Darbhanga

Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It is held that the name Darbhanga has been derived from Dwar Banga or Dari – Banga, meaning the 'door of Bengal'.

Darbhanga was the seat of the erstwhile Khandwala zamidaar dynasty under the Mughals and British India. It is considered an important medical centre of North Bihar as it is the location of the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, and the second AIIMS of the state is to be constructed here.

Darbhanga is one of the oldest cities in India. Musical, folk art, and literary traditions in Sanskrit,Urdu ,Hindi and Maithili have passed down generations in Darbhanga and constitute the city's strong cultural background. It is popularly known as the "Cultural Capital of Bihar" and the "Heart of Mithilaanchal".

History
The city was the capital of the Darbhanga Raj, an estate established in the 16th century, containing the Anandbagh Palace. It was constituted as a municipality in 1864. Darbhanga is home to the Kameshwara Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University (established 1961), which is located on the grounds of the palace, and the Lalit Narayan Mithila University (established 1972). Darbhanga has a museum housing archaeological materials, as well as historical and handicrafts exhibits.

Darbhanga has been a centre for music since the late 18th century and has produced multiple well-known dhrupad (an ancient form of Indian classical music) musicians. A major rail and road junction, Darbhanga trades in agricultural produce, mangoes, and fish. In addition to food processing, the city has a light manufacturing industry.

Darbhanga is situated on a vast alluvial plain, with low-lying areas containing marshes and lakes. Grains, oilseeds, tobacco, sugarcane, and mangoes are important crops in the region.

Under the British Raj, Darbhanga was a part of Sarkar Tirhut until 1875, when it was constituted into a separate district. Its subdivisions had been constituted earlier – Darbhanga Sadar in 1845, Madhubani in 1866, and Samastipur (then known as Tajpur) in 1867. The city of Darbhanga is said to have been founded by one Darbhangi Khan, about whom practically nothing is known. It is also held that the name Darbhanga is derived from Dwar Banga or Dar-e-Banga, meaning the 'door of Bengal'. This etymology does not appear to be accurate as the division between Bengal and Bihar has always been held to be further to the east. Nonetheless, the region has a linguistic and cultural affinity with Bengal.

Excavation at Balirajgarh revealed brick fortifications dating back to the 2nd century BC.

Geography
Darbhanga is located in the northern part of Bihar. It lies between 25.53 degrees - 26.27 degrees N and 85.45 degrees - 86.25 degrees E at an average elevation of 171 feet (52 m). Darbhanga district covers an area of 2,279 sq km. Darbhanga is bounded by Madhubani district in the north, Samastipur district in the south, Saharsa district in the east, and Sitamarhi district and Muzaffarpur district in the west. Being located in Mithilanchal, Darbhanga district has a vast fertile alluvial plain devoid of any hills. It has a gentle slope from north to south direction having a depression in the centre. Darbhanga experiences a humid subtropical climate. It experiences three main seasons which are winter, summer, and rainy seasons. May is the hottest month when the temperature reaches up to 43 °C. Darbhanga district receives an average of 1142.3 mm rainfall and almost 92% of the annual rainfall is received during monsoon.

Climate
Darbhanga has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa).

Demographics
The 2011 Census of India recorded Darbhanga as an Urban agglomeration with a population of 296,039 while the surrounding district has 3 million people. It is the 5th largest city in Bihar in terms of the urban population. The city has 196,573 males (52.6%) and 183,552 females (47.4%). Darbhanga has an average literacy rate of 79.40%, with male literacy at 85.08% and female literacy at 73.08%. However, as per the document published on 6 March 2021 by the office of District Magistrate Darbhanga, the urban population of Darbhanga stands 380,125.

At the time of the 2011 census, 50.25% of the population spoke Maithili, 26.80% Urdu and 20.98% Hindi as their first language.

Railways
Darbhanga Junction lies on the East Central Railway. It is connected directly to all the major cities of India. Laheriasarai Railway Station is the second major station of Darbhanga and works as an important railway station for people living in south Darbhanga.

There are daily and weekly trains available for New Delhi, Patna, Secunderabad, Kolkata, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Howrah, Amritsar, Pune and other major cities.

Darbhanga Airport
Darbhanga also has its own commercial airport which is connected with all the major cities of India.

Darbhanga Airport (IATA: DBR, ICAO: VE89) is a civil enclave at the Darbhanga Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force, 6 kilometres from Darbhanga City near the and  East-West Corridor Expressway which passes through Darbhanga. The civil enclave is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu in the presence of state Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on 24 December 2018. After efforts taken by the MP of Darbhanga, Gopal Jee Thakur, and the then Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri. Commercial flights started on 8 November 2020.

