Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : 232
Sex Ratio Rank : 282 (Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : C (HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 196 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 477 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Challenges of the district : Our research with local communities
Basti is a very backward district of India.
The educational facilities provided by government is unsatisfactory
The quality of education is very poor.
There are very few teachers in the schools.
Unemployment is a major problem faced by us. It needs urgent assistance.
Government schemes and policies are not properly implemented. This
is the main reason for Basti to remain still backward.
Brief About District
ORIGIN OF NAME OF DISTRICT
The tract comprising the present district was remote
and much of it was covered with forest. But gradually the area
became inhabitant, or want of recorded and aunthetic history it
cannot, with any degree of certainty, be said how the district
came to known by its present name on account of the original habitation
(Basti) having being selected by the Kalhan Raja as a seat of
his Raj, an event which probably occurred in the sixteenth century.
With the passage of time, the place prospered and in 1801 it became
the Tehsil headquarter and was chosen as the district headquarter
of the newly established district in 1865. Since then it has steadily
grow both in population and in general importance.
ANCIENT HISTORY
In ancient times the country around Basti was known
as Kosala.The Shatpath Brahman speaks of Kosala as one of the
countries of the Vadic Aryans and the grammarian Panini mentions
it in one of his Sutras. It was the in RAM CHANDRA the eldest
son of Dashratha, that the glory of the Kosala royal density reach
its culmination. He is credited with the establishment of an ideally
lawful state, the proverbial RAM RAJYA . In Kosala itself Rama's
elder son Kush ascended the thrown of Ayodhya and the younger
son Love became the ruler of the northern part of the kingdom
with it capital Shrawasti. In the 93rd generation from Ikshvaku
and 30th from Rama was Brihadbala, the las famous king of the
Ikshvaku density who was killed in Great Mahabharta battle.
With the decline of the Guptas in sixth century A.D., Basti also
began gradually to become desolate. At this time a new dynasty,
that of the Maukharies, with its capital as Kannauje, assumed
an important position on the political map of northern India and
perhaps this kingdom in included present district also.
In the beginning of the 9th century A.D., the Gurjara Pratihara
king, Nagbhatta II, overthrew the Ayodhyas who was then ruling
at Kannauj, and made this city the capital of his growing empire
which rose to its greatest height in the reign of the famous Mihirbhoj(836-885
A.D.). From the time of Mahipal the power of Kannauj become to
decline and Avadh was divided into small chieftainships, but all
of them had ultimately to yield to newly growing power of Gahadwals
of Kannauj. Jaychandra(1170-1194 A.D.), the last important ruler
of the dynasty was killed in the battle of Chandawar(near Etawah)
fighting against the invading army of Shahabuddin Mohd. Gauri.
Soon after his death Kannauj occupied by the Turks.
According to legends, for centuries Basti was a wilderness and
that greater part of Avad was occupied by the Bhars. No definite
evidence is available about the Bhars origin and early history.
The evidence of an extensive Bhar kingdom in the district can
be gleaned only from the ruins of ancient brick buildings popularly
ascribed to the Bhars and found extant in a number of villages
of this district.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY
In the beginning of the 13th century, Nasir-ud-din
Mahmud, the elder son of Iltutmish, became the governor of Avad
in 1225 and is said to have completely crushed all resistance
on the part of the Bhars. In 1323, Gayasuddin Tuglaq march through
Behriech and Gonda on his way to Bengal but he seems to have avoided
the perils of the forest of district Basti and gone by river from
Ayodhya. In 1479 Basti and adjoining district appear to have remained
under control of the successor of Khawaja Jahan who was ruler
of kingdom of Jaunpur. Bahlol Lodi handed over the charge of the
government of this reign on his nephew Kala Pahar Formula with
headquarters at Behraich and which fairly included the district
of Basti and adjoining parts.
About this time, Mahatma Kabir, the well known poet and philosopher
lived at Maghar in this district.
It is said that before the advent of the leading Rajput clans,
there were the local Hindus and Hindu Rajas in the districts and
they are said to have supplanted the aboriginal tribes like Bhars,
Tharus, Domes and Domekatars, whom general tradition declares
to have been the early rulers, atleast after the fall of ancient
kingdoms and this appearance of the Buddhist faith. These Hindus
included the Bhumihars, Sarvariya Brahmans and Visen. This was
the state of the Hindu society in the district before the arrival
of the Rajputs from the west. In the middle of the 13th century
the Srinetra was the newcomer to have first established in this
reign. Their chief, Chandrasen, expel the Domkatar from the eastern
Basti. The Kalhans Rajput of Gonda province established themselves
in Pargana Basti. South of the Kalhans country lay Nagar, Ruled
by a Gautam Raja. There was also an ailed clan in Mahuli known
as Mahsuiyas are Rajputs of Mahso.
