Shahdol District

Shahdol District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.With a total area of 5,671 square kilometers and a population of 9,08,148 Shahdol is an important district of Madhya Pradesh. As per globe its is located between north latitude 22º38' to 24º20' and east longitude 30º28' to 82º12'. The town of Shahdol is the district headquarters. The district is part of Rewa Division. Some of the towns in this district are Dhanpuri and Burhar.The Virateshwar Temple in Sohagpur Vangana is the most important tourist destination of Shahdol and a structural masterpiece. The district extends 110 km. from East to West and 170 km. from North to South.

According to 2001 Census, the total population of the district is 908148, out of which 391027 are Scheduled Tribes and 67528 are Scheduled Castes.

History

The etymology of the name as ascertained from the local residents points to its derivation from the name of the one Shahdolwa Ahir of Sohagpur village. The progenitor of the Ex-Illakadar family of Sohagpur, Jamni Bhan was the second son of Maharaja Virbhan Singh of Bagelkhand. He decided to settle at [Sohagpur] and assured maximum facilities to settler around, and also declared that places settled by clearing forests will be named after the pioneer settlers. Shahdolwa Ahir is believed to have settled the former village of Shahdolwa, about 2.5 Km. from the headquarters of Sohagpur after this declaration. Later on, the place used to be the camp site for the Maharaja of Rewa and British officers on tour. More villages were grouped into the village of Shahdol as it grew to a town. The District Headquarters was shifted from Umaria to Shahdol after the merger of princely states took place in 1948.

External links

* [http://shahdol.nic.in Shahdol District]