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Madhesh Province
Nepali: मधेश प्रदेश, romanized: Madhēśa pradēśa
Province
Official seal of Madhesh Province
Seal
Location of Madhesh Province
Location of Madhesh Province
Map of Madhesh Province, Nepal
Province of   Nepal
Formation20 September 2015
Capital cityJanakpur[1]
Largest cityBirgunj
Government
 • TypeAutonomy
 • BodyGovernment of Madhesh Province
 • GovernorHari Shankar Mishra[2]
 • Chief MinisterSatish Kumar Singh
 • High CourtJanakpur High Court
 • Provincial AssemblyUnicameral (107 seats)
 • House of Representatives32 constituencies
Area
 • Total
9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi)
Elevation
102 m (335 ft)
Highest elevation
920 m (3,020 ft)
Lowest elevation
(Musharniya)
58 m (190 ft)
Population
 (2021[3])
 • Total
6,114,600
 • Density630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (Nepal Time)
Area code(s)041,031,033,046,053,051,044,055
ISO 3166 codeNP-P2
LanguagesNepali (official)
Maithili (official)
Bhojpuri (official)
Bajjika (official)
Tharu (additional-official)
Tamang (additional-official)[4]
Urdu
Others[5]
HDI0.519 (low)
Literacy63.5% Increase (2024)
Sex ratio100.55 ♂ / 100 ♀ (2021)
GDPUS$ 5.6 billion (2023/2024)
Per Capita IncomeUS$ 892
Websitemadhesh.gov.np

Madhesh Province is a province of Nepal in the Terai region with an area of 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi) covering about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it Nepal's most densely populated province and the smallest province by area.[6][7] It borders Koshi Pradesh to the east and the north, Bagmati Province to the north, and India’s Bihar state to the south and the west. The border between Chitwan National Park and Parsa National Park acts as the provincial boundary in the west, and the Kosi River forms the provincial border in the east. The province includes eight districts, from Parsa in the west to Saptari in the east.

It is a centre for religious and cultural tourism.[8]

Etymology

[edit]

The word madhesh is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit madhya desh (मध्य देश), literally the middle country, which refers to "the central region, the country lying between the Himalaya and the Vindhya mountains".[9][10] However, in the context of Nepal, Madhesh refers to the region in the Nepal Terai located south of the Siwalik Hills.[11][12] Madhesh has also been defined as the cultural and linguistic space existing as a basis for identity among the people of the Terai.[13]

History

[edit]

Madhesh Province was founded with the provisional name Province No. 2 in September 2015 in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Constitution of Nepal.[14] It received its current name on 17 January 2022, when the provincial assembly declared Janakpur as its capital.[15]

Demographics

[edit]

According to the 2021 Nepal census, the province has a population of 6,114,600: 3,065,751 males and 3,048,849 females. The province with 20.97% of the country's population has the second-highest population after Bagmati Province in the country, and is the densest province in the country with a density of 633 people per square kilometre.[3]

Ethnic groups in Madhesh Province

  Yadav (15.2%)
  Muslim (12.9%)
  Tharu (4.9%)
  Teli (5.3%)
  Kushwaha (4.5%)
  Chamar (4.4%)
  Dhanuk (3.49%)
  Musahar (2.9%)
  Kurmi (3%)
  Paswan (2.79%)
  Hill Brahmin (2.34%)
  Mallaah (2.26%)
  Maithil Brahmin (2.2%)
  Tamang (2.17%)
  Other Madheshi (26.31%)
  Other Khas (3.38%)
  Other Janajati (3.03%)
  Others (0.64%)

Ethnic groups

[edit]

Maithils are the largest ethnolinguistic group. Yadav is the largest group among the Madhesi people in the province making up around 15.2% of the population. Muslims are the second largest group making up 12.9% of the population. Teli (5.10%), Koiri/Kushwaha (4.56%), Chamar (4.22%), Musahar (3.02%), Kurmi (2.83%), Dusadh (2.79%), Mallaah (2.26%), Maithil Brahmin (2.2%), and Karan Kayastha (1.5%) are other Madhesi pandit (8.0) groups in the province. Bahun and Chhetri are the largest Khas Arya groups in the province making up 2.34% and 1.99% of the population, respectively. Tharu (5.27%) and Dhanuk (3.49%) is the largest non-Madhesi, non-Khas Arya group followed by Tamang (2.17%).[5]

