Basti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India, and a part of Basti Division. Basti city is the district headquarters.
Origin of name and history
Basti was originally known as Vaishishthi. The origin of the name Vaishishthi is attributed to the fact that this area was the ashram of Rishi (sage) Vashistha in ancient period. Rama with his younger brother Lakshmana had been here for some time with Rishi Vashistha.
The tract comprising the present district was remote and much of it was covered with forest. But gradually the area became inhabitable, for want of recorded and reliable history it cannot, with any degree of certainty, be said how the district came to be known by its present name on account of the original habitation (Basti) having been selected by the Kalhans Raja Udai Raj Singh as a seat of his Raj, an event which probably occurred in the 16th century. In 1801, Basti became the Tehsil headquarters and in 1865 it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established district. Raja Udai Raj Singh was the first ruler of Kalhans dynasty based at Basti.
In 1801, the town Basti became a tehsil headquarter, and in 1865, it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established Basti district of Gorakhpur Commissionary. Specifically, it happened on 6 May 1865.
At first, the plan was to use the Rapti and Jamuwar rivers as the boundary between Basti and Gorakhpur districts, but this plan was abandoned. Instead, the boundary cut across existing parganas, with a few areas east of the Jamuwar becoming part of Basti district, while the eastern parts of Maghar and Binayakpur parganas remained in Gorakhpur district. New tehsils were established, and most of the original 8 parganas were split into two, for a new total of 13 parganas. Subordinate to the parganas were 131 tappas, which were of significant administrative significance. The resulting setup was the following:
Amorha Khas is a historical place situated at a distance of 41 km from the district headquarters. Its old name is Ambodha, and it was once a province (state) of Raja Zalim Singh. Raja Zalim Singh's Mahal is here, old wall of mahal is still there with the mark of a bullet used by the English. The famous temple Ramrekha Mandir is here. Ramrekha Temple is one of the most ancient Hindu Mandir of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita. Lord Shri Ram stayed here for one day during his journey of Janakpur-Ayodhya. Lord Shri Rama and Sita with Lakshmana journeyed towards Ayodhya by the road called Ram Janki Marg (present-day State Highway 72) near Chhawani.
In the Great Revolt of 1857, about 250 martyrs of Amorha State were hanged by the British Government from peepal trees located at Chhawani.
Geography
The district lies between the parallels of 26° 23' and 27° 30' North Latitude and 82° 17' and 83° 20' East longitude. Its maximum length from north to south is about 75 km. and breadth from east to west about 70 km. The district lies between newly created district Sant Kabir Nagar on the east and Gonda on the west on the south, the Ghaghra river near Amorha Khas previously known as Amorha Province or State of Raja Zalim Singh separates it from the Ayodhya and newly created district Ambedkar Nagar. On the north it is bounded by district Sidharth Nagar.
Flora and fauna
The forest cover of the district has dwindled with increasing use of land for agriculture. There are areas with high prevalence of mango (Mangifera indica), mahua (Madhuca longifolia), sal (Shorea robusta), and bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) trees. Some of the wild animals of the district are the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), antelok (Anelok cervicapra), pig (Sus scrofa), wolf (Canis lupus), jackal (Conis aureus), fox (Vulpes bengalensis), hare (Lepus ruficandatus), monkey (Macaca mulatta), wild cat (Felis bengalensis) and the porcupine (Hystric leucura). Several species of game birds are also seen, including the peafowl (Pavo cristatus), the black partridge (Frencolinus francolinus) and the grey partridge (Francalinus pondicervanus). A number of migratory water fowls visit the water bodies of the district in winter, such as the goose (Anser anser), common teal (Anas crecca), red-crested pochard (Netta rufina), white-eyed pochard (Aythya rufa) and the wigeon (Mareca penelope). The cobra (Naja naja), krait (Bungarus caeruleus), and rat-snake (Ptyas mucosus) are commonly found. The Indian crocodile or naka (Crocodylus palustris), and the ghariyal (Gavialis gangeticus) are also found in the river Ghaghra. The common fish species are rohu (Lebeo rohita), bhakur (Catla catla), nain (Cirrhina mrigala), parhin (Wallagonia attu), krunch (Labeo calbasu), and tengan (Mystus seenghala).