Morang District

This article is about the place in Nepal. For the place in Australia, see South Morang, Victoria.

Morang District (Nepali: मोरङ जिल्ला listen^ⓘ) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district, which borders Jhapa to the east, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the north, Sunsari to the west, and Bihar, India, to the south. Morang has one metropolitan city (Biratnagar), eight municipalities and eight rural municipalities. The total area of the district is 1,855 km² (716 sq mi). The lowest elevation point is 60 meters and the highest is 2,410 meters above sea level. The headquarters of Morang is connected by the Koshi National Highway to the east–west Mahendra National Highway at Itahari, Sunsari. Morang is also connected to the Hill parts of the eastern region of Nepal. Morang is the core industrial sector for the eastern region of Nepal.

Morang District मोरङ जिल्ला
District
Entrance to Biratnagar
Country	Nepal
Province	Koshi Province
Established	7th century circa
Admin HQ.	Biratnagar
Government
• Type	Coordination committee
• Body	DCC, Morang
• Head	Mr. Naresh Prasad Pokhrel
• Deputy-Head	Mr. Prakash Kumar Shah
• Parliamentary constituencies	6
• Provincial constituencies	12
Area
• Total	1,855 km2 (716 sq mi)
Elevation	111 m (364 ft)
Highest elevation	2,410 m (7,910 ft)
Lowest elevation	60 m (200 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	1,147,187
• Rank	1st (in Province)
• Density	620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+05:45 (NPT)
Main Language(s)	Nepali, Maithili, Tharu, Rajbanshi, Limbu
Minor Language(s)	Newar, Angika, Urdu, Magar, Tamang
Website	www.ddcmorang.gov.np

At the beginning of the 7th century, King Mung Mawrong Hang came to prominence in the terai lands of Limbuwan (present-day Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa area). He cleared much of the forest area in present-day Rangeli, east of Biratnagar, and built a town there. He named his Kingdom Morang after his name and rose to power.^[2][3]

The lowlands of Limbuwan (present-day terai lands of Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa) was collectively known as Morang since the time of King Mawrong. In the beginning of 1400 AD, Morang Kingdom patriated from Kingdom of Ilam and Kingdom of Mikluk Bodhey (Choubise) and started ruling on its own. Morang Kingdom’s borders were set at Kankai river in the east, Koshi river in the west, Shanguri fort in the north and Jalal garh in India in the south. King Sangla Ing became the first king of Lowland Limbuwan kingdom of Morang after 900 years since it last had its own king. He built alliances with the other Kings of Limbuwan and remained in good terms. He built his kingdom at Varatappa and ruled from there. King Sangla Ing was succeeded by his son Pungla Ing, who later converted into Hinduism and changed his name to Amar Raya Ing.^[4]

Geography and climate

Climate Zone[5]	Elevation Range	% of Area
Lower Tropical	below 300 meters (1,000 ft)	80.9%
Upper Tropical	300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft.	11.5%
Subtropical	1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft.	7.4%
Temperate	2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft.	0.2%

Morang lies in the Outer Terai, or plains, of Eastern Nepal. Most of the land is taken up by rice and jute cultivation, though areas of sal forest remain along the northern part of the district where the plains meet the hills.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1981	534,692	—
1991	674,823	+2.35%
2001	843,220	+2.25%
2011	965,370	+1.36%
2021	1,147,186	+1.74%
Sources:[6]

At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Morang District had a population of 1,147,186. 7.63% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 78.61% and a sex ratio of 1059 females per 1000 males. 802,089 (69.92%) lived in municipalities.^[7]

Ethnicity/caste of Morang district (2021)^[8]

1. Chhetri (13.2%)
2. Bahun (12.3%)
3. Tharu (5.78%)
4. Muslim (4.85%)
5. Rai (4.54%)
6. Limbu (4.22%)
7. Rajbanshi (3.76%)
8. Newar (3.19%)
9. Musahar (3.09%)
10. Gangai (2.65%)
11. Tamang (2.61%)
12. Magar (2.50%)
13. Bantar (2.29%)
14. Yadav (2.22%)
15. Kami (2.21%)
16. Other Madheshi non-Dalit (14.4%)
17. Other Terai Janjati (6.51%)
18. Other Hill Janjati (3.45%)
19. Other Madheshi Dalit (2.02%)
20. Other Khas Dalit (1.98%)
21. Others (2.32%)

Morang is the most ethnically diverse district in Nepal, with 119 castes and ethnicities represented. Khas people make up the largest group, mainly Chhetri and Bahun who together make up over 25% of the population. Khas Dalits are around 4% of the population. Madheshi communities made up nearly 24% of the population, with 17% being non-Dalits and 7% Dalits. Terai Janjati communities make up nearly 19% of the population, mainly Tharu, Rajbanshi, Gangai and Dhimal. Hill Janajati communities make up 17% of the population, mainly Kiranti peoples like Rais and Limbus as well as Tamang and Magar. Muslims are nearly 5% of the population, divided into a number of castes.^[8]