Languages

[edit]

The Maithili language is spoken by 45.36% of the total population of the province. Bhojpuri is spoken by 18.59% and Bajjika is spoken by 14.68% of the population. Nepali is the province's official language, but is spoken as mother tongue by only 6.56% of the population. Urdu (5.88%), Tharu (3.77%), and Tamang (1.94%) are other languages spoken by a minority of the population.[5] The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika as official languages of the province, and Urdu, Tharu and Tamang as additional official languages for specific regions and purposes in the province.[4]

Languages of Madhesh Province (2011)

  Maithili (45.36%)
  Bhojpuri (18.59%)
  Bajjika (14.68%)
  Nepali (6.56%)
  Urdu (5.87%)
  Tharu (3.77%)
  Tamang (1.94%)
  Others (3.23%)

Religion

[edit]

Religion in Madhesh

  Hinduism (83.75%)
  Islam (12.9%)
  Buddhism (3.01%)
  other (0.34%)

Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province, being followed by 83.75% of the population. Islam is the second largest religion with 12.9% of the population being Muslims, and Buddhism is followed by 3.01% of the population.[5]

Geography

[edit]

As per Central Bureau of Statistics, Madhesh Province covers about 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi) of Nepal's total area of 147,516 km2 (56,956 sq mi). With 6,114,600 inhabitants as of 2021, it is Nepal's second most populous province.[3][16] Madhesh Province is surrounded by the Chitwan District to the west, Makwanpur District and Sindhuli District and Udayapur District to the north, Sunsari District to the east, and India to the south.[17] The province has 574,360 ha (1,419,300 acres) of arable land, making it the country's most agriculture-dominated province. The west of the province contains part of Parsa National Park, while part of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve lies within the east. The province is biodiverse, and is crossed by migrating elephants.[18]

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Madhesh Province
Central Bureau of Statistics [1]
Rank District Pop. Rank District Pop.
Birgunj
Birgunj
Janakpur
Janakpur 		1 Birgunj Parsa 240,922 11 Bardibas Mahottari 66,354 Kalaiya
Kalaiya
Jeetpur Simara
Jeetpur Simara
2 Janakpur Dhanusha 159,468 12 Ishwarpur Sarlahi 59,986
3 Kalaiya Bara 123,659 13 Lalbandi Sarlahi 59,395
4 Jeetpur Simara Bara 117,496 14 Jaleshwor Mahottari 58,549
5 Lahan Siraha 91,766 15 Mahagadhimai Bara 54,474
6 Siraha Siraha 82,531 16 Golbazar Siraha 51,137
7 Chandrapur Rautahat 72,059 17 Garuda Rautahat 50,481
8 Barahathwa Sarlahi 69,822 18 Mirchaiya Siraha 50,079
9 Rajbiraj Saptari 69,086 19 Simraungadh Bara 49,939
10 Gaushala Mahottari 66,673 20 Manara Shiswa Mahottari 49,692

Climate

[edit]
Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Madhesh Province[19]
Location August

(°F)

August

(°C)

January

(°F)

January

(°C)

Annual

Precipitation (mm/in)

Gaur 91/77.9 23/9.1 73.4/48.4 32.8/25.5 1590.2/62.6
Siraha 89.6/76.3 32/24.6 72.1/47.3 22.3/8.5 1293.1/50.9
Birgunj 84.7 29.3 60.8 16 1862.2/73.3
Jaleshwar 84.4 29.1 61.2 16.2 1492.9/58.8
Malangawa 84.4 29.1 60.8 16 1817.7/71.6
Janakpur 84.2 29 60.8 16 1516.5/59.7
Rajbiraj 83.3 28.5 60.4 15.8 1223.3/48.2
Lahan 83.3 28.5 60.3 15.7 1231.4/48.5

Government and administration

[edit]
Main articles: Government of Madhesh Province and Provincial Assembly of Madhesh Province

Executive

[edit]
Main article: Saroj Kumar Yadav cabinet

The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The present Governor and Chief Minister are Hari Shankar Mishra and Satish Kumar Singh respectively.

