Jhabua district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Jhabua.

Jhabua district
District of Madhya Pradesh
Farmer in Jhabua district
Location of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
Division	Indore
Headquarters	Jhabua
Government
•  District collector	Rajani Singh (IAS)
•  Lok Sabha constituencies	Ratlam
•  Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Jhabua (193)
Area
• Total	3,782 km2 (1,460 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	1,025,048
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Demographics
•  Literacy	44.45 per cent
• Sex ratio	989
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Average annual precipitation	800 mm
Website	jhabua.nic.in

Jhabua is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Jhabua is the administrative headquarters of the district.

Geography

Jhabua district lies in the western part of Madhya Pradesh. It is surrounded by Dahod and Chhota Udaipur districts of Gujarat, Banswara district of Rajasthan, and Alirajpur, Dhar and Ratlam districts of Madhya Pradesh. ^[1]

It has an area of 3,782 km². The terrain is hilly and undulating. Average rainfall in the district is about 800 mm. The district is divided into five tehsils and six community development blocks. ^[1]

Jhabua district was divided into two parts in May 2008, namely Alirajpur and Jhabua. Alirajpur, Jobat, Udaigarh, Bhabra, Sondawa and Kathiwada are the 6 blocks of new district, Alirajpur. Jhabua district now consists of Jhabua, Meghnagar, Ranapur, Rama, Thandla and Petlawad blocks.

Bhil tribe girls in Jhabua district

Economy

The district is highly drought-prone and degraded waste lands form the matrix of Jhabua. The women make lovely ethnic items including bamboo products, dolls, bead-jewellery and other items that have for long decorated the living rooms all over the country. The men have for ages adorned "Teer-Kamthi", the bow and arrow, which has been their symbol of chivalry and self-defence.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Jhabua one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). ^[2] It is one of the 24 districts in Madhya Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). ^[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	83,750	—
1911	116,878	+3.39%
1921	135,558	+1.49%
1931	158,464	+1.57%
1941	186,035	+1.62%
1951	207,418	+1.09%
1961	285,619	+3.25%
1971	374,686	+2.75%
1981	447,438	+1.79%
1991	646,924	+3.76%
2001	784,286	+1.94%
2011	1,025,048	+2.71%
source: [3]

Religions in Jhabua district (2011) [4]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			93.74%
Christianity			3.75%
Islam			1.53%
Jainism			0.87%
Other or not stated			0.11%

According to the 2011 census Jhabua District has a population of 1,025,048, ^[5] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus ^[6] or the US state of Montana. ^[7] This gives it a ranking of 440th in India (out of a total of 640). ^[5] The district has a population density of 285 inhabitants per square kilometre (740/sq mi). ^[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 30.58%. ^[5] Jhabua has a sex ratio of 989 females for every 1000 males, ^[5] and a literacy rate of 44.45%. 8.97% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Tribes made up 1.70% and 87.00% of the population respectively. ^[5]

As per the 2001 census Jhabua district (considering the separation of Alirajpur) had a total population of 784,286, out of which 396,141 were males and 388,145 were females. 91 per cent of the population was rural. 85.60 per cent of the population was tribal and 3 per cent belonged to scheduled castes. ^[1] Before the separation of Alirajpur, Jhabua district had a sex ratio of 990 and density of population stood at 206 / km². ^[8]

Jhabua is a predominantly Adivasi district, and suffers from high rates of illiteracy and poverty. Almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. The Bhil and Bhilala peoples inhabit the interior of the district. More than 85% of the population speak different Bhili dialects.

Languages

Languages of Jhabua district (2011) ^[9]

   Bhili (82.19%)

   Hindi (9.37%)

   Malvi (3.45%)

   Bhilali (2.40%)

  Others (2.59%)

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 82.19% of the population in the district spoke Bhili, 9.37% Hindi, 3.45% Malvi and 2.40% Bhilali as their first language. ^[9]

Languages spoken include Rathwi Bareli, a Bhil language with approximately 64 000 speakers, written in the Devanagari script; ^[10] and Bhilali, with 1 150 000 speakers. ^[11]

Literacy

According to 2001 census, with a literacy rate 36.9 per cent Jhabua district had the lowest literacy rate amongst districts of Madhya Pradesh. ^[12] In 2011 this had increased only marginally to 43.3%.

Tehsil and Block's

• Jhabua
• Thandla
• Petlawad
• Meghnagar
• Ranapur
• Ramaa

Culture

A small village of 320 people in 1971, Deojhiri is 8 km north-east of Jhabua on the Ahmedabad-Indore State Highway No.22. It is at a distance of 1 km on the western side of the road, on the Sunar river. As the name of the village denotes there is an ancient temple and (Jhiri) or a perennial spring. The spring has been built up into a Kund. A festival is held on Baisakh Poornima, which falls mostly in the month of April according to the Gregorian calendar. Katthivada in Jhabua district is noted for its large mangoes.

Tourist places

• Devjhiri

Transportation

Ratlam Badodra railline passing through Jhabua district. Major railway station in Jhabua district is :-

• Meghnagar railway station ^[13]
• Bamnia railway station ^[14]
• Thandla Road railway station ^[15]

See also

• 2015 Jhabua explosion
• Sad, Jhabua

References

1. "Jhabua". District administration. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
2. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
3. "Table A-02 Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901: Madhya Pradesh" (PDF). census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
4. "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Madhya Pradesh". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
5. "District Census Handbook: Jhabua" (PDF). Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
6. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Cyprus 1,120,489 July 2011 est.
7. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Montana 989,415
8. "Population, decadal growth rate, sex ratio and density – States/Union territories and Districts : 2001". Table 1. Education for all in India, Source:Registrar General of India, Government of India, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
9. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Madhya Pradesh". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
10. M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Bareli, Rathwi: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
11. M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Bhilali: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
12. "Seminar On Progress Of Literacy In India: What The Census 2001 Preveals Niepa, New Delhi, October 05, 2002". India’s Literacy Panorama. educationforallinindia.com. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
13. "42 Arrivals at Meghnagar WR/Western Zone - Railway Enquiry".
14. "12 Arrivals at Thandla Road WR/Western Zone - Railway Enquiry".
15. "22 Arrivals at Bamnia WR/Western Zone - Railway Enquiry".

External links

• Official website

22°46′00″N74°36′00″E / 22.7667°N 74.6°E / 22.7667; 74.6