Etawah district is an administrative district in the south-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The district headquarters is the town of Etawah, situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. The district forms part of the Kanpur division and lies in a region historically associated with the Chambal ravines and the doab between the Yamuna and its tributaries.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| Division | Kanpur |
| Headquarters | Etawah |
| Region | Doab / Bundelkhand fringe |
| Major rivers | Yamuna, Chambal, Sengar, Kunwari |
| Official languages | Hindi, Urdu |
Etawah district lies in the south-western corner of Uttar Pradesh. It is bounded by Auraiya district to the east, Kannauj and Mainpuri districts to the north, Agra district to the north-west, and the state of Madhya Pradesh across the Chambal to the south. The terrain is largely alluvial plain, but the southern belt along the Chambal and Yamuna is broken by deep ravines, a feature that historically gave the area a reputation for harbouring dacoits. The principal rivers are the Yamuna, the Chambal, the Sengar, the Kunwari and the Pahuj.
The district is administered by a District Magistrate and is divided into tehsils including Etawah, Bharthana, Jaswantnagar, Chakarnagar and Saifai. It is part of the Etawah Lok Sabha constituency. For development administration the district is split into community development blocks centred on its major qasbas and rural towns.
The area around Etawah has been continuously inhabited since ancient times and finds mention in connection with the wider Chedi and Panchala cultural zones. During the medieval period it came under successive Sultanate and Mughal administrations, and the town of Etawah is referred to in Mughal-era chronicles. Under British rule it became a district of the North-Western Provinces, later the United Provinces, and was the scene of disturbances during the Revolt of 1857. The district was reorganised in 1997 when the eastern tehsils were carved out to form the new Auraiya district.
The population is predominantly Hindi-speaking, with significant agrarian and pastoral communities. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, with wheat, bajra, mustard and pulses among the principal crops; dairying and small-scale industry are also important. The town of Saifai, located in the district, has developed as a centre for medical education and sports infrastructure.
Etawah lies on the Delhi–Howrah main line of Indian Railways and is served by Etawah Junction. The district is connected by National Highway 19 (the old Grand Trunk Road alignment) and by the Agra–Lucknow Expressway, which passes through it.