Gorakhpur district is an administrative district in the eastern part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district headquarters is the city of Gorakhpur, which is also the divisional headquarters of the Gorakhpur division. The district lies in the Purvanchal region and forms part of the historical Gorakhpur cultural area, named after the medieval saint Gorakhnath, whose monastery, the Gorakhnath Math, is located in the city.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Division | Gorakhpur division |
| Headquarters | Gorakhpur |
| Region | Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh) |
| Major river | Rapti |
| Official language | Hindi |
Gorakhpur district lies in the Tarai belt of the Indo-Gangetic plain, with generally flat alluvial terrain that is drained by the Rapti, Rohini and Ghaghara river systems. The district is prone to seasonal flooding, particularly along the Rapti, and contains the wetland known as Ramgarh Tal on the southeastern edge of Gorakhpur city. Sal forests and agricultural land cover much of the rural area, and the climate is humid subtropical with hot summers, a pronounced southwest monsoon and cool winters.
The district is administered by a District Magistrate and is divided into tehsils and community development blocks. Major towns and tehsil headquarters include Gorakhpur Sadar, Sahjanwa, Khajni, Bansgaon, Chauri Chaura, Campierganj and Gola Bazar. Gorakhpur city is governed by the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam). The district falls under the jurisdiction of the Gorakhpur division, which also includes the neighbouring districts of Deoria, Kushinagar and Maharajganj.
The region around Gorakhpur has a long historical lineage. Parts of the area lay within the ancient Kosala mahajanapada and were later associated with the Maurya, Gupta and subsequent north Indian dynasties. In the medieval period the area gained religious prominence through the Nath sampradaya centred on the Gorakhnath Math.
Under British rule, Gorakhpur was developed as a major district headquarters and military and railway centre in the United Provinces. The district is closely associated with the Indian independence movement; in particular, the Chauri Chaura incident of 4 February 1922, in which a crowd of protesters clashed with police at Chauri Chaura, led Mahatma Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement. The revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil was hanged at Gorakhpur Jail in 1927.
The district economy is predominantly agricultural, with paddy, wheat, sugarcane and pulses being the principal crops. Gorakhpur city is an important commercial, educational and medical hub for eastern Uttar Pradesh and adjoining parts of Bihar and Nepal.
Gorakhpur is the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways, and Gorakhpur Junction is widely cited as having one of the longest railway platforms in the world. The city is served by the Mahayogi Gorakhnath Airport. Industrial activity in the district includes the fertiliser plant operated by Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) at the revived site of the former Fertilizer Corporation of India unit.
Notable institutions in the district include Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Gorakh