Legislative

[edit]
Main article: Provincial Assembly of Madhesh Province

The province has 107 provincial assembly constituencies and 32 constituencies.[20]

Madhesh Province has a unicameral legislature, like all of the other provinces in Nepal. The term length of provincial assembly is five years. The Provincial Assembly of Madhesh Province is temporarily housed at the District Education Office in Janakpur.[21]

Party Parliamentary party leader Seats
People's Socialist Party, Nepal Mohammad Lalbabu Raut 39
Nepali Congress Ram Saroj Yadav 22
Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Nepal Jitendra Prasad Sonal 16
CPN(Unified Socialist) Satrudhan Mahato 13
CPN(UML) Satya Narayan Mandal 8
CPN(Maoist centre) Bharat Sah 8
Nepal Federal Socialist Party Sabitri Devi Shah 1
Total 107

Judiciary

[edit]

The Chief Judge of the Janakpur High Court is the head of the judiciary.[22] The acting chief justice is Binod Sharma.[23]

Administrative subdivisions

[edit]
See also: Districts of Nepal, List of cities in Nepal, and List of gaunpalikas of Nepal

Madhesh Province is divided into eight districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city, three sub-metropolitan cities, and 73 municipalities. There are 59 rural municipalities in the province.[24]

Name Headquarters Population (2011)
Dhanusha District Janakpur 754,777
Sarlahi District Malangawa 769,729
Bara District Kalaiya 687,708
Rautahat District Gaur 686,722
Saptari District Rajbiraj 639,284
Siraha District Siraha 637,328
Mahottari District Jaleshwar 627,580
Parsa District Birgunj 601,017

Infrastructure

[edit]

Roadways

[edit]

Mahendra Highway is the major highway in the province running longitudinally across the province.[25] The Tribhuvan Highway also crosses a part of the province and connects it to the Kathmandu Valley and India.[citation needed]

Railways

[edit]
Main article: Nepal Railways
Janakpur Train Station is the largest Railway Station in Nepal

Railway projects are managed by Nepal Railways. Janakpur has been proposed as the main station for the 1,024 km (636 mi) long east–west metro railway project that is planned to be extended to India and China for connecting Nepal Railways with Indian Railways and China Railway.[26]

Airports

[edit]

Madhesh Province has three domestic airports:

Nijgadh International Airport is under construction.[citation needed]

Culture

[edit]
Main article: Mithila culture

Mithila Paag

[edit]
Main article: Paag
Mithila Paag

The Paag is a headdress in the Mithila region of Nepal and India worn by Maithil people. It is a symbol of honour and respect and a significant part of Maithil culture. The Paag dates back to pre-historic times when it was made of plant leaves. It exists today in a modified form. The Paag is wore by the whole Maithil community. The colour of the Paag also carries a lot of significance. The red Paag is worn by the bridegroom and by those who are undergoing the sacred thread rituals. Paag of mustard colour is donned by those attending wedding ceremonies and the elders wear a white Paag.

Paintings

[edit]
Mithila painting featuring God Shiva-Parvati and the Mahavidyas

Madhubani art is practiced in the Mithila region. It was traditionally created by the women of different communities of the Mithila region.[27] This painting as a form of wall art was practiced widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas originated among the villages around Madhubani, and it is these latter developments that may correctly be referred to as Madhubani art.[28]

Madhubani_art

Artists create these paintings using a variety of mediums, including their own fingers, or twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks. The paint is created using natural dyes and pigments. The paintings are characterised by their eye-catching geometrical patterns.

Cuisine

[edit]
Main article: Maithil cuisine
Gujiya
Curd/Yoghurt
Machher Jhol
Ghughnee

Maithil cuisine and Bhojpuri cuisine are part of Nepalese cuisine. Maithil is a culinary style which originated in Mithila while Bhojpuri cuisine originated in the Bhojpuri region.[29] Some traditional dishes of Madhesh are:

Dances

[edit]

Jhijhiya

[edit]
Main article: Jhijhiya

Jhijhiya is a cultural dance from the Mithila region.[31]

Women performing Jhijhiya dance

Jhijhiya is mostly performed at time of Dusshera, in dedication to Durga Bhairavi, the goddess of victory.[32] While performing jhijhiya, women put lanterns made of clay on their head and they balance it while they dance.[33]

Domkach

[edit]
Main article: Domkach

Domkach is a folk dance performed in Mithila and Bhojpur regions of Madhesh Province.[34]

Jat Jatin

Jat Jatin is based on folk songs of Mithila and Tharu community which they perform from Shrawan Purnima to Bhadra Purnima. It is based on the love story of hero jat and heroine Jatin and their lives.[35]

Gauna dance

The Dance is based in Mithila Tradition and popular in Janakpur region of Nepal. This dance is performed in the religious occasions.

