Banda is a city and a municipal board in Banda district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Banda is divided between north, east, west and south Banda. Banda lies south of the Yamuna river in the Bundelkhand region. It is the administrative headquarters of Banda District. The town is well connected to major cities with railways and state highways. The town is near the right bank of the river Ken, 189 km south-west of Allahabad. Banda was a town and district of British India, in the Allahabad division of the United Provinces. The population in 1901 was 22,565. It was formerly, but is no longer, a military cantonment. History Banda, which forms one of the districts included under the general name of Bundelkhand, has formed an arena of contention for the successive races who have struggled for the sovereignty of India. Shamsher Bahadur I (Krishna Rao) was a Maratha ruler of the dominion of Banda. He was the son of Bajirao I and Mastani. He was bestowed upon a portion of his father's dominion of Banda and Kalpi. In 1761, he and his army contingent were involved (fought alongside the Peshwa) in the Third Battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Afghans. He was wounded in that battle and died a few days later at Deeg. Shamsher's successor Ali Bahadur (Krishna Singh) established his authority over large parts of Bundelkhand and became the Peshwa'a Subedar of Banda. The descendants of Shamsher Bahadur continued their allegiance towards the Maratha polity and his grandson, Shamsher Bahadur II, fought the English in the Anglo-Maratha War of 1803. Geography Climate Demographics As per 2011 Indian Census, Banda has a population of 154,428, out of which males are 82,116 and females are 72,312. Population in the age group of 0 to 6 years is 18,621. The total number of literates in Banda was 111,432, which constituted 72.16% of the population with male literacy of 77.4% and female literacy of 66.2%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Banda was 82.1%, of which male literacy rate was 87.9% and female literacy rate was 75.4%. The sex ratio is 881. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had a population of 18,539 and 17 respectively. There were 27987 households as of 2011. Languages Hindi and Urdu are official languages of the city. Bundeli is natively spoken in Banda. Government and politics Civic administration The city elects