Sitamarhi is one of the districts in the Mithila region of the Indian state of Bihar, India. Dumra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is a part of the Tirhut Division and is located along the border of Nepal.
History
This place is considered as birthplace of Sita, the main character of the epic Ramayana and a temple dedicated to Sita lies near Sitamarhi town.[2] A Rock cut sanctuary of Mauryan period is found near Sitamarhi.[3]
In 1875, a Sitamarhi subdistrict was created within the Muzaffarpur district.[4] Sitmarhi was detached from Muzaffarpur and became a separate district as of 11 December 1972.[5] It is situated in the northern part of Bihar. The district headquarters is located in Dumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi.[clarification needed]
The district was a part of the Red Corridor.The Indian government recently declared it naxal-free.
Communal riots
Sitamarhi district has a history of communal riots dating back to the partition of India.[7] In 1948, violence broke out in Belsand, following by riots in 1959 over issue of the Mahavir Flag; roughly 50 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Further violence occurred around the issue of Durga Mela - these riots began after a false rumour that Muslims had slaughtered a cow, which was eventually found alive. Another riot in 1959 on the issue of cow slaughter killed 11 people, again mostly Muslims, and destroyed 200 houses. Subsequent riots occurred in 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1989.
Geography
Sitamarhi district occupies an area of 2,294 square kilometres (886 sq mi),[8] comparatively equivalent to Australia's Groote Eylandt.[9]
National Highway 77 connects the area to the Muzaffarpur district and Patna to the South. Sitamarhi has road connections to adjoining districts, of which the major examples are National Highway 77 and National Highway 227. It is situated on the Darbhanga Narkatiaganj railway line and has the largest railway station of the district. Another broad gauge track, running between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi. Direct train services are available to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Hyderabad and Kanpur. State highways link it to the Madhubani (to the east) and Sheohar (to the west) districts. Railway lines connect Sitamarhi to Darbhanga in east, and to Muzaffarpur in the south and to Raxaul in the west. Sitamarhi has a railway junction. Sitamarhi railway station is on the Raxaul-Darbhanga rail route.
The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Darbhanga Airport which is about 70 km from Sitamarhi.
According to the 2011 census Sitamarhi district has a population of 3,423,574,[13] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[14] or the US state of Connecticut.[15] This gives it a ranking of 96th in India (out of a total of 640).[13] The district has a population density of 1,491 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,860/sq mi).[13] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 27.47%.[13] Sitamarhi has a sex ratio of 899 females for every 1000 males,[13] and a literacy rate of 53.53%. 5.56% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 11.85% and 0.09% of the population respectively.[13]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 33.46% of the population spoke Hindi, 13.96% Urdu and 3.25% Maithili as their first language. 49.14% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Hindi.[16] The main language of the region is the Bajjika dialect of Maithili.
Notable people
Ramcharitra Rai Yadav – Freedom Fighter, Indian Politician, Veteran Socialist Leader and Former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was the First MLA from Sursand Constituency, Sitamarhi, Bihar during India's First General Election in 1951-1952, which took place after India gained independence.
