Pilibhit district
district of Uttar Pradesh, India
Pilibhit district (Hindi pronunciation: [piːliːbʱiːt̪]) is one of the 75 districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, and Pilibhit city is the district headquarters. Pilibhit district is a part of Bareilly Division. In June 2014, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was announced as the 46th tiger reserve of India.
History
Pilibhit district had its origins as a subdivision of Bareilly district in 1871, consisting of the parganas of Jahanabad, Pilibhit, and Puranpur, with a magistrate based in Pilibhit. It was then officially upgraded to a separate district in November 1879.
The early history of Pilibhit district is obscure. This area is traditionally considered to have formed part of the Panchala kingdom, whose capital was at Ahichchhatra, although there are no historical documents to confirm this. On the other hand, the many ruin sites in the district indicate that there was extensive settlement here, and that the forests which historically covered the area used to be smaller.
Archaeological sites
At Neoria Husainpur is a large area of ruins that became covered by dense forest. Mahof has a large ruined brick fort; Simaria Ghosu, not far away, has a mud fort, but it appears to have been built later than other ruins in the area.
“Pilibhit district” enters the record as district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pilibhit, district and Uttar can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Pilibhit district” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Pilibhit, district and Uttar provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2980705. VIAF identifies the subject as 141043587. Authority coordinates are 28.550, 80.100. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014, 1871 and 1879.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pilibhit district”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pilibhit district primary sources, Pilibhit district archive and Pilibhit research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pilibhit district”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pilibhit district” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.