Varanasi district is a district in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, with Varanasi city as the district headquarters. It is also called Kashi. According to Hindu and Buddhist mythologies, it is one of the sacred places of pilgrimage for Hindus and Buddhists. It is believed that Lord Shiva along with Parvathi as Vishwanatha and Vishalaakshi reside there to bless devotees. It is surrounded by Mirzapur district, Jaunpur district, Ghazipur district, Chandauli district, and Bhadohi district. The Ganga (Ganges) river flows through the district. It is considered by Hindus to be a sacred and pure river, having the ability to wash away sins when people take a dip in it. Part of the Varanasi division, the district occupies an area of 1,535 square kilometres (593 sq mi) and as of the 2011^[update] Census of India, it had a population of 3,676,841.

Varanasi
District of Uttar Pradesh
Clockwise from top-left: Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath, Dept of Electrical Engineering at IIT-BHU, Ahilyabai Ghat, Ramnagar Fort
Location of Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh
Coordinates: 25°20′N 83°00′E
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
Division	Varanasi
Headquarters	Varanasi
Government
• District Magistrate	Kaushal Raj Sharma
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Varanasi
Area
• Total	1,535 km2 (593 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	3,676,841[1]
• Estimate  (2021)	4,110,000
• Urban	1,597,051 (43.4%)[2]
• Rural	2,079,790 (56.6%)[2]
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Website	varanasi.nic.in

Divisions

The district is made up of four tehsils: Varanasi, Pindra, Ramnagr, and Rajatalab,[3] and eight Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) constituencies: Pindra, Shivpur, Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt., Sevapuri, and Ajagara.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Varanasi district has a population of 3,676,841,[1] This gives it a ranking of 75th in India (out of a total of 640).[1] The district has a population density of 2,399 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,210/sq mi).[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 17.32%.[1] Varanasi has a sex ratio of 909 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 77.05%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 13.24% and 0.78% of the population respectively.[1]

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 76.19% of the population of the district spoke Hindi, 19.68% Bhojpuri, and 3.24% Urdu as their first language.[6] Bhojpuri is the native language of Varanasi, however since it is not recognized officially and seen as a dialect of Hindi, the number of speakers are conflated with Hindi.

Education

Colleges/Institutes

• Indian Institute of Technology (BHU)[7]
• International Rice Research Institute[8]
• National Institute of Fashion Technology (Rae Bareli Extension)[9]
• National School of Drama[10]
• Sunbeam College for Women[11]
• Institute of Medical Sciences - BHU
• Indian Institute of Vegetable Research[12]
• Kashi Institute of Technology (KIT)
• National Seed Research and Training Centre[13]
• Uday Pratap College[14]

Universities

• Banaras Hindu University[15]
• Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
• Jamia Salafia, Varanasi (The Salafi University Of India)
• Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith
• Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varanasi district.

• Official website

На других языках

[de] Varanasi (Distrikt)

[ru] Варанаси (округ)