Baran district is an administrative district of the Indian state of Rajasthan, situated in its south-eastern corner. The district headquarters is the town of Baran. It forms part of the Kota division and lies within the Hadoti region, an area historically associated with the Hada Rajputs of Bundi and Kota.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Rajasthan |
| Division | Kota |
| Region | Hadoti |
| Headquarters | Baran |
| Type | District |
Baran district is bordered by Kota district to the west, Jhalawar district to the south-west, and the state of Madhya Pradesh to the south and east. Sawai Madhopur lies to the north. The terrain is largely a part of the south-eastern Rajasthan plateau, with portions covered by forest and broken hilly tracts. The Parvati and Parvan rivers, both tributaries within the Chambal basin, traverse the district, while the Chambal itself flows close to its western fringe.
The area now constituting Baran was historically part of the princely state of Kota under the Hada chiefs. Baran was carved out as a separate district on 10 April 1991, when it was bifurcated from Kota district to facilitate closer administration of the eastern tehsils. The district is administered by a District Collector and Magistrate, and is divided into a number of tehsils and panchayat samitis for revenue and development purposes, including Baran, Atru, Anta, Mangrol, Chhabra, Chhipabarod, Kishanganj and Shahabad.
The economy of Baran is predominantly agrarian. Soyabean, wheat, mustard, gram and coriander are among the principal crops. The district has irrigation support from canal systems linked to projects in the Chambal basin. Forest produce, cement-grade limestone and small-scale agro-processing also contribute to local livelihoods. Baran town is a market and rail centre on the Kota–Bina line of the West Central Railway.
The population is largely Hindu, with significant Muslim and Jain minorities. The district is notable for the presence of the Sahariya community, a tribal group recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), concentrated in the Shahabad and Kishanganj blocks. Hindi is the principal language, with Hadoti widely spoken in everyday use.
Baran is significant within Rajasthan for its forested landscape, its role in the Hadoti cultural region, and its substantial Sahariya tribal population, which has been a focus of state and central welfare programmes. The Ramgarh crater near Mangrol is among the recognised meteorite impact sites in India and has been proposed as a geo-heritage area.