Other Rajput clan of special mention was that of Chauhan.It is
said that three chief Mukund fled from Chittaur who ruled on undivided
part(now it is in district Siddharthnagar) of district Basti.
By the last quarter of the 14th century Amorha a part of district
Basti were ruled by Kayasth dynasty.
During the reign of Akbar and his successor the district formed
a part of the Sarkar Gorakhpur. In the earlier days of his reign
the district served as the asylum for the rebel Afgan leaders
like Ali Quli Khan, Khan Zaman, the governor of Jaunpur. During
the Moghal period in 1680 Aurangzeb sent one Qazi Khalil-ur-Rahman
as the chakledar ( holder of the tract ) of Gorakhpur probably
to get the regular payment of revenue from the local chiefs. Kalil-ur-Rahman
marched from Ayodhya to force the chieftains of the districts
adjoining Gorakhpur to make payment of revenue. As a result of
this move, the rajas of Amorha and Nagar, who had recently acquired
power, promptly tendered their submission and confrontation was
thus averted. The governor then proceeded to Maghar which he again
garrisoned, compelling the raja of Bansi to retire to this fortress
on the bank of Rapti. The town of Khalilabad, now headquarters
of newly created district Sant Kabir Nagar, was named after Khalil-ur-Rahman,
who tomb was erected at Maghar. A road leading from Ayodhya to
Gorakhpur was constructed. In February 1690, Himmat Khan ( son
of Khan Jahan Bahadur Zafar jang Kokaltash, subahdar of Allahabad
) was appointed subahdar of Avadh and faujdar (military commander
) of Gorakhpur who held the charge of Basti and adjoining districts
for a long time.
MODERN HISTORY
A great and far reaching change came over the sense
when Saadat Khan was appointed governor of the subah of Avadh
including the faujdari (commaandarship) of Gorakhpur on 9th September,
1772. At that time Bansi and Rasulpur were held by the Sarnet
raja; Binayakpur by the Chauhan chieftain of Butwal; Basti by
the Kalhan ruler; Amorha by the Kayastha raja; Nagar by the Gautams;
Mahuli by the elder line of Suryavamsis; while Maghar alone was
under the direct control of the nawab's deputy, who was strengthened
by the Muslim garrison.
In November 1801 Saadat Ali Khan, successor of Nawab Shujauddaula
surrendered Gorakhpur, which then was inclusive of the present
district Basti and other territory to the East India Company.
Routledge had become as a first Collector of Gorakhpur.Some steps
had been taken by Collector to inforce some order in the matter
of collection of land revenue yet in order to assist the process
a force was raised in March, 1802 by Caption Malcolm Mcleod. To
cure the local chieftains of their obstinate attitude all their
Fords, save those of Basti and Amorha Raja, were raise to ground.
The part played by the Basti in the freedom struggle of 1857
is generally not ascribable exclusively; as the district was still
forming but an outlying portion of Gorakhpur, possessing no civil
station of its own. After capture of Gorakhpur by the English
on January 5 1858, the freedom fighter had moved west ward an
form double entrenchment at amorha in the south western part of
the district, to obstruct the march of Rowcroft from Gorakhpur.
The army opposed to Rowcroft was composed of about 15000 men entrenched
at Belwa this large army of the nationalists comprised troops
led by Mehndi Hasan the Nazim of Sultanpur, the Rajas of Gonda,
Nanpara, Atrauli and the Raja of Chaurda in the Behriech district
and many other talukdars including Guljar Ali, the rebel Sayyed
of Amorha. In this action at Amorha which was one of the most
memorable events of the freedom struggle, the freedom fighters
were able to encircle the British force oppose to them. In this
struggle the loss freedom forces was estimated between 4 and 5
hundred killed and many others wounded. The position of the freedom
forces at Amorha was reinforced by Mohammad Hasan of Gorakhpur
who had join them later, with four thousand men. Rowcroft, hearing
the arrival of Mohd. Hasan at Amorha, sent a detachment, under
Major Cox. These were the events which had marked the conclusion
of the freedom movement, so for the Basti was concerned
With the restoration of order and the discomfiture of the freedom
fighters came the day of reckoning, and a heavy account had to
be settled. Mohd. Hasan escaped the hard of the victors in consideration
of his assistance once given to Colonel Lennox. The Bobu of Bakhira
was hanged and the Raja of the Nagar avoided a similar fate by
staving himself to death in prison with the bayonet of the prison
guard. The Rani of Amorha lost her property for her complicity
in the war independence which was given to Rani of Basti. The
agent of Basti Rani was given land assessed at Rs. 1000=00. Similarly
several others who had supported the British in some way or other
betraying the freedom fighters, were awarded grants of land. The
supporters of the freedom movement having been suppressed and
the leaders annihilated, the alien rulers settled down to organised
the civil administration. The peace of the district was secured
by the maintenance of a garrison at Gorakhpur and also by the
recognised police force. The one event of prime interest was the
formation of the present district on the sixth of May, 1865.