Roadways
which is part of India's East–West highway corridor passes through Darbhanga. Darbhanga is connected to other parts of India by, and Bihar State highways 50, 56, 88 and 75. Darbhanga is also connected to Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Madhubani and Sitamarhi.

The East-West Corridor expressway, which connects Porbandar in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam, passes through Darbhanga.

The Amas–Darbhanga Expressway is an approved 4/6-lane wide access-controlled expressway in India. Once completed, it will be the first expressway in the state of Bihar. connects Amas village in Gaya district to Bela Nawada village in Darbhanga district.

Education
Notable educational institutions include:

Medical colleges



 * All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Darbhanga (Under Construction )
 * Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital
 * Mithila Minority Dental College and Hospital

University

 * Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Regional Centre
 * Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University
 * Lalit Narayan Mithila University
 * Maulana Azad National Urdu University

Engineering and technology colleges

 * Darbhanga College of Engineering
 * Women's Institute of Technology
 * Government Polytechnic, Darbhanga
 * Software Technology Park(STPI), Darbhanga

Colleges

 * C. M. Science College, Darbhanga
 * Kunwar Singh College
 * Marwari College
 * Millat College

Schools

 * Darbhanga Public School
 * Jesus & Mary Academy
 * Madonna English School
 * Rose Public School

Tourism
Darbhanga has various tourist attractions and is among the oldest cities of Bihar. Tourist spots include:
 * Chandradhari Museum
 * Darbhanga Fort
 * Maharajadhiraja Lakshmishwar Singh Museum
 * Darbhanga Planetarium
 * Shyama Mai Temple
 * Nargona Palace
 * Anand Bagh Palace
 * Raj Darbhanga
 * Ahalya Sthan
 * Kusheshwar Asthan

Media and communications
All India Radio has a 20 kW medium-wave radio station in Darbhanga which transmits various programmes of mass interest and covers a part of North Bihar as well as the Terai of Nepal.

Doordarshan has one DD National and one DD News LPT relay transmitters.

Notable people

 * Kameshwar Singh, Maharaja
 * Lakshmeshwar Singh Maharaja
 * Rameshwar Singh Maharaja
 * Sanjay Mishra, Bollywood actor
 * Gopal Jee Thakur, BJP leader and Current Member of Parliament from Darbhanga.
 * Veena Devi, politician and member of the 17th Lok Sabha
 * Abdul Bari Siddiqui, MLA
 * Badri Narain Sinha, IPS
 * Bhawana Kanth, first female fighter pilot of India
 * Binodanand Jha, former MP
 * Gangesha Upadhyaya, mathematician and philosopher
 * Gonu Jha Pratyutpannamati
 * Dr. Ashok Kr. Yadav, MP from Madhubani Lok Sabha constituency
 * Gul Mohammad Khan, Bangladeshi musician
 * H. C. Verma, physicist
 * Hukmdev Narayan Yadav, former MP
 * Imtiaz Ali (director), Bollywood director
 * Kirti Azad, former MP and cricketer
 * M J Warsi, linguist
 * Nagarjun, poet, writer, essayist, and novelist
 * Narayan Das, politician
 * Nigamananda Saraswati, Hindu monk
 * Prabhat Jha (politician), politician
 * Parmanand Jha, first vice president of Nepal
 * Ram Chatur Mallick, musician
 * Ramnandan Mishra, Indian nationalist who fought for India's freedom from British rule
 * Sultan Ahmad, former MLA
 * Sanjay Saraogi, MLA
 * Dr. Murari Mohan Jha, MLA from Keoti Vidhan Sabha Assembly Constituency
 * Satya Narayan Sinha, politician
 * Surendra Jha 'Suman', poet, freedom fighter, politician, essayist, literary critic, journalist, publisher and academician
 * Jyoti Kumari, Sirhulli, cyclist and Bal Puraskar recipient 2021
 * Tariq-ur-Rehman, cricketer
 * Tochi Raina, singer, composer, and philosopher
 * Yamuna Karjee, Indian independence activist
 * Betty von Fürer-Haimendorf, ethnologist
 * Ritviz, electronic singer
 * Manas Bihari Verma, Padam Shri decorated Aeronautical scientist, LCA Tejas
 * Ram Gopal Bajaj, Indian actor and academic
 * Ishtiaque Ahmad Qasmi Indian Islamic scholar, mufti, and writer
 * Ishtiaque Ahmad Qasmi Indian Islamic scholar, mufti, and writer