Cachar district

Cachar district is a place in the state of Assam in India. It is an important area that helps manage and govern a part of the country. After India became independent, the original Cachar district was divided into four smaller districts. These are Dima Hasao, which used to be called North Cachar Hills, Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the current Cachar district. The main city and center for government in Cachar district is Silchar. This district has a rich culture and is known for its beautiful landscapes and traditions.

Etymology

The British thought that the word Kachar comes from the Dimasa Kachari people.

History

Pre-independence period

In the late medieval period, two princes of the Dimasa Kachari had a disagreement. The younger prince and his followers moved to the Barak Valley, where they built a new capital and called themselves the Dibrasa, meaning "Children of the Barak River." They later became known as Twiprasa and formed the Twipra Kingdom in the Barak Valley.

In 1562, the Koch dynasty King Chilarai took control of the Barak Valley from the Twipra Kingdom. He gave the region to his brother, Kamal Narayan, whose descendants ruled as the Khaspur kingdom until the 18th century. After the last Koch ruler passed away, the Dimasa people moved to Khaspur, merging with the local kingdom to form the Kachari kingdom, which covered much of the undivided Cachar district.

British period

The British entered Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War, when the area was under Burmese control. At that time, the Cachar kingdom was led by two rulers—one in the southern plains and another in the North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao). The British took over the southern part in 1832 after the ruler died without children, adding it to Assam as Cachar district. They set up their headquarters first at Cherrapunji and later moved to Silchar.

Northern Cachar stayed separate but was taken by the British in 1854 after the ruler's death. Cachar district became part of the Chief Commissionership of Assam in 1874.

Partition

After partition of India in 1947, parts of what was once Sylhet District became part of Cachar district. Over time, the area was divided: Dima Hasao district separated in 1963, followed by Karimganj district. Hailakandi district was created from Cachar district in 1989.

Geography

Cachar district covers an area of 3,786 square kilometres and is surrounded by Mizoram to the south, Manipur to the east, Hailakandi district and Karimganj district to the west, and hill ranges to the north. The main river is the Barak River, with smaller rivers like the Jiri River, Jatinga River, Sonai River, and Daleswari River flowing through it. The land is mostly flat plains with some hills, and sometimes the wetlands flood to form lakes. The area is covered in tropical evergreen forests, with many rainforests in the north and south.

Climate

Cachar district gets a lot of rain—more than 3,000 millimetres each year. The weather is warm and wet in summer and cooler in winter.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, Cachar district has a population of 1,736,617. It is the 278th most populous district out of 640 districts in India. The district has a population density of 459 people per square kilometre. Its population growth rate from 2001 to 2011 was 20.17%. Cachar has a sex ratio of 958 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.36%. About 18% of the people live in towns and cities. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 15.25% and 1.01% of the population, respectively.

Religion

Hinduism is the main religion in Cachar, with 59.83% of the population following it. Christians are mainly found in tribal communities and make up 2.17% of the total population. Among the Bengalis, Hinduism and Islam are equally represented, though Muslims are only 37.71% of the region’s total population. Sikhism came to Cachar after Guru Nanak visited eastern India in 1508. In the early 1900s, most Sikhs lived in the northern part of Cachar where they worked for the Assam Bengal Railway.

Language

Languages in Cachar district (2011)

1. Bengali (75.1%)
2. Hindi (8.49%)
3. Meitei (6.06%)
4. Bhojpuri (3.32%)
5. Bishnupriya Manipuri (1.32%)
6. Dimasa (1.19%)
7. Others (4.49%)

Bengali and Meitei are the official languages of Cachar district. Bengali is spoken by 75% of the population. While Bengali is the official language, the most commonly spoken language is Sylheti, often considered a dialect of Bengali. Bengalis are the largest group, but other groups also live in the district and speak Meitei, Bhojpuri, Bishnupuriya, Dimasa, Rongmei-Naga, Mizo, Khasi, and more. People from other parts of India also live here and mainly speak Hindi.

Government

Cachar district has three main areas: Silchar, Lakhipur, and Katigorah. Silchar is where the government's main offices are located. The district includes seven areas for voting in the state government, called constituencies. These are Barkhola, Dholai, Katigorah, Lakhipur, Silchar, Sonai, and Udharbond. Together, they form the Silchar area for voting in the country's big government meetings. One of these areas, Dholai, is set aside for scheduled castes, who are among the groups in India that face more challenges.

Economy

Silchar is the main town in Cachar district and a big business center in Assam. Because the area has a lot of rain, the most important crops here are rice and tea.

In 2006, the Indian government named Cachar as one of the country's 250 less developed districts. The district gets help and money through a special program called the Backward Regions Grant Fund.

Arts and culture

Architecture

Silchar and Cachar have many temples and historic sites. The village of Khaspur, about 20 kilometres from Silchar, has the Sun Gate, Lion Gate, the king's palace, a temple, and other remains from the 17th century Kachari Kingdom. The ruins of Kachari Fort in Dimapur, Nagaland, date back to the 13th century. Other important places include Badarpur Fort in Badarpur, Bhubaneswar Shiva temple in Sonai, Nrimata temple in Barkhola, and Siddeshwar temple in Badarpur.

Museums

Silchar has several museums, such as the Assam State Museum, the Digboi Centenary Museum, the Railway Heritage Park and Museum, and the Sonitpur District Museum.

Parks and recreation

Barail Wildlife Sanctuary is the only wildlife sanctuary in the district. It was established in 2004. The sanctuary is home to animals like the Hoolock gibbon, the phayre's leaf monkey, the pig-tailed macaque, the stump-tailed macaque, the masked finfoot, and the white-winged wood duck. It is also home to tiger, the hoolock gibbon, and the gaur. The Asian elephant no longer lives there. The southern part of the district was suggested as a Dhaleswari wildlife sanctuary but has not yet received that status.

Transportation

Silchar has an airport located at Kumbhirgram, with regular flights from IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet. The district is connected by broad-gauge railways to Guwahati in Assam and other major cities in India such as New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai, with regular train services to all cities in North-East India. Roads and regular bus services also link the district to the rest of the country and nearby cities in North-East India.

Education

Cachar district has many important schools and colleges. Silchar is a big place for learning in Assam. The district has a big university called Assam University, which is located in Dorgakuna, not far from Silchar. There is also a special school for future doctors called Silchar Medical College and Hospital, the only one in southern Assam.

The district has ten main colleges, including Cachar College, Janata College in Kabuganj, and Gurucharan College, Silchar. There are also many schools, with over 1,000 elementary schools and more than 150 secondary schools. Some well-known schools are Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pailapool and Kendriya Vidyalayas.