History
Kishanganj district, which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region. [12] Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Mithila Kingdom (also called Kingdom of the Videhas) which was ruled by the Videhas, an Indo-Aryan tribe. [13] Present Kishanganj was in the western part of the Pundra region which was initialy outside the Indo-Aryan band of settlement. There are still tales of the fort of Raja Virat in Thakurganj tehsil who gave the Pandavas shelter during their exile. Pundra was included in the Mauryan Empire, and it was then included in the Gupta Empire. The region was visited by Xuanzang during his travels and was conquered by Shashanka in the early 7th century. The Palas and Senas then took over the district before the Muslim conquest. [6]
In the 13th century Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji conquered the entirety of Bengal, including present Kishanganj. However the northern part of Kishanganj was held by the Kiranti tribes. The district was part of a unit along with Purnia, and was regarded as a frontier region of Bengal which always needed to maintain forces to keep the Kiranti peoples in check. During the Mughal period, territory east of the Mahananda, including Kishanganj, was part of the Sarkar of Tajpur in the Bengal Subah. The northern part of Araria and Kishanganj districts were part of the Morang Kingdom of Limbuwan. Kishanganj fell under British rule with the rest of Bengal in 1765. Kishanganj was on one of the main trade routes from Nepal into the rest of India. Kishanganj was on the front line of the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1816. [6]
During the early 20th century Kishanganj subdivision featured in a report of absentee zamindar atrocities against the peasants and the imposition of awbabs. This region participated in the Kisan Sabha movement and later the freedom struggle. Several ashrams were built in Kishanganj and the workers of the subdivision participated in the Quit India movement of 1942, where the Congress flag was hoisted on the Kishanganj court building.
The region was a hotbed of sporadic communal tension in the Purnia district. In 1934 there was a riot in Kishanganj town over a tazia procession during Muharram. The Muslim League had major influence in the Muslim-majority regions of Purnia district including Kishanganj. During the Bihar Riots of 1946, the region was affected and saw some Muslims fleeing the region for safety in Bengal. A sabha of the Provincial Muslim League in Kishanganj in 1947 demanded erstwhile Purnia district along with parts of Bhagalpur, Munger, and the entire Santal Parganas district be transferred to Bengal (which they wanted for Pakistan). These areas were kept in India however when it gained Independence. [6]
In 1956 during the reorganisation of states, parts of Kishanganj subdivision (the present Islampur subdivision), were transferred to West Bengal's West Dinajpur district to connect the two halves of the state which were split by Partition. [6]
Kishanganj was an old and important Sub-Division of Purnia district. After the long and hard struggle of around seventeen years by the people of Kishanganj including social workers, politicians, journalists, businessmen, farmers, etc., the Kishanganj district was carved out of Purnia district on 14 January 1990. [14]
Demographics
Historical population| Year | | |
|---|
| 1901 | 234,482 | — |
|---|
| 1911 | 251,966 | +0.72% |
|---|
| 1921 | 269,059 | +0.66% |
|---|
| 1931 | 291,023 | +0.79% |
|---|
| 1941 | 316,813 | +0.85% |
|---|
| 1951 | 336,235 | +0.60% |
|---|
| 1961 | 459,703 | +3.18% |
|---|
| 1971 | 618,773 | +3.02% |
|---|
| 1981 | 805,333 | +2.67% |
|---|
| 1991 | 984,107 | +2.03% |
|---|
| 2001 | 1,296,348 | +2.79% |
|---|
| 2011 | 1,690,400 | +2.69% |
|---|
| source: [17] |
According to the 2011 census Kishanganj district has a population of 1,690,400, [18] roughly equal to the nation of Guinea-Bissau [19] or the US state of Idaho. [20] This gives it a ranking of 293rd in India (out of a total of 640). [18] The district has a population density of 898 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,330/sq mi) . [18] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 30.44%. [18] Kishanganj has a sex ratio of 946 females for every 1,000 males, [18] and a literacy rate of 57.04%. 9.53% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 6.69% and 3.80% of the population respectively. [18]
Religions in Kishanganj district (2011) [21] | Religion | | Percent |
|---|
| Islam | | 67.98% |
| Hinduism | | 31.43% |
| Other or not stated | | 0.59% |
A vast majority of the people live in villages. Kishanganj is the only Muslim-majority district of Bihar, with Muslims forming about 68% of the population. [18] There are also Hindus of whom most are Surajpuris (Rajbanshi). There also are small pockets of Santals. [22] [23] Most of the inhabitants of Kishanganj speak Surajpuri. [24]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 42.61% of the population in the district spoke Surjapuri, 32.62% Urdu, 9.05 Hindi, 6.66% Bengali, 3.45% Santali, 2.63% Maithili and 1.23% Bhojpuri as their first language. [25]
Gender Ratio of District [26] | Year | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Gender Ratio | 926 | 950 | 946 | 936 | 948 |
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