The was

carved out of the old

district in the year 1972 as a result of

reorganisation of the districts in the

State. This was formerly the northern

sub-division of . It

occupies a total area of 3501 sq. kms ,

consists of 5 Sub -divisions and 21

Development Blocks . Bounded on the

north by a hill region of and

extending to the border of its parent district Darbhanga in the south, in the west and Supaul in the east, Madhubani fairly represent the centre of the territory once known as and the district has maintained a distinct individuality of its own.

It is located at a Longitude of 25º-59' to 26º-39' East and the Latitude is 85º-43' to 86º-42' North. It is 80 meters above the sea level.

Practically there are no prehistoric sites in the district though remains of the earliest aboriginal population can be seen in some parts of the district. Hunter in his "Statistical Accounts" has referred to the existence of the people, known as the Tharus in the erstwhile old subdivision of Madhubani. The Bhars are also believed to have belonged to some aboriginal race though nothing positive about them is known from any reliable source. The settlements

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in the north-eastern part of the district indicate that they possibly wielded some power in the remote part. From the work of Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji entitled 'Kiratajanakirti' it appears that Kiratas also inhabi ted the district for a considerable period. The Mahabharata also throw s light on the Kirata culture. Prior to the Aryanisation of this land the are a seems to have been under the aboriginal population and Shiva worship was predominant. The association of th e family of Janaka with the worship of lord Shiva is an indication of the fact that though they formed the vanguard of Aryan culture they had to compromise with the local religious belief, dominated by the Shaivas. The kingdom of Videha included a greater portion of the district. In course of time it was ruled by a successive line of kings known as Janakas.

If tradition is to be relied upon, the Pandavas during their exile stayed in some portion of th e present district and Pandaul is associated with them. Janakpur, capital of Videha is situated at a sh ort distance to the north -west of the district in the Nepalese territory and tradition points to the village of Phulhar in the north- east corner of the Benipatti thana as the flower- garden where the kings' p riests used to gather flowers for worship and identifies its temple with that of Devi Girija, which was worshipped by before her marriage with Ram. Legends and traditions associate this district wit h a number of sages and master -minds of ancient times . Village Kakraul is associated with Kapil, Ahiari with Ahilya wife of Gautama, Bisaul with Vishwamitra and Jagban with Yajnavalkya (ascribed to the great sage of Mithila).

Bimbisar, the founder of the Magadhan imperial power aspired for imperial power and the ambition ran in the veins of his son, Ajat Shatru as well. Ajat Shatru subdued the Lichchhavis and conquered the whole of . He brought Mithila under the control of the Magadhan empire. The history of the Lichchhavis comes down unbroken to the days of the imperial Guptas. The Lichchhavis founded a kingdom in Nepal and even the earliest royal house of Tibet owed its origin to the Lichchhavis of . The migration of Lichchhavis to Nep al and Tibet marks a great event in the history of North Bihar and the district of Madhubani being at the core of the region must have played a dominant part in this great trek as the route to Nepal lay through this district.

Madhubani must have shared in the religious and cultural ferment which so deeply stirred the hearts of the people of the Gangetic Valley in the 6th century B.C. Since the whole of North Bihar was deeply influenced by the teachings of two great reformers (Mahavira and Buddha) it is onl y natural to infer that the people of Madhubani actively participated in the propagation of these reform movements. According to one theory Mahavira himself was a Vaideha domiciled in the suburb of Vaishali and was the son of a daughter of Mithila. Buddha also visited Mithila thrice and he had a great love for Vaishali. It may be further noted here that Buddha's most devoted disciple, Anand was a Vaidehamuni, a monk of the land of Videhas. Both the Jain and the Buddhist literature contain innumerable refer ences to the district of Madhubani and its neighboring territories. Very little is known about the history of Madhubani from the time of the Kusanas to the rise of the Guptas .

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After a temporary period of instability, Madhubani came under the control of the Oinwaras, also known as the Kameshwara Thakura or the Sugauna dynasty. These Hindu chiefs were left undisturbed by the whole of Mithila. When Hajiriyas of Bengal divided Tirhut into two parts, the Oinwar Raja shifted his capital to Sugauna near Madhubani. The district thereafter remained a part of the Mughal Subah. There was no event of great significance during the next century and a half.

The decisive victory of the British in the battle of Buxar in 1764 gave them undisputed sway over the Lower Province s of Bengal. As a consequence, Madhubani, along with other parts of Bihar, passed under the control of British. The British administrators took steps to establish law and order. Besides the trouble -mongers in Mithila, they had also to deal with the incursi ons of the Nepalese. The trouble with Nepal culminated in the Indo -Nepalese war. After concluding peace with Nepal, the British administrators had a comparatively quiet time till the 1857 movement.

