Cachar district


Cachar is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It makes up the Barak Valley alongside Hailakandi and Karimganj.

Etymology

The name Cachar traces its origin to the Kachari kingdom.

History

Pre-independence period

Cachar was originally part of the Koch kingdom which was founded by king Chilarai. After the fall of Koch kingdom the Dimasa Kingdom took over the region and ruled most of undivided Cachar district. The Last King of Cachar was Raja Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu. During his period Khaspur was the Capital of Cachar.
Cachar was another native kingdom that fell victim to the imperialist design of the British. The Kingdom of Cachar was being ruled by two rulers having clearly defined areas of control. In the plains Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu was the ruling prince. Immediately after his assassination by Gambhir Singh, then king of Manipur, British annexed it to their dominion in India. Tularam was the ruling chief of the hilly tract. His territories were annexed after he died in 1854. Thus entire Cachar came under the British occupation. While south Cachar was annexed under Robertson, the hilly tract of Cachar came under British occupation when Jenkins was the Commissioner of Assam.

Independence movement

The history of the district includes the active participation and support of its people in the Indian independence movement. Many leaders, such as Kamini Kumar Chanda, his son Arun Kumar Chanda and Abdul Matlib Mazumdar etc. led the people of the district to fight for the cause. While Chanda was instrumental in garnering support of the Bengali Hindus, Mazumdar was one of the prominent Muslim leaders of Eastern India to oppose the partition of India on communal lines. Mazumdar, along with Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, became the most prominent Muslim opponents to the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan, especially in the eastern part of the country. To counter the rising popularity of Muslim League, he successfully organised the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind movement in Assam. Jamiat was an ally of the Congress having a mass following among the nationalist Muslims. In the very crucial 1946 General Elections, conducted just on the eve of India’s independence, he wrested the Muslim majority Hailakandi seat from the hold of the Muslim League. That victory virtually sealed the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim League to include southern Assam, including Cachar, in Pakistan.
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 Region. 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, Mazumdar inaugurated a convention – Assam Nationalist Muslim's Convention at Silchar. There after 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, the present Karimganj district, remained with India.. Arun Kumar Chanda did not join Bordoloi cabinet in 1946 but preferred to do social work as a legislator and also to uplift the premier educational institution, G.C. College. Unfortunately he soon died leaving a huge vacuum of an able Bengali Hindu leader with a secular bent of mind.

Post-independence period

The entire eastern India was swept by violence just after India's partition and independence on 15 August 1947. Scores of Hindus had to flee the newly created East Pakistan for India and Muslims fled Assam for East Pakistan. A large number of people lost their lives owing to violence, which resurfaced with more ferocity in 1950. Mazumdar, the only member from the undivided Cachar in the cabinet, along with his cabinet and party colleagues took up the responsibility for the safety of both Hindus and Muslims in Cachar, touring affected areas and arranging camps and rehabilitation for the refugees, organising supplies and security.
In the 1960s, Moinul Haque Choudhury, who was a cabinet minister in Assam from 1957 to 1966, became a prominent political figure in the district. In 1971, he became the Industry minister of India under the Prime Ministership of late Indira Gandhi. Late Arun Kr. Chanda's wife Jyotsna Chanda also represented Silchar in the parliament.

Demarcation

1 July 1983 saw the creation of Karimganj district by curving out the eponymous subdivision from Cachar.
The Language movement of 1961, which was a movement to resist the forceful imposition of the Assamese language upon the Bengali speaking population of Barak valley is an important part of Barak valley's history.

Geography

Cachar district occupies an area of, comparatively equivalent to South Georgia. The Barak is the main river of the district and apart from that there are numerous small rivers which flow through Dima Hasao district, from Manipur. The district is mostly made up of plains, but there are a number of hills spread across the district. Cachar receives an average annual rainfall of more than 3,000 mm. The climate is Tropical wet with hot and wet summers and cool winters.

Economy

The district headquarters, Silchar, is one of the most important business centres of Assam.
In 2006, the Indian government named Cachar one of the country's 250 most backward districts out of a total of 640. It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.

Administration

Divisions

The district has two sub-divisions: Silchar and Lakhipur. There are seven Assembly constituencies in this district, viz. Silchar, Sonai, Dholai, Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola and Katigorah. Dholai is designated for scheduled castes. The seven constituencies make up the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency.

Transport

Silchar is one of the six cities of Assam to have an airport, which is located at Kumbhirgram. The district is served by regular flights from Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, SpiceJet and North East Shuttles. The district is connected by broad-gauge railroads to Lumding in Assam and by road to the rest of the country. Regular bus and train services are also there with other cities in North-East India.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, Cachar district has a population of 1,736,617, roughly equal to the nation of The Gambia or the US state of Nebraska. This gives it a ranking of 278th in India out of a total of 640. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.17%. Cachar has a sex ratio of 958 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.36%.

Religions

Religious demographics are as follows:
is the official language of the district and is spoken by 75% of the overall population, while English also served as 2nd additional official language of the district. The majority of the people primarily speak Sylheti language. Other minority languages spoken in the district include Bhojpuri, Meitei Manipuri, Dimasa Kachari, Bishnupuriya Manipuri, Nepali Language, Hmar and Rongmei. There are also a few Kuki and Khasi people who form the microscopic minorities.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation is mostly Tropical evergreen and there are large tracts of Rainforests in the northern and southern parts of the district, which are home to Tiger, Asian elephants, hoolock gibbon, Gaur, etc. The forests of Cachar were once rich in wildlife but now vanishing due to human onslaught. Rare species found are Hoolock gibbon, Phayre's leaf monkey, Pig-tailed macaque, Stump-tailed macaque, Masked Finfoot, White-winged Wood Duck, etc., have been recorded. The Asian elephant is already extinct. The southern part was also recommended as 'Dhaleswari' wildlife sanctuary. Borail Wildlife Sanctuary is the only wildlife sanctuary of the district as well as the Barak valley region. It was initiated by noted naturalist Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury in early 1980s. This sanctuary was ultimately notified in 2004.

Education

The district of Cachar has a number of well-known educational institutes in North East India. Silchar, the district headquarter, is a major learning hub of Assam. The district has a central university, the Assam University, which is situated at Dorgakuna, 18 km from Silchar. It also has NIT Silchar, one of the 30 NITs in India. The Silchar Medical College and Hospital is the only medical college of southern Assam. To ensure a steady flow of skilled workers in different trades for the industry Silchar Polytechnic, Meherpur and ITI, Srikona is there.

College

The district also includes a number of degree colleges such as:
Prominent schools in the district include: