Pilibhit district | |
|---|---|
 Pilibhit District In Uttar Pradesh | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Headquarters | Pilibhit |
| Division | Bareilly |
| Region | Rohilkhand |
| Tehsil |
|
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,504 km2 (1,353 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 172 m (564 ft) |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 2,570,000 |
| • Density | 733/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 262001 |
| Telephone code | 05881, 05882 |
| Vehicle registration | UP-26 |
| Sex ratio | 889♂/♀ |
| Precipitation | 780 millimetres (31 in) |
| Avg. summer temperature | 36.8 °C (98.2 °F) |
| Avg. winter temperature | 14.5 °C (58.1 °F) |
| Website | www |
Pilibhit district (Hindi pronunciation:[piːliːbʱiːt̪]) is one of the 75districts in thestate ofUttar Pradesh inIndia, andPilibhit city is the district headquarters. Pilibhit district is a part ofBareilly Division. In June 2014,Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was announced as the 46thtiger reserve of India.[1]
Pilibhit district had its origins as a subdivision ofBareilly district in 1871, consisting of theparganas ofJahanabad,Pilibhit, andPuranpur, with a magistrate based in Pilibhit.[2] It was then officially upgraded to a separate district in November 1879.[2]
The early history of Pilibhit district is obscure.[2] This area is traditionally considered to have formed part of thePanchala kingdom, whose capital was atAhichchhatra, although there are no historical documents to confirm this.[2] On the other hand, the many ruin sites in the district indicate that there was extensive settlement here, and that the forests which historically covered the area used to be smaller.[2]
AtNeoria Husainpur is a large area of ruins that became covered by dense forest.[2] Mahof has a large ruined brick fort; Simaria Ghosu, not far away, has a mud fort, but it appears to have been built later than other ruins in the area.[2] Several octagonal wells and a large masonry tank at Khaj appear to be the remains of a large town.[2] Perhaps the most important ruins in the district are at Balai Khera, close to the town ofJahanabad.[2] Nearby to the west is a mound called Parasua-kot, which is from the same time as Balai Khera.[2]
There are many ruins in the forests ofPuranpur tehsil, often marked by "unusually large bricks, often carved and chiselled in a most artistic manner."[2] The ruins at Dhanaura have been partly washed away by the Chauka, but there are still several large ruin-covered mounds here, over a large area.[2] Another site is at Suapara, a short distance north of Puranpur.[2] The massive fortress at Shahgarh appears to have been occupied during a fairly late period, since coins of the Varmmas ofNepal have been found inside its walls.[2] Further south is a large unnamed site where fragments of pottery, bricks, and glazed tiles have been found.[2]
In theBisalpur tehsil, there are extensive ruins at Marauri, on the Khanaut, and atBarkhera in the north there is a large mound that is traditionally said to mark the spot of a city built by the legendary Raja Vena.[2]
The 10th-century Dewal inscription, which was found in 1829 at the village of Ilahabad, also known as Ilahabas Dewal, near Deoria.[2] It is aSanskrit inscription, dated to year 1049 of theVikram Samvat (992 or 993 CE) and written in the so-calledkutila script.[2] The entire inscription is written as a 37-stanza poem, full of metaphors and mythological allusions, and documenting the construction of two temples toShiva andParvati by a local ruler and his wife.[2] It was composed by a man named Nahila, son of Sivarudra, who was evidently well-versed in Sanskrit grammar and rhetoric.[2]
The ruler mentioned in the inscription, Lalla of the Chhinda family, is described as amandala-putra, or ruler of a province, and he was probably a feudatory of the kings ofKannauj.[2] The text says that he "brought the river Katha to his capital", which according to H.R. Nevill probably refers to the digging of the canal now called the Katni.[2] It also says that Lalla had the two temples built and endowed them with a quarter of the revenue from several villages.[2] He gave the site the name "Devapalli", which is probably the same as "Dewal".[2] The site of Garha Khera, a large 800-square-foot mound with two small tanks, was probably Lalla's capital; the Katni winds its way around this site.[2] Atop a large mound on the south side of Ilahabad are the remains of a large temple, which is where the Dewal inscription was found.[2]
Whatever happened in the area after the time of the Dewal inscription is unknown.[2] It is completely absent from contemporary sources for several centuries.[2] The Muslim conquerors appear to have had no interest in the region, which may have been densely forested around this time.[2] The first reference to Pilibhit is possibly in 1256, when the Delhi SultanNasir-ud-Din Muhammad led troops toAwadh by way of "Tilibhat".[2] Pilibhit may also be the "Talpat" mentioned during the reign of SultanGhiyas-ud-Din Balban.[2]
