Siwan is the 139th largest Hindi speaking city of India with a total population of 1,35,066. Highest employment in Siwan is in Agriculture, Chemical, Engineering, Wooden Furniture and other household industries. The district has 69% of the workforce employed in the Agricultural Sector, 28% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 3% are Household workers. The major exportable items are Cold Drinks, packaged drinking water, Biscuits etc. The major sources of irrigation in Siwan are Canals and Bore Wells. The major field crops produced are Rice, Wheat and Maize. Apart from these, Horticultural vegetables like Potato, Onion, Cauliflower, Brinjal, Tomato, Cabbage, Okra and Chilly are also produced. Siwan district, situated in the western part of the state, was originally a sub-division of Saran district, which in ancient time formed a part of Kosala Kingdom. Siwan became a fully-fledged district when it was split from Saran in 1976. Siwan derived its name from Shiva Man, a Bandh Raja whose heirs ruled this area till Babars arrival. The meaning of Siwan is border, previously it used to be the border district of Bihar. Maharajganj, which is another subdivision of Siwan district, may have found its name from the seat of the Maharaja there. A recently excavated marvelous statue of Lord Vishnu at Bherbania village from underneath a tree indicates that there were large numbers of followers of Lord Vishnu. It is now dominated by Yadavs and Rajputs.
