BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIVISION

 Darbhanga Division came into existence in 1973 after split of Tirhut Division by the Notification no.-556जि0 पु0/ Dated-26 Oct. 1973 of govt. of Bihar. Darbhanga was a part of Sarkar Tirhut up to 1875, when it was constituted into a separate district. It was the part of Patna division till 1908, until the Tirhut division was created with its headquarters at Muzaffarpur. The Darbhanga division consisting of three districts namely Darbhanga, Madhubani and Samastipur. The subdivisions had been created earlier - Darbhanga Sadar in 1845, Madhubani in 1866 and Samastipur (then known as Tajpur) in 1867. As a result of reorganization of districts in the State which took effect in the year 1972, Madhubani and Samastipur subdivision were upgraded into independent districts.

The Division is bounded on the north by Nepal , on the south by the division Munghyr, on the east by Saharsa Division and on the west by the  Muzaffarpur Division.

The Division takes its name from its only town Darbhanga, the Division headquarter, which is said to have been founded by one Darbhangi Khan, about whom practically nothing is known. It is also held that the name Darbhanga has been derived from Dwar Banga or Dari - Banga, meaning the 'door to Bengal'. This derivation does not appear to be very correct as division between Bengal and Bihar has always been further to the east. However, the linguistic and cultural affinity with Bengal may be said to commence from here.

Darbhanga town attained the status of a city (Population 1 lakh and above) in 1961. Darbhanga is the seat of the Maharaja of Darbhanga. Laheriasarai which is the seat of district and divisional administration is a part of the Darbhanga town. The Raj area is a well developed and beautifully laid-out complex of palaces, temples, offices, parks, garden and ponds. There are a number of palaces built by the successive Maharajas, important among them being Nargauna Palace, Rambagh Palace, Anandbagh bhawan and Bela Palace. A number of buildings are in the use of the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Darbhanga and Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga.  The old Raj Library has been taken over by L. N. Mithilia University. Perhaps Darbhanga is the only city in India, which has two universities in a campus. The Maharajas of Darbhanga have traditionally been great patrons of art and literature and through their munificence have always provided encouragement to the scholars of Maithili and Sanskrit. Mahesh Thakur who founded the Raj was a renowned scholar of Sanskrit. The estate was conferred upon him by Emperor Akbar who was very much impressed by Raghunandan Jha, a scholar and disciple of Mahesh Thakur.

The division is noted for its trade in Fish, Mango, Makhana, and cash crops and vegetables. Among its educational institutions are Chandradhari Mithila College, Chandradhari Mithila Science College, Darbhanga Medical College, Women Institute of Technology and Darbhanga Engineering College. R.K. College Madhubani, Samastipur College Samastipur and Pusa Agriculture University and various other institutions.

The Darbhanga Division has one Municipal Corporation namely Darbhanga Municipal Corporation, Darbhanga, three Municipal Council namely Madhubani, Samastipur and Benipur Municipal Council and five Nagar Panchayat namely Jhanjharpur, Jainagar, Ghoghardiha, Rosera and Dalsinghsarai.

Darbhanga is a municipal corporation town. Darbhanga is the 5th largest city of Bihar. It is one of the most important division and big cities of North Bihar. Darbhanga is also known as Heart of   the   Mithilanchal.

According to census 2011, the total population of the Division is 12686330. The Male population is 6619265 and Female population is 6067065. Darbhanga division is having a total geographical area of 8684 Sq. Km.  It is situated between longitude 85 degree 9 minute East and 26 degree 17 minute North.

Administrative Setup of the Darbhanga Division

District name No. of Sub-Division No. of Blocks No. of Panchayats No. of Revenue Villages
Darbhanga 3 18 324 1277
Mandhubani 5 21 399 1115
Samastipur 4 20 381 1260
Total 12 59 1104 3652

District Wise Subdivision & Blocks

District Name Sub-division Name Block Name
Darbhanga Darbhanga sadar Sadar, Bahadurpur, Baheri, Keoti, Jale, Singhwada, Hayaghat, Hanuman nagar, Manigachhi, Tardih
Benipur Benipur, Alinagar
Biraul Biraul, Gaurabauram, Ghanshyampur, Kiratpur, K-Asthan,K-asthan Purbi
Madhubani Madhubani sadar Rahika, Pandaul, Rajnagar, Babubarhi, Kaulwahi, Khajauli
Benipatti Benipatti, Bisfi, Madhwapur, Harlakhi
Jhanjharpur Jhanjharpur, Madhepura,Lakhanaur, Andhrathari
Phulparas Phulparas, Khutauna, Laukhi, Ghoghardia
Jainagar Jainagar, Basopatti, Ladaniya
Samastipur Samastipur Sadar Samastipur, Tajpur, Morwa, Khanpur, Sarairanjan, Kalyanpur, Pusa, Warishnagar
Rosera Rosera, Hasanpur, Bithan, Shivjinagar, singhiya, Bibhutipur
Dalsinghsarai Dalsinghsarai, Ujiyarpur, Vidyapatinagar
Patori Patori, Mohanpur, Mohiuddi Nagar

Darbhanga Division Important Statistics in comparison to state as per Census 2011

                                                                                                                                State Division
Number of Villages Total 44874 3603
Inhabited 39073 3238
Uninhabited 5801 365
Number of Towns Statutory 139 9
Census 60 8
total 199 17
Number of Households Normal 18867444 2533140
Institutional 36303 2984
Houseless 9818 896
Population Total 104099452 12686330
Males 54278157 6699265
Females 49821295 6067065
Rural Population Total 92341436 11993710
Males 48073850 6265105
Females 44267586 5738605
Urban Population Total 11758016 692620
Males 6204307 364160
Females 5553709 328460
Percentage of Urban Population 11.29 5.45
Area in Sq. KM. 94163 8684
Sex Ratio Total 918 916
Rural 921 917
Urban 895 901
Literates (%) Total 61.8 59.01
Males 71.2 69.40
Females 51.5 47.63
scheduled Caste population (%) Total 15.91 15.85
Males 15.86 15.80
Females 15.98 15.91
scheduled Tribes population (%) Total 1.28 0.06
Males 1.26 0.06
Females 1.31 0.07

The official website of Commissionary Darbhanga can be seen by visiting http://darbhangadivision.bih.nic.in/