Kurukshetra district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Kurukshetra.
Kurukshetra district
कुरुक्षेत्र जिला
ਕੁਰੂਕਸ਼ੇਤਰ ਜਿਲਾ
District of Haryana

Location of Kurukshetra district in Haryana
Country India
State Haryana
Headquarters Kurukshetra
Tehsils 1. Thanesar, 2. Shahabad 3. Pehowa
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituencies Kurukshetra (shared with Yamuna Nagar and Kaithal districts)
 • Assembly seats 4
Area
 • Total 1,683 km2 (650 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 964,231
 • Density 570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
 • Urban 26.10
Demographics
 • Literacy 69.88
 • Sex ratio 866
Website Official website

Kurukshetra district (Hindi: कुरुक्षेत्र जिला; Punjabi: ਕੁਰੂਕਸ਼ੇਤਰ ਜਿਲਾ) is one of the 21 districts of Haryana state in northern India. The town of Kurukshetra, a sacred place for the Hindus, is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district occupies an area of 1682.53 km². The district has a population of 825,454 (2001 census). This district is part of Ambala division.

Origin of name

The Kurukshetra war depicted in a manuscript of the Mahabharata

The district derived its name from the ancient region of Kurukshetra, which literally means the land of the Kurus. It is believed that the Kurukshetra war described in the Mahabharata Puranas and the war was fought here and Shree Krishna preached the Bhagavat Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield before the war.

History

The district was carved out from the erstwhile Karnal district in 1973. Later some parts of this district were transferred to Kaithal and Yamuna Nagar districts at the time of their creation.

Divisions

Kurukshetra district comprises two sub-division: Thanesar and Pehowa. Thanesar sub-division comprises two tehsils, Thanesar and Shahabad and two sub-tehsils, Ladwa and Babain. Pehowa sub-division consists of Pehowa tehsil and Ismailabad sub-tehsil. The significant towns in this district are Kurukushetra, Thanesar and Pehowa. Due to its location at the Punjab border it has a substantial Sikh population also

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Kurukshetra district has a population of 964,231,[1] roughly equal to the nation of Fiji[2] or the US state of Montana.[3] This gives it a ranking of 452nd in India (out of a total of 640).[1] The district has a population density of 630 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,600/sq mi) .[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.81%.[1] Kurukshetra has a sex ratio of 889 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 76.7%.[1] Hindi & Punjabi are the major spoken languages in the region.

Education

Kurukshetra University was established as a unitary residential university at Kurukshetra in 1956. The Regional Engineering College at Kurukshetra was established in 1963, which was later renamed as National Institute of Technology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  2. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Fiji 883,125 July 2011 est.
  3. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Montana 989,415
 Patiala district, Punjab Ambala district
Yamuna Nagar district
   Kurukshetra district  
Kaithal district Karnal district

Coordinates: 29°58′12″N 76°51′00″E / 29.97000°N 76.85000°E / 29.97000; 76.85000

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