Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Etymology

The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit, a descendant of Gautam of Mehnagar in pargana Nizamabad, had converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. 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 Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, where he had gone in search of greater influence. His mission was a success, with the royal court eventually awarding him 22

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

s in the Azamgarh region that marked the establishment of a family line which culminated in his descendants becoming

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

s 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 Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. 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 The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and the Ghagahara. Azamgarh district is surrounded by the districts of Mau in the east,

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

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 8 sub-districts, and 22 development blocks. There are 4,106 villages (3,792 inhabited and 314 uninhabited) in the district.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Azamgarh district has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

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 A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 1019 females for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

of 72.69%. 8.53% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 25.39% and 0.20% of the population respectively. Azamgarh district's total population was 3,939,916 as per 2001 census with population density of . 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 Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and additional official is

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. Bhojpuri is the native language of Azamgarh. The Bhojpuri variant of

Kaithi Kaithi (), also called Kayathi (), Kayasthi (), or Kayastani, is a Brahmic script historically used across parts of Northern and Eastern India. It was prevalent in regions corresponding to modern-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. The s ...

is the indigenous script of Bhojpuri language. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 55.58% of the population in the district spoke Bhojpuri, 35.28%

and 8.21%

as their first language.

Government and administration

Tehsil/Town in Azamgarh district

* Azamgarh * Burhanpur * Lalganj * Mehnagar * Nizamabad * Phulpur * Sagri * Martinganj

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).

Education

Colleges

* Government Medical College, Azamgarh. established in 2006 is a state medical college located at Chakrapanpur, Azamgarh. * Government Engineering College, Azamgarh, established in 2000 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

. * Shibli National College, Azamgarh, established in 1883 is affiliated to Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University

Local media

Mostly all major English, Hindi and Urdu dailies including

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

, Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala, Hindustan, Rashtree Sahara, Inquilab, Hausla News, Third eyes, Dainik Manasha Mail. 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

Notable people from Azamgarh district include:-
''NB This list excludes those from Azamgarh itself which are listed in that article''
Azmi is a common toponymic surname among Indian Muslims from Azamgarh. * Abdul Haq Azmi (1928–2016), Indian Islamic scholar, cousin-uncle of Rana Ayyub * Abdul Lateef Azmi (1917–2002), Indian Urdu writer * Abu Azmi (born 1955), Indian politician, MLA from Maharashtra and former Member of Rajya Sabha * Ahmad Ali Barqi Azmi (born 1954), Indian Urdu poet * Azizullah Azmi (1929–2010), Indian politician, MP of Lok Sabha * Baba Azmi, Indian film cinematographer, husband of Tanvi Azmi * Habib al-Rahman al-'Azmi (1901-1992), Indian Islamic scholar of hadith and fiqh * Iliyas Azmi (born 1934), Indian politician, MP of Lok Sabha * Kaifi Azmi (1919–2002) was an Indian Urdu poet, husband of

Shaukat Azmi Shaukat Kaifi (21 October 1926 – 22 November 2019), also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. The couple were leading lights of the Indian People's Th ...

and father of

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...

* Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi (1927–1978), Indian Urdu poet and literary critic * Mohammed Badi Uzzaman Azmi (1939–2011), British-Pakistani television and film actor * Muhammad Mustafa Azmi (1930–2017), Indian Islamic scholar of hadith * Mushtaq Ahmed Azmi (1919–2011), Indian adult educationist and UNESCO official * Obaidullah Khan Azmi (born 1949), Indian politician, MP of Rajya Sabha * Seema Azmi, Indian actress of film and stage * Shahid Azmi (1977–2010), Indian human rights lawyer * Shakeel Azmi (born 1971), Indian Urdu lyricist and poet * Waqar Azmi (born 1970), British-Indian civil servant * Shaikh Shamim Ahmed Azmi (1938–2019), former MLA and

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

leader from Mumbai * Qamaruzzaman Azmi (born 1946), Indian Islamic scholar * Saeed-ur-Rahman Azmi Nadvi (born 1934), Indian Islamic scholar * Mirza Aslam Beg - Chief of army staff of

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

in 1987–1991 * Bisram, Bhojpuri writer and poet * 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 * Zafarul Islam Khan - Chairman of Delhi Minority Commission,

Author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

Journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

based in New Delhi. He is currently editor and publisher of The Milli Gazette *

Wahiduddin Khan Wahiduddin Khan (1 January 1925 – 21 April 2021), known with the honorific "Maulana", was an Indian Islamic scholar and peace activist and author known for having written a commentary on the Quran and having translated it into contemporary E ...

- Indian Islamic Scholar and peace activist known for having written a commentary on the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and having translated it into contemporary English. He has been listed in the 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world. Padma Bhusan * 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) * Badri Nath Prasad, mathematician, founder of The Allahabad Mathematical Society * Vibhuti Narain Rai - former IPS officer and former Vice-Chancellor - Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya * Ahmad Salahuddin (1937-1996), Indian

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, founder director of Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit at AMU in 1984. * 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) * Vinod K. Singh - (

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

), director - Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal. * Ayodhya Prasad Upadhyay - Hindi poet - from Nizamabad * Balram Yadav, Indian politician, MLC ( Member of Legislative Council), former cabinet minister (Uttar Pradesh) and general secretary of

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...

* Sangram Yadav - politician, MLA from Atraulia Assembly constituency * Kausar Yazdani - Islamic scholar born 1935.

Notes

References

External links

{{Uttar Pradesh Districts of Uttar Pradesh