| Shravasti district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Uttar Pradesh |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Bhinga |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Uttar Pradesh |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Devipatan |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Bhinga |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | Ikauna, Bhinga Jamunaha |
| Area Total Km2: | 1640 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 1,117,361 |
| Population Urban: | 38649 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 46.74 per cent |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 881 |
| Leader Title1: | Lok Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name1: | Shravasti |
| Leader Title2: | Vidhan Sabha constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | Shravasti and Bhinga |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec1: | up state highway 26, SH-96A |
Shravasti district is one of the districts of the Uttar Pradesh state of India, with Bhinga town as its district headquarters. Shravasti district is a part of Devipatan Division. According to Government of India, it is among the 121 minority concentrated districts in India.[1] It is the fourth most backward district in India, according to the 2018 Niti Aayog ranking.[2] This district is the most poverty stricken district in the country.
See main article: Shravasti. Shravasti, the north-eastern town of Uttar Pradesh, is located near the West Rapti River. This town is closely associated with the life of Gautama Buddha, who is believed to have spent 24 Chaturmases here.[3] Age-old stupas, majestic viharas and several temples near the village of "Sahet-Mahet" establish Buddha's association with Shravasti. According to Nagarjuna, the city had a population of 900,000 in 5th century BCE and it even overshadowed Magadha's capital, Rajgir.
As mentioned in the 'Bruhatkalpa' and various Kalpas of the fourteenth century, the name of the city was Mahid. There are subsequent mentions showing that the name of this city was Sahet-Mahet. It is also mentioned that a vast fort covered this city in which there were many temples having idols of Devkulikas.
Today a great rampart of earth and brick surrounds this city. During excavation in 'Sahet-Mahet' near Shravasti City, many ancient idols and inscriptions were found. They are now kept in museums of Mathura and Lucknow. At present, the archaeological department of the Indian Government is doing excavation to perform allied research.
Shravasti was formed in May 1997 when Bahraich district was divided.
Shravasti—part of historic Awadh—was carved out from Gonda district on the south and Bahraich district on the west. Shrawasti also borders Balrampur on the east, and Banke and Dang districts of Nepal to the north. Shravasti district headquarters Bhinga is about 170 kilometres from Lucknow, the state capital.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Shravasti 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).[4]
According to the 2011 census Shravasti district has a population of 1,117,361,[5] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus[6] or the US state of Rhode Island.[7] This gives it a ranking of 414th in India (out of a total of 640).[5] The district has a population density of 681PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 30.54%. Shrawasti has a sex ratio of 881 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 46.74%. Male literacy rate is 57.16% while that of female is 34.78%. 3.46% of the population lives in urban areas. Approximately 0.11% (1,253 people) of the total population of the district lives on footpath or without any roof cover. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 16.94% and 0.50% of the population respectively.[5]
Shravasti district is Hindu-majority, but has a large minority of Muslims. The district headquarters, Bhinga, is Muslim-majority. Although formerly a centre of Buddhism, only 323 Buddhists live in the district at the present-time.[8]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 87.55% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 11.17% Awadhi and 1.15% Urdu as their first language.[9] The local dialect is Awadhi.