Nuh district

Nuh district (formerly known as the Mewat district) is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The district is known for having the largest Muslim population in Haryana. It lies within the National Capital Region as well as the historical Mewat region and Braj region of India.

It has an area of 1860 km2 and had a population of 1.09 million in 2011. It is bounded by Gurugram district to the north, Palwal district of Haryana to the east, Deeg and Alwar districts to the south and the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan to the west. There are four sub-divisions in this district: Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka, Punahana, and Taoru.

In 2018, the Government of India's think tank NITI Aayog listed Nuh district as the most underdeveloped of India's 739 districts. Despite bordering Gurgaon district, Haryana's rich industrial and financial heartland, this district had the worst health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure.

History
The Nuh district area is a small part of the vast historical and cultural region of Mewat.

During the Maratha Empire, Mahadaji Shinde, had conquered most of the region from the Mughals and northern Mewat (Nuh district) came under the Maratha Confederacy. All of the Gurgaon district area of Punjab (which consisted of present-day districts of Faridabad, Rewari, and Mahendargah and Nuh) was conquered by French generals in late 18th century.

Daulat Rao Sindhia ceded the Gurgaon region to the British on 30 December 1803 under the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon to the British East India Company leading to the Company rule in India. The southern and western Gurgaon region remained under the Bharatpur Jat Kings and their vassal relatives, one of whom was Nahar Singh of Ballabgarh.

After the Rebellion of 1857, the Nuh district area became a part of the Gurgaon district in the Punjab Province of British India. The Meos of southern Gurgaon (modern-day Nuh district) were leaders in the Rebellion and even momentarily formed their own government of Chaudharies as they drove the British out.

During the British Era, The Meo Muslims who inhabited this region were syncretic in past rituals.

"'The Meos (Muhammadans) of the eastern Punjab still participate in the observance of the Holi and Diwali festivals. On the latter occasion they paint the horns, hoofs, etc.,of their bullocks and join in the general rejoicings'."

In the 1920s the grassroots Islamic movement Tablighi Jamaat arose from this region under Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlwai as a reformist movement. This Muslim region was heavily inflicted by partition violence of 1947, which in turn naturally altered the syncretic life style of people in the region. During partition some Meo Muslim villages were attacked; when the Meos retaliated they were attacked by the Hindu princely state maharajas. The violence has been remembered by the Meo Muslims and lead them to embrace a more Islamic identity. The Meos' Islamic identity has also been enhanced due to better education, communication and transportation. As secular schools have increase in the area, so have the religious madrassas. Many Meos have traveled to Delhi to attend religious gatherings, or visited their relatives in Pakistan.

During Indian independence, there was a surge in Communal tension when Jinnah demanded for a separate nation as a result of which Partition of India was proposed by the British rulers. A branch of the All India Muslim League was established in the area, which had proposed a separate province for Meos and a significant number of Meos became members of the organization.

Mahatma Gandhi later visited the village of Ghasera in the district and requested Meos not to leave India. Chaudhary Mohammad Yasin Khan, a prominent social reformer in the region, was responsible for bringing Gandhi to Ghasera. Because of Mahatama Gandhi, some Meos were resettled in Laxmangarh, Nagar, Kaman, Deeg of Alwar district and Bharatpur district. Due to this, the people of Ghasera still celebrate Mewat Day.

Yasin Khan's political leadership created three infamous political dynasties in the region, the Tayyab Husain clan, Rahim Khan clan and the Ahmed clan. Yasin Khan put forward two political leaders during his lifetime, his own son, Tayyab Husain and Khurshid Ahmed. Later on, Rahim Khan also emerged as political leader in rebellion to these two in the region. These political dynasties have gained notoriety and continue to have significant influence in the politics and culture of district.