In 1857, patriotic fervour raged -high in Madhubani distri ct as in many other districts of Bihar. Later the call of the non -co-operation movement also found adequate response in the district of Madhubani and many people volunteered to serve the cause championed by Mahatma Gandhi. Khadi spinning and weaving was ad opted as a must for congress workers. A Khadi centre was opened at Madhubani. It gradually expanded its activities. Khadi became very popular and Madhubani soon emerged as a renowned centre of Khadi production. The popularity of Khadi weaving and spinning in the district went a long way in inspiring the people towards the nationalist cause. Madhubani district played an important role in the country's freedom struggle.

Boundary

NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST

Hill region of Nepal Darbhanga District

Main Rivers

Sl. No. Name of Rivers Sl. No. Name of Rivers

1. Kamla 6. Supen 2. Kareh 7. Trishula 3. Balan 8. Jeevachh 4. Bhutahi Balan 9. Koshi 5. Gehuan 10. Adhwara Group

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Area

Sl. No. Description Numeric Value Meaurement Unit

1. Area (M adhubani district) 3501 sq. kms. 2. High Flood Level 54.017 meters 3. Earthquake Zone Level 5 rectare scale 4. Total Cropped Area 218381 hectare 5. Barren / Uncultivable Land 333.32 hectare 6. Land under Non -agricultural use 51273.24 hectare 7. Cultivable Barren Land 333.32 hectare 8. Cultivable Land 232724 hectare 9. Cropping Intensity 134.23 percent 10. Miscellaneous Trees 8835.90 hectare

Rainfall • Varies between 900mm and 1300 mm. • Average Rainfall = 1273.2 mm. Administrative Unit

Sl. No. Administrative Unit Numeric Value

1. Number of Sub -divisions 5 2. No. of Blocks 21 3. No. of Circles 21 4. No. of Panchayats 399 5. No. of Villages 1111 6. No. of Police Stations 18 7. No. of Assisting Thana 13 8. No. of Outposts 5 9. No. Town Outposts 4 10. No. of Jail 2 11. No. of MP Constituencies 2 12. No. of MLA Constituencies 10 13. No. of Zila Parishad Members 56 14. No. of Panchayat Samiti Members 555 15. No. of Gram Panchayat Members 5523

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Administrative Unit (Sub -division & Blocks)

Sl. No. Sub -division Name (Total=5) Block Name ( Total=21)

1. Benipatti 1. Benipatti 2. Bisfi

3. Harlakhi

4. Madhwapur

2. Jainagar 1. Basopatti 2. Jainagar

3. Ladania

3. 1. Andhratharhi 2. Jhanjharpur

3.

4. Madhepur

4. Madhubani (Sadar) 1. Babubarhi 2. Kaluahi

3. Khajauli

4. Pandaul

5. Rahika

6. Rajnagar

5. Phulparas 1. 2.

3. Laukahi

4. Phulparas

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An official Census 2011 detail of Madhubani, a district of Bihar has been released by Directorate of Census Operations in Bihar. Enumeration of key persons was also done by census officials in Madhubani District of Bihar.

Madhubani District Population 2011 In 2011, Madhubani had population of 4,487,379 of which male and female were 2,329,313 and 2,158,066 respectively. In 2001 census, Madhubani had a population of 3,575,281 of which males were 1,840,997 and remaining 1,734,284 were f emales. Madhubani District population constituted 4.31 percent of total Maharashtra population. In 2001 census, this figure for Madhubani District was at 4.31 percent of Maharashtra population.

Description 2011 2001

Actual Population 4,487,379 3,575,281

Male 2,329,313 1,840,997

Female 2,158,066 1,734,284

Population Growth 25.51% 26.08%

Area Sq. Km 3,501 3,501

Density/km2 1,282 1,021

Proportion to Bihar Population 4.31% 4.31%

Sex Ratio (Per 1000) 926 942

Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) 936 939

Average Literacy 58.62 41.97

Male Literacy 70.14 56.79

Female Literacy 46.16 26.25

Total Child Population (0-6 Age) 810,479 725,999

Male Population (0-6 Age) 418,616 374,349

Female Population (0-6 Age) 391,863 351,650

Literates 2,155,338 1,195,776

Male Literates 1,340,085 832,849

Female Literates 815,253 362,927

Child Proportion (0-6 Age) 18.06% 20.31%

Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) 17.97% 20.33%

Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) 18.16% 20.28%

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