Religion in Morang District (2021)[9]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			81.47%
Kirat Mundhum			6.64%
Islam			4.94%
Buddhism			4.06%
Christianity			1.97%
Prakriti			0.80%
Other or not stated			0.02%

Religion: 80.3% were Hindu, 6.5% Kirati, 4.7% Muslim, 4.1% Buddhist, 2.3% Prakriti, 1.6% Christian, 0.1% Jain and 0.3% others.^[9]

Languages of Morang district (2021)^[10]

1. Nepali 39.99 (36.3%)
2. Maithili 32.64 (29.7%)
3. Tharu 6.62 (6.02%)
4. Rajbanshi 3.57 (3.24%)
5. Limbu 3.2 (2.91%)
6. Angika 3.12 (2.84%)
7. Urdu 1.82 (1.65%)
8. Santali 1.79 (1.63%)
9. Tamang 1.31 (1.19%)
10. Magar 1.06 (0.96%)
11. Rai 1.39 (1.26%)
12. Dhimal 1 (0.91%)
13. Newar 0.99 (0.90%)
14. Bantawa 0.93 (0.85%)
15. Others 10.6 (9.63%)

At the time of the 2021 census, 39.99% of the population spoke Nepali, 22.64% Maithili, 6.62% Tharu, 3.57% Rajbanshi, 3.20% Limbu, 3.12% Angika, 2.76% Urdu, 1.84% Santali, 1.77% Tamang, 1.59% Magar, 1.39% Rai, 1.00% Dhimal, 0.99% Newari and 0.93% Bantawa as their first language.^[10]

Economy

Biratnagar Skyline

Most of the district is rural, though it is also home to Biratnagar, the sixth largest city of Nepal. It is the industrial capital of Nepal. Morang has the highest numbers of industries and factories, multinational brands. Other emerging towns include Sundarharaicha, Urlabari, Belbari, Pathari and Rangeli. It has the largest industrial area in the whole country, expanding from Rani Mills Area to Duhabi River. Biratnagar Jute Mills, Arihant and Dhanawat Matches are among the nation's oldest industries.

Education

Morang district is home to the historic Morang Campus (Mahendra Morang Adarsh Multiple Campus, Biratnagar), Sukuna Multiple Campus (Sundar Haraicha Municipality), Urlabari Multiple Campus, Pathari Multiple Campus, and several other institutions of higher learning. Sukuna Multiple Campus has around 5000 students situated at Sunderharaincha of Morang district. Purbanchal University in Biratnagar offers graduate level courses in many disciplines of Science, Arts and Liberal Sciences. At present, the university has broadly identified Industry-Technology, Agriculture-Forestry, Environment- Rural-Cultural Subsistence and Sustainable Development as specific areas of “Academic Excellence”. It has affiliated private in all the parts of Nepal.

Politics

Morang has been a hotbed of political activity throughout Nepal's recent history producing political stalwarts such as Matrika Prasad Koirala, BP Koirala, Madan Bhandari, Girija Prasad Koirala, Man Mohan Adhikari, Sushil Koirala, Bharat Mohan Adhikari as well as the present time leaders like Shekhar Koirala, Upendra Yadav, etc.

The district currently sends 6 members to the national legislature.

Administrative divisions

The district consists of one Metropolitan Cities, eight urban municipalities and eight rural municipalities. These are as follows:

Map of the VDCs in Morang District

Municipalities

• Biratnagar Metropolitan City
• Sundar Haraicha Municipality
• Belbari Municipality
• Pathari-Sanischare Municipality
• Urlabari Municipality
• Rangeli Municipality
• Letang Municipality
• Ratuwamai Municipality
• Sunawarshi Municipality

Rural Municipalities

• Kerabari Rural Municipality
• Miklajung Rural Municipality
• Kanepokhari Rural Municipality
• Budhiganga Rural Municipality
• Gramthan Rural Municipality
• Katahari Rural Municipality
• Dhanpalthan Rural Municipality
• Jahada Rural Municipality

Notable people

• Rekha Thapa, Actress
• Madan Bhandari, Political Leader
• Suman Pokhrel, Poet, Lyricist, Translator
• Ghanashyam Khatiwada, Member of House of Representative, Morang 1
• Nikita Chandak, Miss Nepal 2017
• Yama Buddha, Rapper
• Shekhar Koirala, Member of Legislature Parliament of Nepal
• Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe, Member of House of Representative,

Proportionate (CPN-UML)

• Lal Babu Pandit, Member of House of Representative, Morang 6