Cachardistrict is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the current Cachar district. Silchar is Cachar district's center of government.
Etymology
The word Cacahr is derived fro the Dimasa word Kachari and traces its origin to the Kachari Kingdom.[2]
History
Pre-independence period
Around 1536, the Dimasa Kachari's elder prince, Drikpati, and a younger prince, Dakhin, had a conflict. Dakhin and his followers were driven out and built a new capital at the Barak Valley, declaring themselves as Dibrasa or the Children of the Barak River (Di means "River", and Brasa means "Barak").[3][4] The Dibrasa were later known as Twiprasa and formed the Twipra Kingdom in the Barak Valley.
In 1562, the Koch dynasty King Chilarai invaded and captured the Barak Valley from the Twipra Kingdom. King Chilarai gave his brother, Kamal Narayan, authority over the region. The descendants of Kamal Narayan ruled the region until the 18th century. After the fall of the Koch kingdom due to no heir, the Dimasa Kingdom took over and ruled most of the undivided Cachar district.
Raja Shri Krishna Chandra Dwaja Narayan Hasnu Kacharihe was the most powerful king of the Dimasa Kingdom at Khaspur. During Krishna Chandra's rule, the Manipuri king sought help against the Burmese army. Krishna Chandra defeated the Burmese in battle and was offered the Manipuri Princess Induprabha in thanks. Because Krishna Chandra was already married to Rani Chandraprabha, he asked Princess Induprabha to marry his younger brother, Govinda Chandra Hasnu. During this period, Khaspur was the capital of Cachar. The last king of Cachar was Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu.
British period
Cachar and Nowgong districts in Northeast India (National Geographic, 1946)
The British moved into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War, which was then under Burmese occupation.[4] At the time, the Cachar kingdom was ruled by two leaders—Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu in the southern plains, and Raja Tularam Thaosen in the North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao). Raja Govinda Chandra was assassinated on 24 April 1840 at Haritikar.[5] Because he died without a natural heir, his territories were annexed by the British under doctrine of lapse, adding it as the Cachar district of Assam.[4][6][5]
The British sent army officer T. Fisher to oversee the region; he established its headquarters at Cherrapunji on 30 June 1830.[5] Fisher was both the magistrate and the collector, later becoming the first Superintendent of the District.[5] The British annexed Cachar plains on 14 August 1832.[5] The district's headquarters moved to Dudpatil in 1833, and later to its current location of Silchar.[5]
Northern Cachar remained a separate principality but came under British occupation in 1854 after the death of Tularam; the British justified this takeover of northern Cachar because of the "misconduct of its rulers."[4][5] Cachar district became part of the Chief Commissionership of Assam on 6 February 1874.[5]
In the later 19th century, southern Cachar was raided numerous times by the Lushais.[4]
Aerial view of Sadarghat Bridge over the Barak River in Silchar
Geography
Cachar district occupies an area of 3,786 square kilometres (1,462 sq mi).[8][7] The district is surrounded on the south by Mizoram, to the east by Manipur, to the west by Hailakandi district and Karimganj district, and to the north by the Barali and the Jayantia hill ranges.[7] The Barak River is the main river of the district, along with its tributaries—the Jiri River and Jatinga River from the north, and the Sonai River and Daleswari River from the south.[4] The district consists primarily of plains but also includes several ranges of hills throughout the district.[7] At times, the wetlands of the plains flood, forming lakes.[4] The district is mostly a tropical evergreen forest, with large tracts of rainforests in the north and south of the district.[7]
Climate
The average annual rainfall of Cachar district is more than 3,000 millimetres (120 in).[7] Its climate is tropical wet; the district has hot and wet summers and cool winters.[7]
Hinduism is the main religion in Cachar, including 59.83% of the population. Christians are mainly found in tribal communities, and represent just 2.17% of the total population of the region. Among the Bengalis, Hinduism and Islam religions are equally represented, although Muslims are only 37.71% of the region's total population. Sikhism arrived in Cachar after Guru Nanak's visit to eastern India in 1508. In the early 20th century, most of the Sikhs lived in the northern part of Cachar where they worked for the Assam Bengal Railway.[10]
Bengali and Meitei (Manipuri) are the official languages of the Cachar district.[13][14] Bengali is spoken by 75% of the overall population; the main dialect is Sylheti.[12][7] Bengalis are the majority ethnic community, but indigenous ethnic groups also live in the district and speak Meitei (Manipuri), Bishnupuriya, Dimasa, Bhojpuri, and Rongmei-Naga. Immigrants from other parts of India are also present and are mainly Hindi speakers.[15]
Silchar is the district headquarters and is one of the most important business centers of Assam.[7] Because of its wet climate, the main crops of the district are rice and tea.[4]
There are several temples and historic sites in Silchar and Cachar. The village of Khaspur, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Silchar, features the Sun Gate, Lion Gate, the king's palace, a temple, and other remains of the 17th century Kachari Kingdom.[3] The ruins of Kachari Fort in Dimapur, Nagaland, date to the 13th century. The Baro Dwari, Bishnu Mandir, Kali Mandir, Singh Duwar, and Snan Ghar are other ancient monuments in the Cachar district.[5] Other sites include Badarpur Fort in Badarpur, Bhubaneswar Shiva temple at Chandragiri in Sonai, Nrimata temple at Barkhola, and Siddeshwar temple in Badarpur.[3]
Museums
Silchar has several museums, including Assam State Museum, the Digboi Centenary Museum, the Railway Heritage Park and Museum, and the Sonitpur District Museum.[15]
Silchar has an airport, which is located at Kumbhirgram.[7] It is served by regular flights from IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet. Broad-gauge railways connect the district to Guwahati in Assam and other parts of India including New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai; from here, regular train service is provided to all cities in North-East India.[7] Roads connect the district to the rest of the country.[7] In addition, there is regular bus service to cities in North-East India.[7]
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