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Motihari | |
|---|---|
City | |
.jpg)   | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: Lake city | |
  Motihari Location in Bihar, India Show map of Bihar Motihari Location in India Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:26°39′00″N84°55′00″E / 26.65000°N 84.91667°E /26.65000; 84.91667 | |
| Country | India |
| State | Bihar |
| District | East Champaran |
| Ward(s) | 46 |
| Established | 1866 |
| Named after | 'Champak’ and ‘Aranya’. |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal corporation |
| • Body | Motihari Municipal Corporation[1] |
| • MLA | Pramod Kumar (BJP)[2] |
| • Mayor | Preeti Kumari |
| Area | |
• Total | 236.97 km2 (91.49 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 04 |
| Elevation | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Population (2011)[3] | |
• Total | 426,158 |
| • Density | 1,798.4/km2 (4,657.7/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Motiharivashi, Champaran vashi |
| Language | |
| • Official | Hindi[4] |
| • Additional official | Urdu[4] |
| • Regional | Bhojpuri[5] |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 845401,[6] 845435, 845437 |
| Telephone code | 06252 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-BR |
| Vehicle registration | BR-05 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Purvi Champaran |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Motihari |
| Website | eastchamparan |
Motihari is a city and headquarters ofEast Champaran district in the Indianstate ofBihar. It is located 80 kilometres west ofMuzaffarpur and 152 kilometres northwest of the state capitalPatna. In early days the land of Motihari was ruled by different kingdoms as Videha, Sunga, Kanvas. It is also believed thatChamparan used to be a major part of King Janak's empire. Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Satyagraha movement from here.
Motihari is located on 26°39' N and 84°55' E in northwestern Bihar.[7] It is about 165 km (103 mi) northwest from the state capitalPatna, 45 km (28 mi) fromBettiah, 72 km (45 mi) fromMuzaffarpur, 32 km (20 mi) fromChakia, 40 km (25 mi) fromMehsi, and 75 km (47 mi) fromSitamarhi. It is on the east bank of a lake, about 40 km (25 mi) southeast ofBettiah.
The topography of Motihari has been described as scenic, with the "stunning beauty" (in classical terms) of Moti Jheel Lake dividing the town in two halves.[8]
In Gangan Lit-Mag (Gangway Literary Magazine),Austria, wroteAnant Kumar: "The playgrounds of my childhood were the streets of Motihari. Back then that little East Indian town was not overpopulated, and the dry, clean streets of every part oftown were ideal for our games: marbles, tops, badminton. And back then Motihari was a wide distance away from the big world. There were very many mango and lichee trees, fragrant lemon bushes, broad, large fields...and very few people. There were scattered decrepit hawelis and bungalows, in which frightening bhuts, geniis and juraels dwelled."[9]
The Gandhi Sangrahalaya has a wide collection of relics and photographs of theChamparan Satyagraha. The Gandhian Memorial Pillar was designed byNand Lal Bose, a famous artist ofShantiniketan.[10] The foundation stone of the pillar was laid on 10 June 1972 by the then Governor,D. K. Barooch. It is a 48-foot-tall (15 m) stone pillar and is situated at the same site whereMahatma Gandhi was presented in court.
The world's largest Shivling, a 231-ton, 33-foot black granite monolith, was installed on January 18, 2026, at the Virat Ramayan Mandir in Motihari, Bihar. The monolith, carved from a single block in Tamil Nadu, features 1,008 smaller lingams on its surface. Weighing 231 tons, it was carefully placed on a pedestal by two 750-ton cranes, guided by engineers. The event coincided with the auspicious Magh Krishna Chaturdashi, and included Vedic chants, rituals by priests from various holy centers, and the use of sacred water from places like Gangotri and Prayagraj. The installation was followed by a flower petal shower from a helicopter and marked by chants of "Har Har Mahadev." The temple is still under construction, with the pran prathishta ceremony scheduled for a later date.[11]
Climate is characterised by high temperatures and precipitation mainly occurring during the Monsoon Season [June to September]. TheKöppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Cwa" (Humid Subtropical). The highest maximum temperature ever recorded in Motihari was 44.4 °C on May 24, 1903, while the lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in Motihari was 0.0 °C on February 3, 1905.[12] The heaviest rainfall recorded in 24 hours in Motihari was 520 mm on 25 August 2005.
