Birgunj

Birgunj is a metropolitan city in Parsa District, located in Nepal's Madhesh Province. Situated about 135 kilometers south of Kathmandu, it sits right on the border with the Indian state of Bihar, adjacent to the town of Raxaul. Because it serves as the main point of entry into Nepal from India via Patna, it is often called the "Gateway of Nepal." It is also referred to as the "Commercial Capital of Nepal," as the vast majority of the country's trade with India moves through Birgunj and its cross-border partner, Raxaul. The Tribhuvan Highway connects the city directly to Kathmandu.

Birgunj was among the first three municipalities ever formed in Nepal, established during the rule of Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. The city grew out of several villages clustered around the Gahawa Mai Temple, which remains the town's central hub. It was declared a Metropolitan City on May 22, 2017, at the same time as Biratnagar and Pokhara. Today, Birgunj is one of Nepal's largest cities, the biggest in Madhesh Province, and the fifth most populous metropolis in the country.

The settlement was named after Rana Prime Minister Bir Shamsher.

The earliest known human activity in the area is thought to have been a settlement around the Bhiswa stupa, a Buddhist shrine that preliminary investigations suggest is about 1,500 years old, though it has not yet been officially dated by archaeologists. Before Birgunj was established, the main center of Parsa district was Alau, near the Dryport. The ancient name of the settlement was Gahawa, which was changed to Birgunj in 1897 by the 11th Rana Prime Minister, Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. Prior to the founding of the Birgunj Bazar, surrounding villages like Bagahi, Alau, Barewa, Kalaiya, Parsauni, Inaruwa, and Chhapkaiya already existed. To build the bazaar in a forested area, Bir Shamsher appointed brothers Siddhvir Mathema and Dhadjavir Mathema as rulers of Mal Ada and Kath Mal Ada. Siddhvir Mathema distributed free land and timber and gave cash assistance to homeowners, an act that later led to his death sentence.

After Bir Shamsher's death, Dev Shamsher became prime minister, but within three months, Chandra Shumsher drove him out and took power. Supporters of the previous prime ministers did not tolerate Chandra Shamsher. Siddhivir Mathema, a close associate of Bir Shamsher, was accused of irregularities in inspecting a reservoir treaty. When he presented his accounts for setting up the bazaar, they were declared invalid, and he was ordered to pay immediately. Unable to do so, he was punished by being made to walk around the market with a signboard on his chest. A verbal death sentence was passed to have him cut to pieces. However, Bir Shamsher's wife paid three lakh to save Mathema from execution.

Chandra Shamsher also wanted to move the bazaar his brother had founded, relocating it to Rautahat. In 1959, as part of this effort, the main market was raided from Raxaul to Birgunj, and the rail line was extended to Amlekhganj. The train initially ran right through the houses, terrorizing residents, but the rail link was later moved east of the market. At that time, the Indian city of Raxaul, now the main gateway connection, did not yet exist; Indian trains only ran as far as Sugauli.

On May 18, 2006, Nepal's parliament declared the country a secular state, sparking unrest in Birgunj. The city was also the main center for the Madhes movement, which erupted twice, in 2007 and 2013.

Birgunj sits on the Terai plain, part of the northern Indo-Gangetic plain. The metropolitan area has an elongated shape, with altitudes ranging from 78 to 95 meters from south to north. The city lies about 90 meters above sea level. The area is underlain by Quaternary sediments, and the soil—a mix of clay, silt, and sand—is very fertile.

The climate is subtropical monsoon, with very hot, humid summers. Mean annual temperatures range from 23.8 to 24.5 °C. Annual rainfall varies from about 1,300 to 2,800 mm, averaging 1,800 mm, with most precipitation falling from June to September.

Two major rivers, the Sirsiya in the west and the Singaha in the east, flow north to south through Birgunj. During the monsoon, they flood and cause bank cutting at bends, while in winter, water levels drop very low. The groundwater table sits roughly 9 to 15 meters deep, fluctuating by 1 to 2 meters between wet and dry seasons.

According to the 2021 Census, Birgunj's population was 268,273, making it the second-largest city in the Terai and the fifth-largest in Nepal, after Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, and Lalitpur. It serves as the headquarters of Parsa District. At the time of the 2011 census, the population was 244,086. Of these, 78.6% spoke Bhojpuri, 6.5% Nepali, 5.5% Maithili, 3.1% Urdu, 1.9% Rajasthani, 1.5% Newar, and 0.7% other languages.