Vaishali district


Vaishali district is a district in Bihar, India. It is a part of Tirhut division.

History

Ancient Vaishali

Vaishali derives its name from King Vishal. Even before the advent of Buddhism and Jainism, Vaishali was the capital of the vibrant Vajji confederation, since before the birth of Mahavira, which suggests that it was the first republic in the world, similar to those later found in ancient Greece. In that period, Vaishali was an ancient metropolis and the capital city of the republic of the Vajji confederation of Mithila, which covered most of the Himalayan Gangetic region of present-day Bihar. Very little is known about the early history of Vaishali. The Vishnu Purana records 34 monarchs of Vaishali, the first being Nabhaga, who is believed to have abdicated his throne over a matter of human rights and believed to have declared: "I am now a free tiller of the soil, king over my acre." The last among the 34 was Sumati, who is considered a contemporary of Dasharatha, father of the Hindu god, Rama.

Post-Independence

Vaishali became a district when it was split from Muzaffarpur in 1972.

Geography

Vaishali district occupies an area of,

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Vaishali one of the country's 250 most backward districts. It is one of the 38 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Vaishali district has a population of 3,495,021, roughly equal to the nation of opurPanama or the US state of Connecticut. This gives it a ranking of 86th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.58%. Vaishali has a sex ratio of 892 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 66.60%.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 95.09% of the population in the district spoke Maithili and 4.80% Urdu as their first language.

Flora and fauna

In 1997 Vaishali district became home to the Barela Salim Ali Zubba Saheni Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of.