Wikipedia:WikiProject Indian districts

The goal of Wikiproject Indian districts is to create comprehensive articles on India's districts and divisions. A division is a group of districts created for administrative purposes in large states. The project also aims to standardise section contents and provide ideas as to what can be added to each section. The final goal is to have as many articles on India's districts as a Featured article, one of Wikipedia's best.

If you have any knowledge of any district/division, please help the project by adding content to the article. You can also contribute photos to the article, if you have been there or reside there.

Featured articles are some of wikipedia's best articles voted by wikipedians themselves. All intended projects must try and emulate the following articles:
 * Featured articles:


 * ''none currently

Place this WikiProject notice Template:WP India at the top of an article's Talk page to direct editors to the Wikiproject Indian districts for guidelines.
 * WikiProject Indian districts notice

To use it, place

at the top of an article's Talk page

Participants

 * AnM2002 (talk) 08:03, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Sayed Mohd Faiz Haider Rizvi (talk) 05:20, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * N.Ansari/S.K.
 * Maquahuitl 13:59, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Nichalp (Talk)
 * Bhadani
 * utcursch | talk 09:40, August 3, 2005 (UTC)
 * lost 19:15, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Saravask 06:36, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Dwaipayan (talk) 05:34, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Nasruddin ansari
 * PhnomPencil (talk) 09:56, 19 September 2011 (UTC)
 * --Imahesh3847 (talk) 17:02, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
 * 09:49:46, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Ankit (Talk with me) 19:29, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Nasruddin ansari
 * PhnomPencil (talk) 09:56, 19 September 2011 (UTC)
 * --Imahesh3847 (talk) 17:02, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
 * 09:49:46, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Ankit (Talk with me) 19:29, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * --Imahesh3847 (talk) 17:02, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
 * 09:49:46, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Ankit (Talk with me) 19:29, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * 09:49:46, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Ankit (Talk with me) 19:29, 4 May 2021 (UTC)

Guidelines for importance assessment

 * Top: Lists of districts by state, and districts with 40+ lakh (4+ million) population
 * High: Districts with 20–40 lakh (2–4 million) population
 * Mid: Districts with 10–20 lakh (1–2 million) population
 * Low: Districts with less than 10 lakh (1 million) population

Basic India conventions

 * Use only Indian English spellings as per the guidelines for India related pages.
 * All units should be metric (SI) units. Imperial equivalents should be given alongside in brackets.
 * Use the Indian numbering system of lakhs and crores. Give their equivalence (millions/ billions) alongside.
 * For monetary figures, use the Indian numbering system but also give its US dollar equivalence in brackets.

Disambiguation
In many cases a district and its headquarters share the same name. For example, Mysore is the name of a city, district and division. For such cases, contents of the district should be added to Mysore district and the division should be added to Mysore division. Thus Mysore will be having only matter relating to the city. However all three should be linked in the respective articles.

Please note: the word district should be with a small d.

The small 'd' convention by the Indian district project is disputed. See: WikiProject Indian districts/Naming.

Sections
These are the sections that should be included.

Lead in
The lead-in consists of text that comes before the Table of Contents. The lead-in should summarise key aspects of the district, what it is known for and its significance. The first paragraph should also mention its location and the bordering districts/divisions. The origins of the name can also be included here. The lead in should contain a minimum of two medium sized paragraphs. Three would be ideal.
 * Rating: Compulsory
 * Length: 2-3 paragraphs

Etymology
If there are many theories of the name of the district and the etymology which would unnecessary lengthen the lead in, consider adding this section. The origin of the district is important and should be included in the article.
 * Rating: Section optional; inclusion important
 * Length: minimum one large paragraph, or two small paragraphs.

History
The history section is one of the most important sections of the article. It should describe the key events of the district starting from its origins to the current. Important is whether it is homonymous with a princely state (the most extensive listing in on the specialized site [], but does not taken into account alternative names, such as variations in spelling) and/or overlaps with one or more (e)states. As far as possible avoid political history except for key instances crucial for the district's change.

The history section should be around four to five mid-sized paragraphs. If it exceeds six paragraphs move the detail to a separate article titled History of xxx, and provide a summary of 4-5 paragraphs here highlighting key points in the district's development. Do not use subheadings.
 * Rating: Compulsory
 * Length: 4-6 paragraphs; summarise/précis if longer, add detail to another page.

Geography
This section is also compulsory. Describe the district's location in the state, regions (Konkan, Deccan etc.), if coastal state etc. Also mention rivers, lakes, creeks and islands within. Hills and highest point should also be mentioned.

Climate is compulsory. Mention the seasons, weather, when the district gets its rains and annual rainfall. Give the average temperature and if possible temperature records. The climate section can also be a standalone section. See Mumbai.

Add a paragraph on the geology of the district. This information is optional. If the region falls in an earthquake prone zone; mention that too.

If adequate information on both the climate and geology is available, then the two may also be included as subsections under Geography. See Sikkim.


