Azamgarh district

Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Etymology
The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in pargana Nizamabad had embraced the faith of Islam. He had two sons, namely, Azam and Azmat. It is also known as land of the sage Durvasa whose ashram was located in Phulpur sub-district, near the confluence of Tons and Majhuee river,  north from the Phulpur sub-district headquarters.

History

Towards the end of the 16th century, a Gautam Rajput from Azamgarh district was assimilated into the Mughal court at Delhi, where he had gone in search of greater influence. His mission was a success, with the royal court eventually awarding him 22 parganas in the Azamgarh region that marked the establishment of a family line which culminated in his descendants becoming rajas of the area. This was a typical route whereby relatively obscure lineages rose to prominence.

Colonial era
The district was ceded to the British in 1801 by the wazirs of Lucknow. Both Hindu and Muslim landowners (known as Rautaras) of Azamgarh aided the Sepoy Mutiny against the British in 1857. On 3 June 1857 the 17th Regiment of Native Infantry mutinied at Azamgarh, murdered some of their officers, and carried off the government treasure to Faizabad. The district became a centre of the fighting between the Gurkhas and the rebels, and was brought under control in October 1858 by Colonel Kelly. The most notable rebels were Late. Janab Lal Mohammed Chivtahvin. Later, many of the local land owners were crushed by the British. Later, residents of Azamgarh participated in various national movements including the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement in 1942. The historian, social reformer, nationalist Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan was born in Kanaila village in this district.

Geography
Azamgarh district has an area of . The district lies between the Ganges and the Ghagahara. Azamgarh district is surrounded by the districts of Mau in the east, Gorakhpur in the north, Ghazipur in the south-east, Jaunpur in the south-west, Sultanpur in the west and Ambedkar Nagar in the north-west.

The slope of the land is from northwest to southeast. Roughly speaking, the district consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs.

Azamgarh district is further divided into 7 sub-districts, and 22 development blocks. There are 4,106 villages (3,792 inhabited and 314 uninhabited) in the district.

Education

Colleges

 Government Medical College, Azamgarh is a state medical college located at Chakrapanpur, Azamgarh. It is affiliated to King George's Medical University, Lucknow.
 Government Engineering College, Azamgarh is a constituent college of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (formerly Uttar Pradesh Technical University) and has its campus at Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology in Gorakhpur.
 Shibli National College, Azamgarh located at Azamgarh District . It is affiliated to  Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University. Jaunpur

Important places in Azamgarh district
According to the district's official website, the nine important places in Azamgarh district are:-

 Azamgarh City
 Nizamabad
 Maharajganj
 Mubarakpur
 Mehnagar
 Durvasa
 Dattatreya
 Govindsahab
 Avantikapuri (Awank)

Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Azamgarh 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).

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Azamgarh district has a population of 4,613,913, This gives it a ranking of 30th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of  . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 17.11%. Azamgarh has a sex ratio of  1019 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 72.69%.

Azamgarh district's total population was 3,939,916 as per 2001 census with population density of 972/km². The population consists of 393,401 urban and 4,220,512 rural; 2,137,805 females and 2,082,707 males. The literacy rate is 70.93%.

Languages
The official language is Hindi and additional official is Urdu. Vernaculars spoken in Azamgarh include the Awadhi and Bhojpuri dialects of Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) and English.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 91.75% of the population in the district spoke Hindi and 8.22% Urdu as their first language..

Local media
Mostly all major English, Hindi and Urdu dailies including Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Dainik Jagran, Amarujala, Hindustan, Rashtree Sahara, Inquilab, Hausla News available in Azamgarh. Hindi and Urdu dailies also have their bureaus in the city. Almost all big Hindi TV news channel have stringers in the city.

Notable people
The following notable people are from Azamgarh district
NB This list excludes those from Azamgarh itself which are listed in that article

 Shaikh Shamim Ahmed - MLA  Senior Congress Leader and  M.L.A. for Bombay Maharashtra  - from Sudanipur .
 Abu Azmi - M.L.A from Maharashtra and Samajwadi party president for Maharashtra
 Kaifi Azmi - lyricist and Urdu Shayar
 Mirza Aslam Beg - Chief of army staff of Pakistan Army in 1987–1991.
 Hamiduddin Farahi - religious scholar, educationist, writer, chief administrator of Madrasatul Islah - from Fariha village
 Amin Ahsan Islahi - Islamic scholar - from Bamhur village
 Aslam Jairajpuri - Islamic scholar
 Shamim Jairajpuri - zoologist
 Chhannulal Mishra -  Hindustani classical singer.
 Laxmi Narayan Mishra - modern Hindi dramatist
 Shibli Nomani - Islamic scholar
 Prem Chand Pandey - Indian scientist and academic
 Shyam Narayan Pandey - writer and poet - from Dumraon village, (Now in Mau district but was in Azamgarh district at the time)
 Vibhuti Narain Rai - Former IPS officer and Former Vice Chancellor - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
 Rahul Sankrityayan - Hindi Travel writer - from Kanaila Village
 Prakash Singh - DGP-Police, BSF  Indian Police Reform movement (Honoured with Padma Shri Award and Presidents Police Medal)
 Professor Vinod K. Singh - (Padma Shri), Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal.
 Majrooh Sultanpuri - Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter - from Nizamabad
 Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay - Hindi poet - from Nizamabad
 Kausar Yazdani - Islamic scholar born 1935.

Tehsil/Town in Azamgarh district

 Azamgarh
 Burhanpur
 Lalganj
 Mehnagar
 Nizamabad
 Phulpur
 Sagri
 Martinganj

See also
 Banahara
 Chaukiganjor

References

External links

Category:Districts of Uttar Pradesh
 
Category:Districts of India