The district was officially established on 4 April 2005, by taking areas from Gurgaon district and the Hathin sub-division of Faridabad district. However, in 2008, Hathin sub-division was reorganized in the new district of Palwal. The district was renamed from Mewat to Nuh in 2016, because Mewat is a historical and cultural region which spans farther into the states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Nuh district, although was called Mewat, did not encompass the entire historical Mewat region, rather only a small part of it The district currently comprises Nuh, Taoru, Nagina, Ferozepur Jhirka, Indri, Punhana and Pinangwan blocks, 431 villages and 297 panchayats. There had been 512 villages and 365 panchayats in district before Hathin Block was transferred to Palwal district.

In 2023, the district was rocked by the 2023 Haryana riots.

Geography
The total area of Nuh district is 1507 km2.

Sub-divisions

 * Nuh
 * Ferozepur Jhirka
 * Punahana
 * Taoru

Sub Tehsil

 * Nagina

Blocks

 * Nuh
 * Ferozepur Jhirka
 * Punhana
 * Taoru
 * Nagina
 * Indri
 * Pinganwan

Assembly constituencies
There are three Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka and Punahana. All 3 are part of the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency. Taoru from the Nuh district (previously Taoru Assembly constituency) comes under Sohna constituency of Gurugram district.

Towns and villages

 * Ferozepur Jhirka
 * Khanpur Ghati
 * Nagina
 * Nuh
 * Pinangwan
 * Punahana
 * Sultanpur-Punahana
 * Ghasera
 * Tauru

Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Nuh district had a population of 1,089,263. By population, it ranks 420th among the 640 districts of India. The district had a population density of 729 PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 37.94%. It had a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 56.1%. 11.39% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes make up 6.91% of the population.

It is the only Muslim majority district in Haryana, and has the highest proportion of Muslims in North India outside Jammu and Kashmir.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 36.17% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 34.75% Mewati, 25.76% Urdu and 2.84% Haryanvi as their first language.

Economy
The main occupation in the district is agriculture, followed by allied and agro-based activities. The Meos are the predominant population group and are all agriculturists.

Climate
The district falls under the sub-tropical semi-arid climatic zone with extremely hot temperatures in summer. January is the coldest month with temperature ranging between 2 and 25 C. May and June are the hottest months of the year with the temperature ranging from 30 to 40 C.

The annual rainfall varies considerably, from 336 to 440 mm. About 80% of the annual rainfall is received during the monsoon season, from June to September with a peak in July. Dryness of air is a standard feature in Mewat district, with high humidity only during the monsoon period. During the monsoon, the sky is heavily clouded, and winds are strong. Winds are generally light during the post-monsoon and winter months. The dry season of minimum humidity (less than 20%) is between April and May, when strong dusty winds are conspicuous.

Nuh district experiences a high incidence of thunderstorms and dust storms, often accompanied by violent squalls (Bengali: andhar&thinsp;) from April to June. The thunderstorms may be accompanied by heavy rain and occasionally by hail. In the winter months, fog may appear in the district.

Transport
Nuh town is on National Highway 248A (NH 248A) (previously known as the Gurgaon–Sohna–Alwar road), connecting the district to Gurugram and Alwar. The Kundli–Manesar–Palwal (KMP) Expressway provides high-speed access to the district from Palwal and Manesar. Major District Roads 131 and 135 connect to the Delhi–Agra Highway. The nearest railway station is Hodal which is around 20 km from Punahana town. The closest railway station to the district headquarters, Nuh town, is 37 km away in Palwal.

The planned route of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway will pass west of Pinangwan town and is expected to boost connectivity to cities. Western Dedicated Freight Corridor passes through Sohna of this district.

Notable people

 * Tayyab Husain (born 1936), former Member of the Lok Sabha, and former Cabinet Minister in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
 * Chaudhary Rahim Khan (born 1923), former Member of the Lok Sabha and president of the All India Meo Sabha.
 * Parvej Khan (born 2004), Indian track and field athlete.
 * Salman Ali (born 1998), Indian playback singer.