Arghakhanchi ( ne, अर्घाखाँची जिल्ला ) is one of the districts of

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province ( ne, लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbinī pradēśa) is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar o ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. The district headquarter is

Sandhikharka Sandhikharka Municipality ( ne, सन्धिखर्क नगरपालिका) is the headquarter of Arghakhanchi District which lies in Lumbini Province of Nepal. The former village development committee (VDC) was converted into a munic ...

. The district covers an area of and has a population (2011) of 197,632. Its neighboring districts are Palpa in the east, Gulmi in the north,

Kapilvastu District Kapilvastu district ( ne, कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला ), often Kapilbastu, is one of the districts of Lumbini Province, Nepal. The district, with Kapilbastu municipality as its district headquarters, covers an area of and in ...

in the south and

Pyuthan Pyuthan (also known as Pyuthan Khalanga) is a municipality in the Pyuthan District in the Lumbini Province of Nepal. It is also the District Headquarter and the administrative center of district. The municipality was established on 18 May 2014 by ...

in the west.

History

The district consists of two pre-unification principalities Argha and Khanchi. Argha (Nepali:अर्घा) was the name given to ritual offerings made at the former principality's main Bhagwati Temple. Khanchi may come from the word Khajanchi (Nepali:खजाञ्चि) or tax collector since the center of the latter principality was known for its tax office. Both were two of the Chaubisi rajya (24 principalities) centred in the Gandaki Basin. In 1786 A.D. (1843 BS) during the unification of Nepal the two were annexed by Gorkha. Later the merger was renamed “Arghakhanchi” and added to Gulmi District. Arghakhanchi became a separate district in 1961 A.D. (2018 BS).

Demographics

In 2001, the population was 208,391. In 1991, the population was 180,884. At the time of the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities and ...

, Arghakhanchi District had a population of 197,632. Of these, 97.43% spoke

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

and 1.35% Magar as their first language.2011 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables
/ref> According to the 2011 census the total population was 197,632. Of these 86,266 were male and 111,366 are female. The total number of households was 46,835 and the average household size 4.22 on the basis of usual place of residence. The sex ratio (number of males per 100 females) was 77.5 and population density was 166. Hinduism is the predominant religion (97.0%) while Buddhists (1.9%) and Muslims (0.9%) are the second and third-largest religions respectively. Khas Arya is the largest group of ethnicities, with Bahuns being the most populous group at 32.8% of the population and

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration from ...

s at 18.2%. Magars are at 18.1%. Khas Dalit is the third-largest group with Kamis at 11.3%, Sarki 6.1% and

Damai Damai ( ne, दमाइँ) is an occupational caste found among Khas people. They comprise 45 subgroups. Their surnames take after the subgroup they belong to. People belonging to this caste are traditionally tailors and musicians. They are ade ...

at 3.2%. Other non-Magar Janajatis are Kumal at 3.4% and

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisat ...

at 2.8% of the population.

Geography and climate

Arghakhanchi lies between 27'45"N and 28'6"N latitude, and 80'45"E to 83'23"E longitude. It covers 1,193 km. The altitude of the district varies from 305 to 2515 meter above the sea level. 68% of the district is in the mountainous Mahabharat Range and the rest is in the Siwalik Hills. Elevations range from 305 to 2575 m above sea level and about 40% of the total area is forested. The major rivers of the district are Bangi Khola, Bangsari Khola, Mathurabesi Khola, Banganga Khola, Durga Khola, Sita Khola, Khakabesi Khola, Rangsing Khola, Ratne Khola, Jhimruk Khola, Khankbesi Khola and Thada Khola. Thada lake and Sengleng lake are the major lakes of the district.

Administration

The district consists of six municipalities, out of which three are urban municipalities * Sandhikharka Municipality * Sitganga Municipality * Bhumikasthan Municipality * Chhatradev Rural Municipality *

Panini Rural Municipality Panini is a Rural municipality located within the Arghakhanchi District of the Lumbini Province of Nepal. The municipality spans of area, with a total population of 23,424 according to a 2011 Nepal census. On March 10, 2017, the Government of ...

* Malarani Rural Municipality

Towns and villages

The major town in the district is

which is the headquarter of Arghakhanchi district. It is almost southwest of Nepal's capital of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. There are many small villages in the district, including Mareng, Bhagawati,

Asurkot Asurkot is a village in Arghakhanchi District in Lumbini Province of western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census, the village had a population of 2500 living in 434 houses. At the time of the 2001 Nepal census The 2001 Nepal census ( ne, � ...

, Chhatradev Arghakhanchi, Chhatragunj Arghakhanchi Lamchi, Balkot, Bangi, Dharapani,

Dhikura Dhikura is a small town in Arghakhanchi District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census, the town had a population of 3996 living in 728 houses. At the time of the 2001 Nepal census The 2001 Nepal census ( ne, � ...

, Dibharna, Khanchikot, Kimadada, Kura, Phudbang,

Bangla Bangla (Bengali: বাংলা) may refer to: *Bengali language, an eastern Indo-Aryan language *The endonym of Bengal, a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia *''Bangla-'', a prefix indicating Bangladesh Businesses and organ ...

, Adguri, Khana, Khanadaha, Pali, and Dhatiwang. Hatari Neta is a government school in Arghakhanchi. They are said to have good facilities in terms of roads, electric power, education, etc. Villages in the west and south part of the district have relatively little development as compared to the villages of the north and east side. Sano Gaun is the most popular place for visit. Lamchi is another popular village in Arghakhanchi. Deurali temple is in the area and so are Supa Deurali, Argha Mandir and other temples.

References

External links

*
Arghakhanchi.com news portal
{{Authority control Districts of Nepal established in 1962