The Non-Co-operation Movement begin to appear in the district
towards the close of 1920. In the preparation for this movement
Mahatma Gandhi along with Jawahar Lal Nehru had visited the district
on October 8, 1919. He had addressed a large gathering at Hathiyagarh
Rehar near old town of district Basti. Fortunately for India's
struggle for freedom, the fatal inertia that had practically put
an end, after calling off the Non-co-operative movement, to all
its outwards activities, was removed by an action of the British
government, namely the appointment of Siman Commission in 1928.
The people of this district received a fresh impetus with the
next visit of Mahatma Gandhi along with Jawahar Lal Nehru on October
8, 1929.
The Quit India resolution pass by All India Congress Committee
in its session at Bombay on August 8, 1942, marked the turning
point in India's struggle for freedom. In Basti the movement had
taken a serious turn. It was due to several causes, particularly
the poverty of the people and nearness of the area to the B.H.U.
at Varansi, from where batches of students arrive with the message
of Do or Die. The students of Walterganj staged demonstration
and organised meeting on august 15, 1942. A few days later the
Railway station at Gaur was attacked causing damage to government
property.
In 1946 the Congress was again returned and it formed the Government.
Then the came the long cherished dream of Independence true on
the midnight of August 14-15, 1947. On the ave of Independence,
thousands from the town and surrounding country side assembled
at district headquarter Basti to hail freedom. National flag was
hoisted at the Collectorate and other government and semi government
buildings,private buildings too, throughout the district were
bedecked with flag.
TOPOGRAPHY
The district,in spite of its apparent uniformity of
aspect, it divided topographically into several distinct tract
namely, the low valley of the Ghaghra in the south, extending
from that river to its tributary, the Kuwana; the central upland
,between the latter river and the rapti; and the low and ill-drained
paddy belt between the Rapti and the Nepal boundary.
RIVER SYSTEM AND WATER RESOURCES
The district has two main river systems namely, the
Ghaghra and Rapti, both of which ultimately form a part of the
great Gangetic system. The other streams of the district are the
Kuwana,its tributaries are, the Rawai, The Manwar and the Katnehia,
and the Ami is a tributary of Rapti.
The Ghaghra
River Ghaghra is formed by the combined waters of Kauriyala,Girwa,
Chauka and other streams, which have their origin in the mountains
of Kumaun and Nepal. The Ghaghra forms the southern boundary of
the district, from its entry opposite the sacred town of Ayodhya,where
for a short distance it is usually known as the Saryu,as far as
Belghat on the border of Gorakhpur. The river flows continually
shifting cannel within a broad sandy bed. During the rains it
carries as immense volume of water, but in dry weather it shrinks
to small dimensions. The river has a constant tendency to change
its course during the floods, and in this manner large tracts
of land from time to time are transferred either to the northern
or southern banks, rendering the total area of the district subject
to incessant variation. These changes have occasionally been accompanied
by the formation of large islands and deep stream rule prevails,
the constant shifting of the jurisdiction of such lands from one
district to another results in considerable inconvenience.
Tributaries of the Ghaghra:- The Ghaghra receives directly hardly
any of the drainage of the district, as exception the immediate
neighborhood of its bands, all the surplus water is intercepted
by its affiance. Occasionally the river overflows its banks and
submerges the adjoining lowlands, with the result the water is
actually transferred from the river to the Manwar or Kuwana. The
latter, in its lower reaches near Bhanpur, is joined with the
Ghaghra by cross channel and from that point onwards it acts as
an arm of the Ghaghra.
The Kuwana
The Kuwana also known as Kuano, rises in the low ground
in the east of Bahraich district and thence flows through the
centre of Gonda. It first touches the district in the stream west
of Rasulpur. It then separates the Basti east pargana from Basti
West, Nagar West, Nagar East and after passing through Mahuli
West and Mahuli East leaves the district in the south-Easter corner,
at short distance from its junction with the Ghaghra in Gorakhpur
TRIBUTARIES OF THE KUWANA
It has several tributaries, the important ones being Rawai,Manwar
and Katnehia.sees in the
The rawai
The Rawai joins the Kuwana on the right bank and is a small stream
which rises in the north of Amorha and thence flows between steep
and sandy banks frequently infected with reh, through the western
half of paragana Basti for a short distance and ultimately joins
the Kawana.
The Manwar
The Manwar Manorama, rises in Gonda and flows in an easterly direction
along the edge of Sikri forest to the district boundary. For a
short distance it separates the latter district from Gonda and
is then joined by the Chamnai, a small and sluggish stream. after
the junction the Manwar bents to the south-east and flows through
the centre of pargana Amorha, on the eastern boundary of which
it receives a small tributary called Ramrekha on its right bank.
