The Barak Valley is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam. The main city of the valley is Silchar. The region is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley mainly consists of three administrative districts of Assam - namely Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. Among these three districts, Cachar and Hailakandi historically belonged to the Kachari Kingdom before the British Raj, whereas Karimganj belonged to the Sylhet Region then Assam province, which was then separated from Sylhet after the 1947 referendum; with the rest of Sylhet falling under East Pakistan and Karimganj under India.
Demography
Language and religion
is the official language of Barak Valley constituting over 90% of the valley, along with English being served as co-offical language of the valley. Majority of the people of Barak Valley speak Indo-European languages including Hindi, Sylheti, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Bishnupriya among others. Non Indo-European languages spoken in the valley include Khasi, Mizo, Dimasa, Hmar, Manipuri, Rongmei and certain other indigenous languages of Northeast India. Hinduism is the marginally majority religion in the Barak Valley. According to the 2011 census by the Government of India, Barak valley had a population of 3,624,599. The religious composition of the valley population is as follows: Hindus 50%, Muslims 48.1%, Christians 1.6% , and others 0.3%. Hindus are the majority in Cachar district, while Muslims are the majority in Hailakandi district and Karimganj district.
History
The region was originally part of the Tripura kingdom. In 1562 Chilarai annexed the Cachar region to the Koch kingdom and administered by his half-brother Kamalnarayan. After the death of Nara Narayan, the kingdom, which came to be called the kingdom of Khaspur, became independent and was ruled by the descendants of Kamalnarayan. In the 17th-century, the last Koch ruler's daughter married the king of the Kachari kingdom, and the rule of Khaspur passed into the hands of the Kachari rulers, who eventually moved their capital from Maibang to Khaspur. The Kachari kingdom was annexed to British-India in 1832. The headquarters of the district was Silchar. The British Companies established a very large number of Tea Gardens in the area and Silchar emerged as a very important center in this part of the country.
Inclusion of Karimganj
In 1947, when a plebiscite was held in Sylhet with majority voting for incorporation with Pakistan. The Sylhet district was divided into two; the easternmost subdivision of Sylhet which is known as Karimganj remained with India whereas the rest joined East Bengal. Geographically the region is surrounded by hills from all three sides except its western plain boundary with Bangladesh. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash, claims that "South Assam / Northeastern Bengal or Barak Valley is the extension of the Greater Surma/Meghna Valley of Bengal in every aspect from culture to geography". Assam's Surma Valley had Muslim-majority population. On the eve of partition, hectic activities intensified by the Muslim League as well Congress with the former having an edge. A referendum had been proposed for Sylhet District. Abdul Matlib Mazumdar along with Basanta Kumar Das travelled throughout the valley organising the Congress and addressing meetings educating the masses about the outcome of partition on the basis of religion. On 20 February 1947 Moulvi Mazumdar inaugurated a convention – Assam Nationalist Muslim's Convention at Silchar. Thereafter another big meeting was held at Silchar on 8 June 1947. Both the meetings, which were attended by a large section of Muslims paid dividend. He was also among the few who were instrumental in retaining the Barak Valley region of Assam, especially Karimganj with India. Mazumdar was the leader of the delegation that pleaded before the Radcliffe Commission that ensured that a part of Sylhet remains with India despite being Muslim-majority.
The Asian elephant has already vanished from most of the valley. Barail is the only wildlife sanctuary of the Barak valley region. It was initiated by noted naturalist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury, who originally hailed from this region in the early 1980s. This sanctuary was ultimately notified in 2004. There are thirteen reserve forests in the valley comprising six in Karimganj, five in Cachar, and two are in Hailakandi. The Patharia hills reserve forest of Karimganj is the habitat of many mammals and was recommended to upgrade as 'Patharia hills wildlife sanctuary'. The southern part was also recommended as 'Dhaleswari' wildlife sanctuary.
Abdul Matlib Mazumdar, freedom fighter, cabinet minister in the last ministry during the British period and then after independence, in the first and subsequent ministries. Assam's first Agriculture, Veterinary, & Local self-government minister
