District de Chandel

Chandel district (Meitei pronunciation: /ˌtʃænˈdɛl/), or Chamdil district, is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. Its headquarters is the town of Chandel. In December 2016, a part of the district was split to establish the new Tengnoupal district. The Thadou language of the Kuki-Chin family is the most spoken language in the district. In 2011, Chandel was the second least populous district in the state with a population density of 40 per square kilometre. In 1974, the Chandel district was formed under the name "Tengnoupal district". In 1983, the name was changed to Chandel district, as the district headquarters was located at Chandel. In December 2016, the present-day Tengnoupal district was split from the Chandel district. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Chandel as one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It was then one of the three districts in Manipur receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). According to the 2011 census Chandel district has a population of 144,182. This gives it a ranking of 602nd 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 21.72%. Chandel has a sex ratio of 932 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 70.85%. The residual district had a population of 85,072 after the separation of Tengnoupal district, entirely rural. The residual district had a sex ratio of 921 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 0.09% and 92.56% of the population respectively. The main language in the district like other southern hill districts is Thadou language of the Kuki-Chin family. Other Kuki-Chin languages spoken include Vaiphei, Zou and Lamkang. In addition there is Aimol with fewer than 2500 speakers, written in the Latin script; and Anal, spoken by approximately 14,000 Indians. At the time of the 2011 census, 37.69% of the population spoke Thadou, 30.26% Anal, 4.74% Zou, 2.77% Ao, 2.