HARDOI, a town and district of British India, in the Luck now division of the United Provinces. The town is 63 m. N.E. of Lucknow by rail. Pop. (1931) 17,069. It has a wood-carving industry, saltpetre works, and an export trade in grain.
The DISTRICT OF HARDOI has an area of 2,332 sq.m. It is a level district watered by the Ganges, Ramganga, Deoha or Garra, Sukheta, Sai, Baita and Gumti—the three rivers first named being navigable by country boats. Towards the Ganges the land is uneven, and often rises in hillocks of sand cultivated at the base, and their slopes covered with lofty munj grass. Several large jhils or swamps are scattered throughout the district, the largest being that of Sandi, which is 3 m. long by from I to 2 m. broad. Large tracts of forest jungle still exist. Leopards, black buck, spotted deer, and nilgai are common; the mallard, teal, grey duck, common goose, and all kinds of waterfowl abound. In 1931 the population of the district was 1,127,626. Hardoi contains a larger urban population than any other district in Oudh.
The first authentic records of Hardoi are connected with the Mohammedan colonization. Bawan was occupied by Sayyid Salar Masaud in 1028, but permanent occupation did not begin till I217. Between Bilgram and Sandi was fought the great battle between Humayun and Sher Shah, in which the former was utterly defeated. Hardoi, along with the rest of Oudh, became British territory under Lord Da1housie's proclamation of Feb. 1856.