Jhabua district

Jhabua is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Jhabua is the administrative headquarters of the district. Jhabua district lies in the western part of Madhya Pradesh. It is surrounded by Dahod and Chhota Udaipur districts of Gujarat, Banswara district of Rajasthan, and Alirajpur, Dhar and Ratlam districts of Madhya Pradesh. It has an area of 3,782 km2. The terrain is hilly and undulating. Average rainfall in the district is about 800 mm. The district is divided into five tehsils and six community development blocks. Jhabua district was divided into two parts in May 2008, namely Alirajpur and Jhabua. Aliarajpur, Jobat, Udaigarh, Bhabra, Sondawa and Katthiwada are the 6 blocks of new district, Alirajpur. Jhabua district now consists of jHabua, Meghnagar, Ranapur, Rama, Thandla and Petlawad blocks. The district is highly drought-prone and degraded waste lands form the matrix of Jhabua. The women make lovely ethnic items including bamboo products, dolls, bead-jewellery and other items that have for long decorated the living rooms all over the country. The men have for ages adorned "Teer-Kamthi", the bow and arrow, which has been their symbol of chivalry and self-defence. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Jhabua one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 24 districts in Madhya Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). According to the 2011 census Jhabua District has a population of 1,025,048, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Montana. This gives it a ranking of 440th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 30.58%. Jhabua has a sex ratio of 989 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 44.45%. 8.97% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Tribes made up 1.70% and 87.00% of the population respectively.