Politics

[edit]

As a political center of the country, Madhesh Province is home to prominent leaders like Ram Baran Yadav, Bimalendra Nidhi and Pradeep Giri from the Nepali Congress, Mahantha Thakur from Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal, Matrika Yadav from CPN (Maoist Centre) and Dharmanath Prasad Sah, Bansidhar Mishra, Ram Chandra Jha from the CPN (Unified Socialist) who have been ministers at various point of time and are still active at National level.[36] In local level, Nepali congress remains the single largest party.[37]

Notable people

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "प्रदेश २ को स्थायी राजधानी 'जनकपुरधाम' बहुमतले पारित !" (in Nepali).
  2. ^ "Government recommends Hari Shankar Mishra as provincial chief of Province 2". The Kathmandu Post. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "2021 Nepal census". Kathmandu, Nepal: Central Bureau of Statistics.
  4. ^ a b Language Commission (2021). सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८ [Determination of language bases of government work and language recommendations (Summary of five-year report) 2078] (PDF) (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "National Data Portal Nepal". Government of Nepal National Data. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. ^ "National Population and Housing Census 2011" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  7. ^ "सबैभन्दा बढी जनसंख्या हुने प्रदेश मधेश". ekantipur.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  8. ^ Rastriya Samachar Samiti (2004). "More Indian tourists visit Janakpurdham". Himalayan Times, 17 January 2004.
  9. ^ Kabir 2013, p. 11.
  10. ^ Apte, V. S. (1957–1959). "मध्य madhya". Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary. Poona: Prasad Prakashan.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Mishra, R. (2007). "Sectional President's Address: Ethnicity and National Unification: The Madheshis of Nepal". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 67: 802–833. JSTOR 44148000.
  12. ^ "Nepal Conflict Alert". www.crisisgroup.org. 2 September 2015.
  13. ^ Singh, C. P. (2011). "Origin and Development of Madheshi Movement in Nepal". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 72 (Part II): 1047–1053. JSTOR 44145716.
  14. ^ "Formation of provinces in Nepal" (PDF). Office of Attorney General (Nepal).
  15. ^ "Janakpurdham declared Province 2 capital (With video)". Nepal Press. 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  16. ^ Law, G. (2015). "Provinces of Nepal". statoids.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Big 3 draw new 7-province map". Republica. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  18. ^ Joshi, A. R. (2023). "Nepal's Madhesh province lacks in biodiversity research and conservation". Mongabay. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Nepal Travel Weather Averages". Weatherbase. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  20. ^ "CDC creates 495 constituencies". The Himalayan Times. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  21. ^ "First Provincial Assembly meeting begins in 4 provinces". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  22. ^ "High Courts get their chief judges". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  23. ^ "उच्च अदालत जनकपुर". Supreme Court Nepal. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  24. ^ "स्थानिय तह". 103.69.124.141. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  25. ^ Reed, D. (2002). The Rough Guide to Nepal. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858288994.
  26. ^ "Nepal, India agree on five rail projects". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  27. ^ Madhubani Painting. Abhinav Publications. 2003. p. 96. ISBN 9788170171560. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  28. ^ Carolyn Brown Heinz, 2006, "Documenting the Image in Mithila Art," Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 22, Issue 2, pp. 5-33
  29. ^ "The Story Behind Nepalese Cuisine And Dishes That Are Worth Trying". Slurrp. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  30. ^ Bhadani, Gangadhar (16 March 2017). Choice in Chaos: A Wikipedian'S Autobiography. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4828-8891-1.
  31. ^ Nishi Sinha (1999). Tourism Perspective in Bihar. APH. p. 39. ISBN 9788170249757.
  32. ^ Punam Kumari (1999). Social and cultural life of the Nepalese. Mohit Publications. ISBN 978-81-7445-092-0. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  33. ^ Nishi Sinha (1999). Tourism Perspective in Bihar. APH. p. 40. ISBN 9788170249757.
  34. ^ "Domkach". Folklibrary.com. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  35. ^ "Jat Jatin dance".
  36. ^ Kumar, Mukesh Pokhrel and Ramesh (10 April 2021). "The Politics of Province 2". Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  37. ^ Republica. "NC poised to be the largest party in Province 2". My Republica. Retrieved 28 July 2021.

Works cited

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