It is the birthplace of former prime minister of India Chandra Shekhar There are six tehsils in this district: Ballia, Bansdih, Rasra, Bairia, Sikandarpur and Belthara.
Rasra is the second major commercial area of the district, having a government sugar mill and a cotton weaving industry.
[2] Then in January 1896, the four villages of Bijaura, Sital Patti, Sheopur, and Bhelsipah were transferred into Ballia from Shahabad for the same reason.
[2] However, these changes had little impact on the local population because when the villages became flooded, residents generally retreated inland on the same side of the river, rather than crossing over into the new district.
[2] On 27 October of that year, Raja Mahip Narayan Singh signed a treaty to cede the territory to the British.
[3] When Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement in the early 1920s, the people in Ballia district responded enthusiastically.
[3] Stores selling alcohol were picketed, and many palm trees were cut down throughout the district (due to their being used to make arrack).
[3] Law courts and government offices were boycotted, and many students stopped attending school in order to take part in meetings and processions.
[3] Then, on 21 and 22 June, Motilal Nehru and Madan Mohan Malaviya also gave addresses at Rasra and Ballia, where they promoted Swadeshi ideas including the revival of hand-spinning and hand-weaving, ending untouchability among Hindus, prohibition of alcohol, and Hindu-Muslim unity.
[3] Their speeches received very positive receptions, and a national school was established at Bansdih while spinning wheels were distributed in rural parts of the district.
[3] Jawaharlal Nehru returned to Ballia in 1923, where he gave a speech denouncing Gandhi's arrest and imprisonment.
[3] As a result, on 18 March (exactly one year after Gandhi's arrest), members of the district held a total hartal.
[3] Later, in protest of the Simon Commission in 1928, all schools run by the Ballia district board were closed and a complete hartal observed.
[3] The violence against protestors at Bairia outraged locals, who took up arms in spite of the ideal of nonviolent resistance generally prevailing until then.
[3] After their release, the leaders held a massive town hall meeting, where Chittu Pandey urged the people "not to indulge in sabotage or similar activities.
[3] On 20 August the people of Ballia proclaimed independence from the British, declared itself part of the Congress raj, and set up a local governing body with Chittu Pandey at its head.
[3] In March 1944, Feroze Gandhi and a lawyer from Allahabad came by rail to give legal representation to the prisoners; their arrival was celebrated by a growing crowd that became a procession as they made their way to the Chowk.
[3] According to the 2011 census Ballia district has a population of 3,239,774,[5] roughly equal to the nation of Mauritania[6] or the US state of Iowa.
[3] The second-largest Muslim group is the Sheikhs, who generally are most numerous in Rasra tehsil; their subdivisions include Siddiqui, Ansari, Quraishi, Usmani, Faruqui, and Abbasi.
In the new generation, young author Atul Kumar Rai has received the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2023 for his debut Hindi novel Chandpur ki Chanda.
[3] Instead of having a full meal during the middle of the day, many people often eat a satua made of barley, gram, or peas.
Notable political personalities from this district include Ram Nagina Singh, Ex-MP 1952 in Ballia from the Prajatantrik Socialist Party (PSP).
Chandra Shekhar, also known as the 'Young Turk' became the eighth prime minister of India on 10 November, 1990 and continued until 21 June, 1991 (224 days).
Mangal Pandey, the well-known freedom fighter was also from this city and was the first person to participate in an armed struggle against the British East India Company in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
For the 2016–17 academic year, exams were conducted by Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi but students were awarded a degree of Jananayak Chandrashekhar University, Ballia.