Welcome to Siwan

Census 2011
District population : 33,30,464
Growth : 22.70%
Sex Ratio : 988
Literacy : 69.45

Brief About Siwan District
Siwan, situated in the western part of the State, was originally a sub-division of Saran District, which in ancient days formed a part of Kosala Kingdom. The present district limits came into existence only in 1972, which is geographically situated at 25º35 North and 84º1 to 84º47 east. The total area of the Siwan district is about 2219.00 Sq. Km. with a population of 21,56,428 as per the 1991 census. The district is bounded on the east by the Saran district, on the north by Gopalganj district and on the west and south by two districts of U.P. viz. Deoria and Balia respectively.

Siwan derived its name from "Shiva Man", a Bandh Raja whose heirs ruled this area till Babar’s arrival. Maharajganj, which is another subdivision of Siwan district, may have found its name from the seat of the Maharaja there. A recently excavated marvelous statue of Lord Vishnu at Village Bherbania from underneath a tree indicates that there were large numbers of followers of Lord Vishnu in the area. As the legend goes, Dronacharya of Mahabharat belonged to village ‘DON’ in Darauli Block. Some believe Siwan to be the place where Lord Buddha died. Siwan is also known as Aliganj Sawan after the name of Ali Bux, one of the ancestors of the feudal lords of the area. Siwan was a part of Banaras Kingdom during 8^th century. Muslims came here in the 13^th century. Sikandar Lodi brought this area in his kingdom in 15^th century. Babar crossed Ghaghra river near Siswan in his return journey. In the end of the 17^th century, the Dutch came first followed by the English. After the battle of Buxar in 1765 it became a part of Bengal. Siwan played an important role in 1857 independence movement. It is famous for the stalwart and sturdy ‘Bhoj-puries’, who have always been noted for their martial spirit and physical endurance and from whom the army and police personnel were largely drawn. A good number of them rebelled and rendered their services to Babu Kunwar Singh. The anti pardah movement in Bihar was started by Sri Braj Kishore Prasad who also belonged to Siwan in response to the Non Co-Operative movement in 1920. A big meeting was organised at Darauli in Siwan District on the eve of the Kartik Purnima Mela under the leadership of Dr. Rajendra Prasad who had thrown away his lucrative practice as an advocate in the Patna High Court at the call of Gandhiji. In the wake of this movement Maulana Mazharul Haque, who came to stay with his maternal uncle Dr. Saiyyad Mahmood in Siwan, had constructed an ashram on the Patna-Danapur road which subsequently became Sadaquat Ashram

The next phase of the Non co-operation movement known as the Civil Disobedience movement of 1930, was fully implemented in Siwan. In connection with the Satyagrah Movement Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru made a whirlwind tour of the different parts of Bihar. One of the famous meetings he addressed was at Maharajganj. A few persons of present Siwan District who played an important role in the attainment of independence were Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Mazharul Haque, Shri Mahendra Prasad the elder brother of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Sayyad Mohammad, Shri Braj Kishore Prasad and Shri Phulena Prasad. Uma Kant Singh (Raman jee) of Narendrapur achieved martyrdom during the Quit India Movement. Jwala Prasad and Narmedshwar Prasad of Siwan helped Jai Prakash Narayan after his escape from Hazaribagh Central Jail. One of the most renowed literaturer of this country Pandit Rahul Sankritayayana started peasant Movement here between 1937 to 1938. During his visit to Champaran Mahatma Gandhi and Madan Mohan Malviya visited Siwan and Gandhiji even spent a night at Zeradei in the house of Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The chowki on which he slept then is still kept intact there.

CHANGES IN THE JURISDICTION OF THE DISTRICT

The major changes in the jurisdiction of the district were creation of Siwan as district and the changes resulting there from, and the implementation of Trivedi Award on the 10^th June, 1970 resulting in substantial alteration of jurisdiction. Siwan was being declared as a district in 1972 in which it was proposed to include 10 blocks of Gopalganj and 13 blocks of Siwan subdivisions. Two blocks Bhagwanpur and Basantpur of Siwan were declared to be added to the jurisdiction of proposed Marhaura subdivision. But after one year later in 1973 Gopalganj was made a separate district with it’s 10 blocks included in Siwan earlier and thus Siwan constituted its original 15 blocks including Bhagwanpur and Basantpur blocks. Trivedi Award was implemented on 10^th June 1970. Thereby fourteen villages of Siwan having an area of 13092 acres were transferred to U.P. and twelve villages of U.P. with an area of 6679 acres were transferred to Siwan. The basis of this transfer was the position of Ghaghara river in 1885. After 1885 the course of the river changed from time to time resulting in intermixing the areas of U.P. with those of Siwan. Hence the position of 1885 was taken to be the base and those transfer were made accordingly. Before the Trivedi Award the boundary of Siwan with U.P. was flexible changing with the course of the river. After the Award this boundary was fixed by installing pillars on the conspicuous points, the maintenance of which is done by Govt. of Utter Pradesh and the administration of Siwan as per the provisions of the Awards. Thus after this Awards, the so far flexible boundary of Siwan vis-a-vis U.P. on both banks of Ghaghara river was given a stability. Presently four more blocks have been created namely Lakri Nabiganj, Nautan, Jiradei and Hasanpura block. Out of these newly created blocks Lakri Nabiganj is functional and rests of the three are not functional. Thus there are sixteen functional blocks in the district Namely - Siwan, Mairwa, Darauli, Guthani, Hussainganj, Andar, Raghunathpur, Siswan, Barharia, Pachrukhi under Siwan subdivision and Maharajganj, Duraondha, Goreakothi, Basantpur, Bhagwanpur and Lakri Nabiganj under Maharajganj subdivision.

