ABSTRACT:
Gopalganj is a beautiful land with tremendous historical background and magnificent culture. An ancient state of "Mallyas" known for their bravery and love for civil liberty becomes the frontlet of Gopalganj. In Pre- historic time, Gopalganj was part of Nepal, up to the bank of the Saryu river which bounds Siwan district on South of it. Siwan means the boundary - the Southern boundary of Nepal Kingdom. Gopalganj, which till 1875 was only a tiny hamlet, was made a subdivision of the old Saran district in the same year. It became an independent district on October 2, 1973. The old Saran district included the present districts of Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj. The history of Gopalganj is a part of the history of old Saran District. The composite Saran district lies on one of the main lines of the Aryan advance. Geographical Location of Gopalganj district lies between 26° 12 to 26° 39 North latitudes 83° 54 to 84° 55 East longitudes. The district occupies an area of 2033 km² and has population of 21, 526,38 (as of 2001). The 93.93% population of the district lives in rural areas, where as 6.07% population lives in urban areas. Muslim constitutes nearly 17.1 percent of the district and they constitute 18.15 percent in urban areas of the district while they have the share 16.94 percent of the rural areas of the district. (Bhatt, 1998:481). The literacy rate of the district is 48.95%. Females literacy rate is half that for male. Density of the population is 1057 and sex ratio is 1005 (as of 2001). It bounded on the east by the Gandak River, on the south by the Siwan and some part of the Saran districts, on the west by the Gorakhpur district of the Uttar Pradesh, on the north by the Deoria district of the Uttar Pradesh. Gopalganj has a varied climate. It is exceptionally hot and dry during summer with temperature reaching as high as 45 degrees Celsius.