Sonowal Kacharis
The Sonowal Kachari are one of the Indigenous peoples of the state of Assam in Northeast India. They are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and are closely associated with the other ethnic groups of Assam which are commonly referred to as Kachari.
The name Sonowal comes from the word 'Xon' which means gold in Assamese. The traditional occupation of the Sonowal kacharis was panning for gold during the Ahom kingdom.
They are predominantly inhabitants of Dhemaji, North Lakhimpur, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of Assam, along with pocket populations in Jorhat & Golaghat districts. The Constitution Order, 1950 had listed the Sonowal Kachari as a Scheduled Tribe as per the Constitution of India in the state of Assam. The headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is at Dibrugarh.- Sarbananda Sonowal, politician and chief minister of Assam
- Jogesh Das, prominent writer, recipient of Sahitya Academi Award
- Jogendra Nath Hazarika, chief minister of Assam
- Jitul Sonowal, singer, music director, composer, lyricist and entertainer in the field of Assamese music since 1992.
- Lohit Sonowal, inspector of Commando Battalion of Assam Police, awarded the Kirti Chakra military decoration