Geography
The District of Siwan is spanned over the western part of North Bihar alluvial plain's segment of broader Indo-Gangetic Plain. The geographical location of the district is confined between 250 53' to 260 23' North latitudes and 840 1' to 840 47' East longitude. The Deoria district (U.P.) bound it from west, the Gopalganj district from north, the Saran district from east and by the river Ghaghara (Gogra or Sarayu) from south, beyond which lies the district of Ballia (U.P.). The district is constituted of 15 (1991) Anchals (blocks) covering an area of 2219 sq. km. (856 miles) with a population of 2170971 according to 1991 census. This administrative unit embraces only 1.27 percent of area and 2.54 percent of total population of Bihar. It comprises of 1437 inhabited and 101 uninhabited villages. As regards the sex ratio in the district, 1069 female population comes to per 1000 male population.

Structurally the district forms a part of the alluvium of the broader Indo-Gangetic Plain. The geological formation of the tract is of recent (Holocene) period. The contribution of the Himalayan Rivers to the formation of the tract is significant. It is estimated that the district covers the deposits of alluvium more than 5000 feet depth. geo-morphologically it forms the part of the Gandak cone which is the outcome of the discharge and silt-charge of the Himalayan rivers to the plain during the phase of deposition. The whole district bears a featureless terrain having general slope from northwest to southeast. The slope is almost imperceptible averaging only 8 inches a mile. The datum line of Siwan, the district headquarters, is 64 metres (210 feet) from the sea level.

The district is drained by few small rivers like Jharahi, Daha, Gandaki, Dhamati (Dhamahi), Siahi, Nikari and Sona. The southern boundary of the district is formed by river Ghaghara, the main stream of the area. Among these, Ghaghara is the only perennial river because of its Himalayan source and rest rivers bear different origins. The rivers of the district get inundated almost every year. The area is characterised by certain typical features like 'Chaurs', some of which give birth to short length streams locally known as 'Nadi' or 'Sota'. The rivers Jharahi and Daha are the tributaries of river Ghaghara, while Gandak and Dhamati are of river Gandak. The Siahi and Nikari streams drain to Jharahi, While Sona drains to river Daha. These streams play important role in carrying out excess water during rainy season. Siwan, the district headquarters, is located on the eastern bank of river Daha.

The southern part of the district along river Ghaghara is marked by ‘Draras’, which are typical formation of the sand heaping with thin layer of clay and silt over them. Alluvium and dilution Rae the important works of river Ghaghara in this part, where by boundary problems are created leading to transfer of land to and from the district.

The district of Siwan falls in the area, which occupies an intermediary position between the Bhanger plain of Uttar Pradesh and Khader plain of West Bengal. ‘Bhanger’ ( or Banger ) is the older alluvium containing heavier soil with greater clay proportion, while Khader is the newer alluvial deposit by rier floods, Both types of soils are found in the district, but Khader is limited to the vicinity of the rivers where it is periodically renewed by fresh deposits, especially in “diara” areas. Khader is locally termed as 'Domat' and ‘Bhanger’ as 'Balsundari'. The Bhanger contains nodular segregations of carbonate of lime known as 'Kankar'. The soil is in many places sulfurous and extraction of saltpeter has long been an important industry. The saltpeter industry has disappeared with the march of time and changing phase of development.

The district gets its place in the transitional zone of drier climatic condition of Uttar Pradesh and moist climatic condition of West Bengal, but nearness to U.P. gives way to experience comparatively drier climatic condition. The area observes hot westerly winds which start in March and last till May, but in April and May light, damp easterly winds blow intermittently and afternoon storms accompanied with rain take the place of the rainless dust storms of U.P. The summer season experiences 'Loo' during May and June having temperature above 1000F (380C), Since the district is in transitional zone the Monsoon rain starts late here, but earlier than U.P., and persists till September. This period provides maximum rain to the area. July and August are the oppressive months due to heat intermixed with high humidity. The winter season is normally pleasant with low temperature. During this period western depressions sometimes give small quantity of rain, which intensifies the existing coldness into chill. The average annual rainfall for 51 years at Siwan is 120 centimeters ( 47 inches).

Flora Fauna
Siwan district is mainly a plain and fertile agricultural land. It has highest temperature in May and lowest temperature in January. The highest rainfall period is August and September. In summer it often faces cyclones.

Plants and Herbs
First of all Mr. M. H. Hens who was then forest conservator collected plants but Siwan District does not appear in his articles. At that time it was a Sub-Division of the Saran District. The land of Siwan cannot be divided into botanical zones.

Crops

Crops are cultivated in the district as per the seasons. There are mainly two major crops .i.e. Khariff and Rabi.

Khariff	Its period is June to September and the main crops are Maize, Paddy, Sugarcane, and Millet etc.
Rabi	Its period is October to March and the, Main crops are Wheat, Grams, Peas, Mustards, Soya beans, Sunflower etc.

March - January - During this period mainly Kidney beans and summer paddy is grown.

Fruits
The main fruits are Mango, Guava, Banana, and Papaya. The other fruits that are grown are Pomegranate, big and small Lemon. Amla are also found in some places
.

Vegetables
Vegetables are also grown according to the season.

Winter season	Potato, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Reddish, Spinach, Carrot, Brinjal, Tomato, Bottle gourd, Pumpkins etc are grown in this season.
Rainy Season	Ladyfinger, Bitter gourd, “Ghewara” etc are grown during this season.

Trees
The district has no forest area. The trees that are found in orchards and roadsides are Mango, Litchi, Eucalyptus, Pipal, banyan, Shisham. Neem, Ashok, Coconut, Palmyra etc.

Flowers
The flowers that are found are Rose, Fern & Cactus, various types of Croton, Jasmine, Lily, Christhemum etc