Map - Basti district (Basti)

Basti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India, and a part of Basti Division. Basti city is the district headquarters.

Basti was originally known as Vaishishthi. The origin of the name Vaishishthi is attributed to the fact that this area was the ashram of Rishi (sage) Vashistha in ancient period. Rama with his younger brother Lakshmana had been here for some time with Rishi Vashistha.

The tract comprising the present district was remote and much of it was covered with forest. But gradually the area became inhabitable, for want of recorded and reliable history it cannot, with any degree of certainty, be said how the district came to be known by its present name on account of the original habitation (Basti) having been selected by the Kalhans Raja Udai Raj Singh as a seat of his Raj, an event which probably occurred in the 16th century. In 1801, Basti became the Tehsil headquarters and in 1865 it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established district. Raja Udai Raj Singh was the first ruler of Kalhans dynasty based at Basti.

In 1801, the town Basti became a tehsil headquarter, and in 1865, it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established Basti district of Gorakhpur Commissionary. Specifically, it happened on 6 May 1865.

At first, the plan was to use the Rapti and Jamuwar rivers as the boundary between Basti and Gorakhpur districts, but this plan was abandoned. Instead, the boundary cut across existing parganas, with a few areas east of the Jamuwar becoming part of Basti district, while the eastern parts of Maghar and Binayakpur parganas remained in Gorakhpur district. New tehsils were established, and most of the original 8 parganas were split into two, for a new total of 13 parganas. Subordinate to the parganas were 131 tappas, which were of significant administrative significance. The resulting setup was the following:

Amorha Khas is a historical place situated at a distance of 41 km from the district headquarters. Its old name is Ambodha, and it was once a province (state) of Raja Zalim Singh. Raja Zalim Singh's Mahal is here, old wall of mahal is still there with the mark of a bullet used by the English. The famous temple Ramrekha Mandir is here. Ramrekha Temple is one of the most ancient Hindu Mandir of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita. Lord Shri Ram stayed here for one day during his journey of Janakpur-Ayodhya. Lord Shri Rama and Sita with Lakshmana journeyed towards Ayodhya by the road called Ram Janki Marg (present-day State Highway 72) near Chhawani.

In the Great Revolt of 1857, about 250 martyrs of Amorha State were hanged by the British Government from peepal trees located at Chhawani.