History

Balarampur district is located in the northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh, near the border of Nepal, under the Devipatan division. Due to its proximity to Shravasti, it is a key city in the Buddhist circuit. According to legend, the city was founded by Janwar area king Madhav Singh in 1508, naming it after his son Balaram Shah. Alternatively, it is said that Digvijay Singh, a  descendant of Bariyar Shah who accompanied Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1351, laid the foundation of Balarampur state in 1357.
During British rule, Gonda was made a separate district, and Balarampur was given the status of a tehsil. On May 25, 1997, it emerged as a distinct district in its current form and is now a prominent district of Devipatan division.

The territory of present Balrampur district covers a neighborhood of the traditional Kosala kingdom. Shravasti was the capital of Uttara (North) Kosala. Towards the Rapti River, to a small degree north of Sahet, traditional town of Mahet lies. The fortified entrance to Mahet is made up of mud, created in an exceedingly stunning form of crescent. The Sobhnath temple homes the good Stupas. The presence of ‘Stupas’ justify the presence of Buddhist in the district and boast the history of the monasteries in Balrampur.

One of the oldest monastery among the country, Jeetavana monastery, is claimed to be one among the favorites sites of Gautam Buddha. The inscriptions of the monasteries are said to be of 12th century. The place, thus uses to hold religious importance. Emperor Ashoka, the great, also visited this site. There is also a sacred peepal tree nearby which is believed to be grown from saplings of the first Bodhi tree of Both Gaya.

Gautam Buddha spent twenty one rainy season below the sacred Peepal tree. There is a famous story of Angulimal Dacoit. The incident of Angulimal happened within the forest of Sravasti solely, where Gautam Buddha enlightened the cruel dacoit who used to kill folks and wear a garland of their fingers.

Another site of spiritual importance within the town is Sravasti. It is believed that Mahavira Jain,twenty fourth Tirthankara of Jainism, ‘influenced’ this place. The place also homes the famous Shwetambar temple.

During the Mughal rule the area lined by the district was a neighborhood of Bahraich Sarkar of Awadh. Later, it came below the management of the ruler of Awadh until it was captured in February, 1856, by the British government. Gonda was separated by British government from Bahraich and it became a neighborhood of Gonda.
After independence, Balrampur estate was merged with Utraula tehsil of Gonda district.

On 1st July, 1953 the tehsil of Uttraulla was bifurcated into two tehsils, Utraula and Balrampur. In 1987 three new tehsils were created from Gonda Sadar tehsil, Tulsipur, Mankapur and Colonelganj. Later on, in 1997 Gonda district was bifurcated into two parts and a new district, Balrampur was born consisting of three tehsils of the northern part Balrampur district, Gonda and Utraula, and Tulsipur.