Amethi is one of the 75 districts of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This district is a part of Ayodhya division in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. It covers an area of 2,329.11 km2.[4] Gauriganj is the administrative headquarters of the district.[5]

Amethi district
Location of Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh
Location of Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh
Coordinates (Amethi): 26°19′N 81°38′E / 26.317°N 81.633°E / 26.317; 81.633
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
DivisionAyodhya
District Formation1 July 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-01)
HeadquartersGauriganj
Government
 • Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)Kishori Lal Sharma, INC
 • Lok Sabha constituencyAmethi (Lok Sabha constituency)
 • Vidhan Sabha constituencies
 • District MagistrateNisha Anant, IAS[2]
 • Superintendent of PoliceAnoop Kumar Singh, IPS[3]
Area
 • Total2,329.11 km2 (899.27 sq mi)
Population
 • Total2,050,133
 • Density880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy59.14% (2011)
 • Sex ratio908/1000 /
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationUP-36
Websiteamethi.nic.in

It is better known due to being the seat of power of the Indian Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty since 1980. The former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, his grandsons Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi (the sons of Indira Gandhi), Rajiv's widow Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul Gandhi have, at one time or another, represented this constituency.[6] However, this changed in 2019 when Rahul was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections by former TV actress Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[7] Irani was defeated in 2024 by Kishori Lal Sharma of Indian National Congress.[8]

Overview

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Amethi was the 72nd district of Uttar Pradesh which came into existence on 1 July 2010 by merging three tehsils of the erstwhile Sultanpur district namely Amethi, Gauriganj and Musafirkhana and two tehsils of the erstwhile Raebareli district, namely, Salon and Tiloi.[9] In 2013, however the Salon sub-district moved from Amethi district back to Raebareli district in Lucknow division.[10]

Amethi is a major town of district and also a municipal board.[9]

History

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Amethi lies on the Raebareli-Amethi-Sultanpur road about 40 km south-west of Sultanpur city. Also called as Raipur-Amethi, of which Raipur belonged to the Raja of Amethi who lived at Ram Nagar. His ancestors used to live in Raipur-Phulwari where the old fort is still found. Here is also a temple called Hanumangarhi and a mosque both built about hundred years ago. About three kilometres north of Ram Nagar there is a tomb of the famous poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi (best remembered for his epic composition Padmavat) where he died, and the fort was built by Bandhalgoti Rajas.[11]

Change of status and name

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Chief minister Mayawati had ordered formation of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar district on 21 May 2003 but following a change of guard her arch political rival Mulayam Singh Yadav had scrapped it on 23 November the same year. The Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar district included within it five tehsils of Sultanpur and Rae Bareli districts which form part of Amethi constituency. In December 2003, a lawyer of Amethi, Uma Shankar Pandey, had challenged the order scrapping the formation of the district in the High Court.[12]

BSP won the 2007 Uttar Pradesh state legislative assembly election and Chief Minister Mayawati ordered the formation of the district again. The district came into existence on 1 July 2010 by merging three  tehsils of the erstwhile Sultanpur district, namely, Amethi, Gauriganj and Musafirkhana and two tehsils of the erstwhile Raebareli district, namely, Salon and Tiloi and was named as Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar.[9]

Demographics

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Religions in Amethi district (2011)[13]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
79.26%
Islam
20.06%
Other or not stated
0.68%
Distribution of religions

In the 2011 Indian census used the old district definitions, and so did not list Amethi district.[14] The sub-districts (tehsils) that form Amethi district had the following populations:[15][16]

Population of the subdistricts that form Amethi district in the 2011 census.[15][16]
Sub-district name Population in 2011 census District at the time of the 2011 census
Amethi 447,330 Sultanpur
Gauriganj 390,935
Musafirkhana 709,816
Tiloi 502,052 Rae Bareli
Total 2,050,133

Amethi district had a population of 2,050,133. Amethi district had a sex ratio of 976 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 59.14%. 79,759 (3.89%) lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes made up 512,215 (24.98%) of the population.[15][16]

Languages

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Languages in Amethi district (2011 census)[17]

  Hindi (81.32%)
  Awadhi (17.16%)
  Urdu (1.28%)
  Others (0.24%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 81.32% of the population spoke Hindi, 17.16% Awadhi and 1.28% Urdu as their first language. The main language in the district is Awadhi but most people return their language as 'Hindi' on the census.[17]

Transport

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Amethi is connected to the major cities in Uttar Pradesh and North-Eastern India via Indian Railways and roads. It has direct trains connecting with major cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, Haridwar, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Puri, Bhopal, Mumbai and Bangalore. Ayodhya International Airport (84 km [52 mi]) and Prayagraj Airport (104 km [65 mi]) are the nearby airports from Amethi.

A number of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses ply from Amethi.[18]

Education

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University and colleges

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Divisions

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The district comprises 4 tehsils, 13 development blocks, 14 police stations and 401 lekhpal areas.[24]

The district comprises four Vidhan Sabha constituencies, namely, Gauriganj, Jagdishpur, Amethi and Tiloi. All of these are part of Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.[25] It is surrounded by the constituency districts of Ayodhya, Sultanpur and Barabanki.

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "District wise assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh". Myneta.info. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ "District Magistrate". District Amethi, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Officers posted at AMETHI". Uttar Pradesh Police. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  4. ^ "District Amethi,Government of Uttar Pradesh | Famous for Moonj Production | India". Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. ^ "About District | District Amethi,Government of Uttar Pradesh | India". Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Rahul Gandhi says will change face of Amethi, dangles jobs carrot". The Indian Express. PTI. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Smriti Irani defeats Rahul Gandhi in his bastion of Amethi by 55,000 votes". India Today. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Amethi Election Results 2024 Live Updates: Congress's Kishori Lal Sharma defeats BJP's Smriti Irani with 1.67 lakh vote margin". The Times of India. 4 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "History - District Amethi". amethi.nic.in. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  10. ^ Verma, Lalmani (7 June 2013). "Amethi to remain district, but with one less tehsil". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  11. ^ "About Amethi". Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  12. ^ Mahapatra, Dhananjay (1 September 2010). "Victory for Mayawati, can rename Amethi as Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Uttar Pradesh". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  14. ^ C-16 Population By Mother Tongue – Uttar Pradesh (Report). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "District Census Handbook: Sultanpur" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  16. ^ a b c "District Census Handbook: Rae Bareli" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Uttar Pradesh". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  18. ^ "Rahul Gandhi never raised Amethi's problems in Parl: Kumar Vishwas". One India News. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  19. ^ N, Manish (19 March 2020). "अमेठी में बनेगा मेडिकल कॉलेज, स्मृति ईरानी ने सीएम योगी को कहा धन्यवाद". ABP (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  20. ^ "आखिरकार अमेठी में बंद हुई ट्रिपल आईटी". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). 3 August 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Rajarshi Rananjay Singh College Of Pharmacy, Sultanpur". AKTU. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Government Girlas Polytechnic, Amethi". bteup.ac.in. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Rajarshi Rananjay Sinh Institute of Management & Technology, Sultanpur". AKTU. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  24. ^ Khan, Atiq (1 July 2010). "Uttar Pradesh gets one more district". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Constituencies of Amethi". Retrieved 6 December 2018.