Chandauli is a district in the eastern part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The town of Chandauli serves as its administrative headquarters, although the larger urban centre within the district is Mughalsarai (officially renamed Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar). The district was carved out of Varanasi district in 1997 and forms part of the Varanasi division. It is often referred to as the "rice bowl of Uttar Pradesh" owing to its extensive paddy cultivation.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Division | Varanasi |
| Headquarters | Chandauli |
| Formed | 1997 (separated from Varanasi district) |
| Major town | Mughalsarai (Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar) |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Chandauli |
Chandauli lies in the south-eastern corner of Uttar Pradesh, bordering the state of Bihar to the east and the Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts to the south and west. The Ganges river forms part of its northern boundary, separating it from Ghazipur and Varanasi districts. The Karmanasa river flows along its eastern edge. The terrain transitions from the alluvial plains of the Ganges in the north to the forested foothills of the Vindhya Range in the south, where the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary is located.
The district is divided into administrative tehsils including Chandauli, Sakaldiha, Chakia, Mughalsarai (PDDU Nagar) and Naugarh. It comprises several development blocks and is part of the Chandauli parliamentary constituency. For policing and revenue purposes, it falls under the Varanasi commissionerate's regional structure.
Before its formation as a separate district on 20 May 1997, the area was part of Varanasi district. The region has historical associations with the Kashi kingdom and later passed through Mughal and British administration. Chandauli town and the surrounding areas were significant during the freedom movement; the village of Shahabad and the area around Chakia are remembered for participation in the Quit India movement and earlier uprisings.
The Mughalsarai railway junction, one of the largest and busiest railway yards in India on the Howrah–Delhi main line, is located within the district. The station and town were renamed Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar in 2018, in memory of the politician Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, whose body was found near the station in 1968. The former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was born in Mughalsarai in 1904.
Agriculture is the backbone of the district economy, with paddy, wheat and pulses being the principal crops. Chandauli's irrigated tracts, fed by canals from the Rihand system and the Karmanasa, support intensive rice cultivation. The southern blocks include forested and tribal-dominated areas where minor forest produce contributes to local livelihoods. The railway township of Mughalsarai and the National Highway corridor (NH 19, formerly NH 2) sustain trade, transport and small industry.