It then passes through the two paraganas of Nagar East and Nagar
West and joins the Kawana in Lalganj in Mahuli West.
The Kathnaya
The only tributary of any importance that is received by the Kuwana
on its left bank is the Katnehia, which rises in the swamps to
the north of Basti East and flows in the south easterly direction
along the borders of the Nagar East, where it units with the Garehia,
a similar stream which has its origin in the south of Rasulpur.
Their combined water continues in a south easterly direction along
the borders of Nagar East and Mahuli West parganas, then turning
south to join the Kuwana at Mukhlishpur in Mahuli East.
The Ami
The Ami is the chief tributary of the Rapti. The Ami is a stream
which commences at a short distance from Rapti in Rasulpur and
issues from a large tract of paddy land.
GEOLOGY
The district is underlain by Quaternary alluvium comprising and
of various grades, gravel, kankar and clay. The Alluvium can be
classified into two groups, the Older alluvium and the Newer alluvium.
Older alluvium:- It is of middle Pleistocene age and generally
occupies high ground which is not affected by floods during the
rainy season.
The Newer alluvium:- It covers the lower height and is mainly
conferred to the flood plains along the river channels and belongs
to the upper Pleistocene to the recent age.
Minerals
Kankar:- Substantial deposits of kankar are available in the tahsil
of Harriya only.
Reh:- Reh is also reported from some localities of the district.
CLIMATE
The climate of the district is more equable than the adjoining
districts to the south.The year may be divided into four seasons.
The winter season, from mid-November to February is followed by
the summer season lasting till about the middle of June. The period
from mid-June to the end of September constitutes the south-west
mansoon season. October to mid-November is the post mansson or
transition period.
Rainfall :- The average annual rainfall in the district is 1166
mm.
Temperature :- During the winter seasons the mean minimum temperature
is about 9 degree Celsius and mean maximum 23 degree Celsius while
during the summer seasons the minimum is about 25 degree Celsius
and mean maximum is about 44 degree Celsius.
Humidity :- In the south-west mansoon and the post mansoon seasons
the relative humidity is high, being above 70 percent. Thereafter
the humidity decreases and in the summer air is very dry.
cloudiness :-During the mansoon season, and for brief spells
of a day or two in association with passing disturbances in winter,
heavily clouded or overcast skies prevail. In the rest of the
year the skies are mostly clear or lightly clouded.
Winds :- Winds are in general very light with a slight increase
in force the late summer and mansoon seasons. The average annual
wind blow in the district is ranging from 2 to 7.1 km/hrs.
Flora & Fauna
FLORA
In the former days a large part of the district was covered with
forest of sal and other trees, but since then most of it has been
cleared and brought under the plough . Though the district is
no longer rich in timber, it can still be described as well-wooded,
owing to the numerous clumps of mango (Mangitera indica), mahua
(Madhuca longifolia), sal (Sorea robusta), and bamboo (Bambusa
arundinacea).
Plantations of fast growing species such as bamboo, Eucalyptus
(Eucalyptus teritrornis), mango and shisham (Dalbergia sissoo)
have been raised in the district.
FAUNA
WILD ANIMALS
The wild animals which are found in this district include the
nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), antelok (Anelok cervicapra),
pig (Sus scrofa), wolf (Canis lupus), jackal (Conis aureus), fox
(Vulpes bengalensis), hare (Lepus ruficandatus), monkey (Macaca
mulatta), wild cat (felis bengalensis) and the porcupine (Hystric
leucura) .
BIRDS
The game - birds of the district include the usual varieties found
through out the plains. Among them mention may be made of the
peafowl(pavo cristatus), the black partridge (frencolinus francolinus)
and the gray partridge(francalinus pondicervanus). Basti is famous
for the number and variety of water fowls which visit it during
the winter season. The goose (Anser anser), comon teal (Anas crecca),
red-cristed pochard duck(netta rufina), white-eyed pochard (aythya
rufa) and widgeon (mareca penelope) visit the district only in
winter and inhabit the fringes of rivers lakes and swamps.
REPTILES
Snakes are common in the district especially in the rural areas,
the chief being the Cobra (Naja Naja), karait (Bungarus caeruleus),
and rat-snake (ptyas mucosus). Indian crocodile or naka (Crocodilus
pulustris), and the ghariyal (gavialis gangeticus) are also found
in the river Ghaghra.
FISH
Fish of almost all the varieties that occur elsewhere in the state
are found in the rivers, lakes and ponds of the district, the
common species being rohu (lebeo rohita), bhakur (Catla catla),
nain (Cirrhina mrigala), parhin (Wallagonia attu), krunch (lebeo
calbasu), tengan (Mystus seenghla) and etc.