The Katehria Rajputs came to rule over the Pilibhit area at some point.[2] Tradition holds that their leader Kharag Singh conquered the western part of this district from the local tribes.[2] From this base, the Katehrias were only nominally subjects of the Sultans of Delhi.[2] In 1379, after Kharag Singh murdered the governor ofBudaun,Firoz Shah led a scorched-earth campaign in the region, causing widespread destruction and resulting in the entire area between Budaun and Bilaspur becoming a hunting ground.[2]
DuringAkbar's reign, the area of today's Pilibhit district was a remote backwater.[2] In theAin-i-Akbari, the area included the parganas of Balai and Punar, andBareilly, with a small part possibly belonging to Gola in today'sShahjahanpur district.[2] Balai was based at what is now called Balai Khera, and Punar was the old name of Puranpur.[2] These parganas were all nominally part of thesarkar of Budaun, but in practice they were under the governors of Bareilly.[2] During this period, Pilibhit district's history is essentially the same as Bareilly district's, with nothing to set it apart.[2]
During thefreedom struggle, the rural folks showed bravery.[2] One freedom fighter Shri Bhadain Lal, of Rampur Amrit near Bilsanda towwn who killed a British police inspector.[2] He was jailed & imprisoned at Lalitpur Central Jail.[2] The Britishers during the freedom struggle were chased out.[2] They were given shelter by a few villagers at Mankapur.[2] The Britishers in return offered them Land & Gardens near banks of Khannout river.[2] In 191-72 theNanakmatta dam leaked & flooded theDeoha river.[2] Many people died as the flood has taken place in odd hours.[2]
Pilibhit Tiger Reserve(pronounced[piːliːbʱiːt̪ˈtaɪɡərɪˈzɜːvː]), is among the narrowest yet most canopy-richtiger reserves, spread across a horseshoe-shaped landscape.[3] It covers a total area of 730.24 km2, of which 97.6% (712.88 km2) lies in Pilibhit district and 2.4% (17.36 km2) inShahjahanpur district, both located in theRohilkhand region ofUttar Pradesh.[4][5] Approximately 21% of Pilibhit district's total geographical area comes under reserve's limits, thereby positioning it in the category of Uttar Pradesh's most forest-rich districts. It consists of theHimalayan lowlands terrain along theIndo–Nepal border in the uppernorthern plains. The habitat is distinguished by tall grasslands,sal forests, and theswamp ecosystem, which is maintained through regular flooding events originating from nearby rivers, riverlets and lakes during the rainy seasons. The Sharda sagar dam elongating up to a length of 22 km (14 mi) is on the edge of the reserve.[6]
The core area of the reserve contains 35 species ofmammals,[7] 556avians species,[8][9] 79 species ofpiscines,[10] as well as several species ofreptiles andamphibians,[11] includingherbivorous,carnivorous, andomnivorous fauna. In 2020, the tiger reserve was awarded the inaugural TX2 global award in recognition of its achievement in multiplying the number of tiger within the stipulated time frame.[12] As per an internal survey conducted by the authorities in 2022, the reserve has more than 99,882 animals of 22 species of differentclass.[13] In August 2025, the reserve's officials confirmed that the core area hosts more than 79 adult tigers.[a][14][15] The reserve is known to have an estimated tiger density of 10.8 per 100 km2 area.[b]| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 498,706 | — |
| 1911 | 516,699 | +0.36% |
| 1921 | 457,437 | −1.21% |
| 1931 | 476,160 | +0.40% |
| 1941 | 520,411 | +0.89% |
| 1951 | 534,755 | +0.27% |
| 1961 | 652,494 | +2.01% |
| 1971 | 791,019 | +1.94% |
| 1981 | 1,059,559 | +2.97% |
| 1991 | 1,344,848 | +2.41% |
| 2001 | 1,728,108 | +2.54% |
| 2011 | 2,031,007 | +1.63% |
| source:[16] | ||
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 71.34% | |||
| Islam | 24.11% | |||
| Sikhism | 4.17% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.38% | |||
| Distribution of religions | ||||
According to the2011 census Pilibhit district has apopulation of 2,031,007,[19] roughly equal to the nation ofSlovenia[20] or the US state ofNew Mexico.[21] This gives it a ranking of 226th in India (out of a total of640).[19] The district has a population density of 567 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,470/sq mi) .[19] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 23.83%.[19] Pilibhit has asex ratio of 889females for every 1000 males,[19] and aliteracy rate of 63.58%. 17.30% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 16.42% and 0.08% of the population respectively.[19]
At the time of the2011 Census of India, 83.03% of the population in the district spokeHindi, 8.99%Urdu, 3.72%Punjabi, 3.05%Bengali and 1.13%Bhojpuri as their first language.[17]
Bareilly Airport is a nearest airport to Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit and this airport is located around 43 km from Pilibhit.Bareilly Airport is connected to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru with direct flights.
Total Area District - 3504 km2[23]
Total Area city - 68.76 km2
Population (as 2011)[24]
| Type | No. |
|---|---|
| Male | 1,078,525 |
| Female | 958,700 |
| Total | 2,037,225 |
| Rural | 14,26,057 |
| Urban | 611,167 |
| SC | 2,89,235 |
| ST | 2156 |
Slovenia 2,000,092 July 2011 est.
New Mexico - 2,059,179
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Places adjacent to Pilibhit district | |
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28°37′36″N79°48′21″E / 28.62667°N 79.80583°E /28.62667; 79.80583
