Khiron

Khiron was fortified and made the seat of a pargana during the reign of Asaf-ud-Daula; the headquarters had previously been at Satanpur since its foundation and fortification by the Bais raja Sathna.^[3] Khiron was also historically the seat of a taluqdari estate belonging to a Janwar dynasty, and there were also several Kayasth qanungo families, including many descended from Rai Sahib Rai, who had been a chakladar under the Nawabs of Awadh.^[3] Rai Sahib Rai had built a fort at Khiron whose ruins still exist.^[3] There is also the tomb of Fateh Shahid, a companion of the Muslim folk hero Sayyid Salar Masud.^[3]

The population of Khiron declined sharply in the late 1800s from 3,408 in 1869 to 2,669 in 1901.^[3] At the 1901 census, there were 559 Muslims, almost entirely Pathans.^[3] Turn-of-the-century Khiron had a large primary school, a cattle pound, a branch post office, and two bazars called Balbhaddarganj and Raghunathganj, holding markets twice per week.^[3] There was a large tank to the north and east of the town, as well as some kankar quarries and plenty of orchards.^[3]

The 1951 census recorded Khiron as comprising 10 hamlets, with a total population of 2,939 people (1,474 male and 1,465 female), in 593 households and 593 physical houses.^[6] The area of the village was given as 1,925 acres (779 ha)s.^[6] 338 residents were literate, 295 male and 43 female.^[6] The village was listed as belonging to the pargana of Khiron and the thana of Gurbakshganj.^[6]

The 1961 census recorded Khiron as comprising 10 hamlets, with a total population of 3,210 people (1,679 male and 1,531 female), in 590 households and 536 physical houses.^[5] The area of the village was given as 1,925 acres (779 ha)s and it had a post office at that point.^[5] There was a dispensary run by a local body with five male beds and one female bed; It had one grain mill, and four small manufacturers of clothing.^[5] Average attendance of market was 500 and for the festival it was 400.^[5]

The 1981 census recorded Khiron as having a population of 5,243 people, in 946 households, and having an area of 973.76 hectares (2,406.2 acres).^[7] The main staple foods were listed as wheat and rice.^[7]

The 1991 census recorded Khiron as having a total population of 6,296 people (3,317 male and 2,979 female), in 1,127 households and 1,124 physical houses.^[4] The area of the village was listed as 57 hectares (140 acres).^[4] Members of the 0-6 age group numbered 1,262, or 20% of the total; this group was 52% male (658) and 48% female (604).^[4] Members of scheduled castes numbered 2,029, or 32% of the village's total population, while no members of scheduled tribes were recorded.^[4] The literacy rate of the village was 35% (1,581 men and 642 women).^[4] 1,757 people were classified as main workers (1,613 men and 144 women), while 213 people were classified as marginal workers (all women); the remaining 4,326 residents were non-workers.^[4] The breakdown of main workers by employment category was as follows: 828 cultivators (i.e. people who owned or leased their own land); 290 agricultural labourers (i.e. people who worked someone else's land in return for payment); 27 workers in livestock, forestry, fishing, hunting, plantations, orchards, etc.; 0 in mining and quarrying; 42 household industry workers; 66 workers employed in other manufacturing, processing, service, and repair roles; 12 construction workers; 200 employed in trade and commerce; 34 employed in transport, storage, and communications; and 258 in other services.^[4]

Khiron CD block has the following 94 villages:^[2]