 * Rating: Compulsory
 * Length: Varies. Try not to exceed 10 paragraphs if geology and climate are both included in the main geography section.

Flora and fauna
Write something on the flora and fauna of the district. Also mention the Parks and nature reserves in the districts.
 * Rating: Important
 * Length: Not more than four paragraphs.

Economy
Describe the primary economy of the district, the major industries, businesses etc. Also mention the primary occupations of its residents. A list of major companies can also be included. What is the main agricultural produce? How much money the district makes? Its budget? Its commercial centres etc.


 * Rating: Compulsory
 * Length: Not more than four paragraphs.

Divisions
If the district has sub-divisions such as Tehsil/mandal/taluka and Revenue divisions, show it alongside a map. For divisions, show the districts alongside a map and for some states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana divisions are the administrative units which has mandals. How many seats does the district contribute to the Lok Sabha, state legislature? A little info on the headquarters etc. The administration info like collector can be mentioned.


 * Rating: Compulsory
 * Length: Not more than four paragraphs

Transport
Mention the most popular modes of transport (don’t use transportation, its American English) eg. Buses trains, buses, jeeps, air, sea etc. It should be in prose form rather than in bulleted points


 * Rating: Not very important
 * Length: Variable, avoid more than five.

Demographics
The population, density, literacy, sex ratio, life expectancy all should be mentioned here. Mention the break up of religious groups in %. Include inline references.

In paragraph 2, mention the languages spoken and ethnic groups.


 * Rating: Very Important
 * Length: maximum three

Culture
What is a resident of the district called? Mention popular cuisines. Film, architecture, art can be added be added. Include art galleries, museums and public libraries present in the district. Clothing too can be included. Notable musicians, authors, actors etc can be included.

Mention festivals, the important ones and how popular ones are celebrated.


 * Rating: Very Important
 * Length: not more than five.

Education
Write about schools in the district and the education pattern. Important schools and colleges can be mentioned. Mention universities and prominent institutions and other educational centres.


 * Rating: Important
 * Length: maximum three.

Media
Write about the newspapers; TV channels and radio stations. Also include print publications in the district.


 * Rating: Optional
 * Length: not more than three.

Sports
Mention the most popular sport in the districts. Mention notable stadiums present in cities for each sport. Also include the sports that are popular in schools, colleges and the most viewed sports. Prominent sportsmen may also be included. This section may also be merged with 'culture'


 * Rating: Important
 * Length: not more than three.

Infoboxes
All districts/divisions should have an infobox placed before the start of the text. A sample one is shown here:

Footer Templates
Simple templates and state linkboxes:
 * WikiProject Indian districts/templates

Licence
Wikipedia needs free images. By *free* we mean that images should be allowed for any use, be it derivative or commercial (with conditions). The image should *NOT* come from a copyrighted source or be stolen from a website. You can only upload an image of you have an account here. When you upload an image, in the summary, mention the source of the image and tag it with a licence. Popular free tags include:
 * PD – public domain
 * cc-by-sa – Creative commons.

If you have a free image to upload, please upload it in wikimedia instead of the english wikipedia so that it can be embedded into all wikimedia projects.

There are a lot more licences: you can read more here: Image copyright tags and Licensing.

File types

 * use .jpg for photographs only
 * use: .gif for animations only
 * use: .png for all other types (maps, charts, diagrams etc.)

Please upload at the *highest* possible resolution you can afford to.

Use in text
An image should be related to the text alongside. Do not place a picture of a bus in the geography section, it would be better under the transport section. The images should be preferably right-aligned as it is easier to read the text. Size for use on the page can vary from 220px to 270px, but try and stick to one size for all images. Avoid overuse of images, and overlapping of images into the next section. Always test at 800x600, the standard web resolution.

Page size
Around 25 kb should be the bare minimum. A page size of under 30kb is easy to read. Upto 32 kb should be sufficient, but a page size of over 35 kb is considered too large to read.

Some wikipedia conventions

 * For main articles use this template:
 * Add a non breaking space ( & n b s p ; ) between a unit and the value eg. 15 m (50 feet) renders as: 15 m (50 feet)
 * For geographical coordinates use the following templates:
 *   – Use for geographical cordinates in metric or in degrees.
 *  22.25°N, 82.08333°W  – Use for geographical cordinates, if both the degree and minute has to be displayed.
 *  22.26167°N, 82.0925°W  – Use for geographical cordinates if the degree, minute and second has to be displayed.
 * Use  & m i n u s ;  for negative numbers.
 * For 'related topics' the convention is:  ''

Best of luck!

Related WikiProjects

 * WikiProject Indian cities
 * WikiProject Indian states

Tools


The following Toolserver tools are dead as of 2023
 * Main tool page: toolserver.org


 * Reflinks - Edits bare references - adds title/dates etc. to bare references
 * Checklinks - Edit and repair external links
 * Dab solver - Quickly resolve ambiguous links.
 * Peer reviewer - Provides hints and suggestion to improving articles.