Motihari is a city and headquarters of East Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 80 kilometres west of Muzaffarpur and 152 kilometres northwest of the state capital Patna. In early days the land of Motihari was ruled by different kingdoms as Videha, Sunga, Kanvas. It is also believed that Champaran used to be a major part of King Janak's empire. Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Satyagraha movement from here.

Geography

Motihari is located on 26°39' N and 84°55' E in northwestern Bihar. It is about 165 km northwest from the state capital Patna, 45 km from Bettiah, 72 km from Muzaffarpur, 32 km from Chakia, 40 km from Mehsi, and 75 km from Sitamarhi. It is on the east bank of a lake, about 40 km southeast of Bettiah.

Topography

The topography of Motihari has been described as scenic, with the "stunning beauty" (in classical terms) of Moti Jheel Lake dividing the town in two halves. In Gangan Lit-Mag (Gangway Literary Magazine), Austria, wrote Anant Kumar: "The playgrounds of my childhood were the streets of Motihari. Back then that little East Indian town was not overpopulated, and the dry, clean streets of every part of town were ideal for our games: marbles, tops, badminton. And back then Motihari was a wide distance away from the big world. There were very many mango and lichee trees, fragrant lemon bushes, broad, large fields…and very few people. There were scattered decrepit hawelis and bungalows, in which frightening bhuts, geniis and juraels dwelled." The Gandhi Sangrahalaya has a wide collection of relics and photographs of the Champaran Satyagraha. The Gandhian Memorial Pillar was designed by Nand Lal Bose, a famous artist of Shantiniketan. The foundation stone of the pillar was laid on 10 June 1972 by the then Governor, D. K. Barooch. It is a 48 ft tall stone pillar and is situated at the same site where Mahatma Gandhi was presented in court.

Climate

Climate is characterised by high temperatures and precipitation mainly occurring during the Monsoon Season [June to September]. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Cwa" (Humid Subtropical). The highest maximum temperature ever recorded in Motihari was 44.4 °C on May 24, 1903, while the lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in Motihari was 0.0 °C on February 3, 1905. The heaviest rainfall recorded in 24 hours in Motihari was 520 mm on 25 August 2005.

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Motihari had a total population of 126,158, of which 67,861 were males and 58,297 were females, with a sex ratio of 859. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 16,870. The total number of literates in Motihari was 92,798, which constituted 73.6% of the population with male literacy of 76.2% and female literacy of 70.5%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Motihari was 84.9%, of which male literacy rate was 88.1% and female literacy rate was 81.2%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 7,373 and 333 respectively. Motihari had 22,224 households in 2011. India census, the population of Motihari in 2011 was 101,506, of which male and female were 54,629 and 46,877, respectively. The sex ratio of Motihari city is 858 per 1,000 males. Total literates in Motihari city are 69,576 of which 40,265 were males while 29,311 were females. The crude literacy rate of 68.5% and effective literacy (7+ population) per cent of 80.3%. The children aged 0–6 in Motihari city are 14,910, as per the Census India report, in 2001, with 7,811 males and 7,099 females. The child sex ratio of girls is 909 per 1,000 boys.

Education

The city hosts a number of institutes and universities for higher education supported by both state and central governments.

Notable people

Vallabha was born in a Telugu Tailang Brahmin family that was residing in Motihari. They escaped to Kashi of United Provinces state while expecting a Muslim invasion in Varanasi during the late 15th century.[2]

Connection with Gandhi

Motihari, at that time simply called Champaran, was close to Mahatma Gandhi. He came to Motihari on April 15, 1917 with Raj Kumar Shukla to start the Satyagraha movement in Champaran, known as Champaran Satyagraha, which concerned the exploitations of farmers. Gandhi with his supporters held a big campaign in Champaran. His frequent visits to Champaran and its local areas showed the Gandhi's connection with land. He also understood the cultural and social backwardness of the area, he acted immediately by creating schools and ashrams.