Banswara district

Banswara District has an area of 5,037 km², 1.47% of Rajasthan state, India. The city of Banswara is the district headquarters. It is bounded on the north by Udaipur District, on the northeast by Chittorgarh District, on the east and southeast by Madhya Pradesh state, on the southwest by Gujarat state, and on the west by Dungarpur District.

Origin of name

The district is named after the former Princely State of Banswara. There are two traditions regarding the etymology of Banswara. According to one tradition, it is derived from the name of the Bhil chief Bansia who ruled over this area before being killed by Maharaval Jagmal Singh in 1529 CE. According to the other tradition, the name is derived from the "Bans Vara" (the country of bamboos) due to the abundance of bamboos in the dense forests of this region.

History

The present district was formed on August 15, 1949 CE as a part of Udaipur division of the newly formed United State of Rajasthan [Sharma, Nidhi. "Transition from Feudalism to Democracy", Aalekh Publishers, Jaipur, 2000, ISBN 81-87359-06-4, p.93] by merging the Princely State of Banswara and the Chiefship of Kushalgarh, both of which were part of Mewar & Southern Rajputana States Agency before independence.

Geography

Banswara is part of the Vagad region of southern Rajasthan, which includes Banswara and Dungarpur districts. The region is mainly inhabited by tribals, predominantly Bhils. Banswara and Dungarpur are combilnely called VAGAR, and in both the places local language is VAGRI.

The District lies in the Mahi River basin. The Mahi flows north through the district from its origin in the Vindhya Range of Madhya Pradesh, entering the district from the southeast and flowing north towards the northern end of the district, where it turns southwest to form the boundary between Banswara and Dungarpur districts before entering Gujarat and emptying into the Gulf of Cambay.

Banswara District has rich flora and fauna. The forests include mainly teak. The wildlife includes a large variety of wild animals like leopard, chinkara, etc. Common birds in the region are fowl, partridge, black drongo, grey shrike, green bee-eater, bulbul, parrot etc.

Divisions

Banswara district is divided into 3 sub-divisions, which are further divided into 5 tehsils and 8 development blocks. Banswara sub-division consists Banswara and Garhi tehsils, Ghatol sub-division consists Ghatol tehsil and Kushalgarh sub-division consists Kushalgarh and Bagidora tehsils. The 8 development blocks in the district are: Talwara, Garhi, Ghatol, Peepal Khunt, Bagidora, Anandpuri, Kushalgarh and Sajjangarh.

The district consists 5 Vidhan Sabha constituencies, Kushalgarh, Danpur, Ghatol, Banswara and Bagidora. All of them along with 3 other Vidhan Sabha constituencies from Dungarpur district are part of the lone Lok Sabha constituency of the district, Banswara [ [http://ceorajasthan.nic.in/ele2004/distaclist.html CEO, Rajasthan website - district & assembly constituency wise electorates] ] .

Notes

External links

* [http://www.banswara.nic.in Banswara District website]
* [http://www.investrajasthan.com/maps/banswara.htm Banswara District map (Invest Rajasthan)]
* [http://www.ruralphotography.blogspot.com/ Rural Images OF Banswara]