila region of Bihar in India. The district headquarters are located at Sheohar, and the district is a part of Tirhut Division. This district was carved out of Sitamarhi district in 1994 due to the extreme efforts of Raghunath Jha, former Union Minister. Eminent Hindi Novelist, Dr. Bhagwati Sharan Mishra was the first District magistrate of Sheohar (https://www.bhagwatisharanmishra.org/).Sivas used to have a guest house in the Mehsi town of his time, which is still located in the name of Raja Bazar in East Champaran.The district occupies an area of 349 km2 and has a population of 656,246 (as of 2011). Sheohar is known for its greenery and cleanliness. Cadamba and teak are the principal trees of this district. Nilgai or blue bull is the regional animal of this area.
Its name is derived from two words, Shiva(शिव) and Har(हर), these both are names of Lord Shiva, it is named so due to the large number of temples in the city. Agriculture is the mainstay. It is one of the most flood-affected districts in Bihar, due to over flooding of the Bagmati and Budhi Gandak rivers. Devkuli is a holy place popular for ancient temple of Lord Shiva. As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Bihar (out of 39), after Sheikhpura.[2]
Sheohar district occupies an area of 349km2. It is bordered by three districts from north and east Sitamarhi, from west East Champaran and from south Muzaffarpur.[3] Belwa Ghat (a panchayat) is sharing bordered by west East Champaran, from where devotees take jal for offer jal at Areraj temple from Bagmati river. Belwa Ghat and Indarwa Khurd is most flooded area of Sheohar District.
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In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Sheohar one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[4]
The district comprises only one sub-division, namely, Sheohar, which is further divided into five blocks: Sheohar, Tariyani, Piprahi, Dumri-katsari, Purnahiya.
According to the 2011 census Sheohar district has a population of 656,246,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Montenegro[5] or the US state of Vermont.[6] This gives it a ranking of 511th in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 1880PD/sqkm. Rampur Kesho is a village known for its highest illiteracy rate.[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.32%.[2] Sheohar has a sex ratio of 893 females for every 1000 males,[2] and a literacy rate of 72%. 4.29% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 14.73% and 0.05% of the population respectively.[2]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 22.97% of the population in the district spoke Hindi and 7.78% Urdu as their first language. 68.70% of the population recorded their first language as a dialect classified as Other Hindi on the census.[7] The main language of the region is Bajjika, variously regarded as dialect of Maithili.