A folio from the Baburnama: An awards ceremony in Sultan Ibrāhīm Lodi's court before an expedition to Sambhal in the early 16th century.
The district was announced on 28 September 2011 and created by the state government out of Moradabad district on 23 July 2012 as one of three new districts in the state. At the time of its creation, the state government decided to name the new district "Bhimnagar" in honour of the social reformer, Bhimrao Ambedkar. However, massive protests broke out in Sambhal town and the adjoining rural areas against the move to rename to the ancient town.[1] Sambhal had been known by the same name for over 500 years, had been an important town in medieval India, and had never had any connection with Bhimrao Ambedkar, a Dalit icon. The protests were successful and the government retained the name of Sambhal.[2]
The nearest major metropolis is New Delhi. Sambhal lies 158.6 kilometres (98.5 mi) due east from New Delhi, past Ghaziabad, Noida and Hapur. The driving time from New Delhi is about 2 hours 40 minutes.[5] Sambhal lies 355 km north-west from the state capital Lucknow.
As per 2011 census, Sambhal district had a population of 2,199,774. The sex ratio as per the census was 891 females for every 1000 males. Literacy rate of Sambhal district is 55%. 468,439 (21.29%) lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes make up 364,286 (16.56%) of the population.[6][7]