| Climate data for Motihari | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.3 (88.3) | 35.6 (96.1) | 42.9 (109.2) | 42.2 (108.0) | 44.4 (111.9) | 43.3 (109.9) | 42.8 (109.0) | 40.5 (104.9) | 40.5 (104.9) | 38.4 (101.1) | 35.6 (96.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 44.4 (111.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) | 25.2 (77.4) | 31.0 (87.8) | 35.3 (95.5) | 35.7 (96.3) | 34.8 (94.6) | 32.4 (90.3) | 32.4 (90.3) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.5 (88.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 24.4 (75.9) | 30.5 (86.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.8 (64.0) | 22.9 (73.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.9 (85.8) | 28.9 (84.0) | 28.9 (84.0) | 28.3 (82.9) | 26.1 (79.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 17.1 (62.8) | 24.4 (75.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) | 10.5 (50.9) | 14.8 (58.6) | 19.6 (67.3) | 23.0 (73.4) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 20.7 (69.3) | 14.4 (57.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.0 (32.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 8.3 (46.9) | 13.7 (56.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.9 (66.0) | 19.9 (67.8) | 18.4 (65.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 6.4 (43.5) | 1.7 (35.1) | 0.0 (32.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 12.2 (0.48) | 14.3 (0.56) | 9.1 (0.36) | 24.6 (0.97) | 51.9 (2.04) | 215.0 (8.46) | 366.4 (14.43) | 289.6 (11.40) | 247.6 (9.75) | 50.8 (2.00) | 4.2 (0.17) | 4.7 (0.19) | 1,290.4 (50.80) |
| Average rainy days | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 8.5 | 13.8 | 11.6 | 8.8 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 53.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 17:30IST) | 69.0 | 58.0 | 49.0 | 46.0 | 52.0 | 68.0 | 80.0 | 80.0 | 79.0 | 73.0 | 71.0 | 70.0 | 66.0 |
| Source: Indian Meteorological Department | |||||||||||||
As of2011 Indian Census, Motihari had a total population of 126,158, of which 67,861 were males and 58,297 were females, with a sex ratio of 859. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 16,870. The total number of literates in Motihari was 92,798, which constituted 73.6% of the population with male literacy of 76.2% and female literacy of 70.5%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Motihari was 84.9%, of which male literacy rate was 88.1% and female literacy rate was 81.2%. TheScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 7,373 and 333 respectively. Motihari had 22,224 households in 2011.[3]
As of 2001[update] Indiacensus, the population of Motihari in 2011 was 101,506, of which male and female were 54,629 and 46,877, respectively. The sex ratio of Motihari city is 858 per 1,000 males. Total literates in Motihari city are 69,576 of which 40,265 were males while 29,311 were females. The crude literacy rate of 68.5% and effective literacy (7+ population) per cent of 80.3%. The children aged 0–6 in Motihari city are 14,910, as per the Census India report, in 2001, with 7,811 males and 7,099 females. The child sex ratio of girls is 909 per 1,000 boys.[13]
The city hosts a number of institutes and universities for higher education supported by both state and central governments.
Motihari, at that time calledChamparan, was close toMahatma Gandhi. He came to Motihari on April 15,[26] 1917[27] withRaj Kumar Shukla to start theSatyagraha movement in Champaran, known asChamparan Satyagraha, which concerned the exploitations of farmers.[28][29] Gandhi with his supporters held a big campaign in Champaran.[30] His frequent visits to Champaran and its local areas showed the Gandhi's connection with land. He also understood the cultural and social backwardness of the area, he acted immediately by creating schools and ashrams.[31]
