Cachar district General information
The District of Cachar is located in the Southernmost part of Assam is one of the oldest district of Assam. It is bounded on the North by Barali and Jayantia hill ranges, on the South by the State Mizoram, on the East by sister district Hailakandi and Karimganj. The district was created in 1830 after annexation of Kachari Kingdom by British. In 1854, North Cachar was annexed and tagged to the district. In 1951 erstwhile North Cachar Sub-Division was made a separate district and taken out of Cachar.In 1983 erstwhile Karimganj Sub-Division and in 1989, Hailakandi Sub-Division was made a separate District.
Origin of the name
There are two possibilities regarding the origin of the name. They are-
1. The Kacharis gave this name Cachar when they ruled this land.
2. The word Kachar in Sylhette (Bengali of Sylhet) means a stretch of land at the foot of a mountain. Hence the name Cachar might have been given by Bengalies of Sylhet as the land is surrounded by mountains.
Population
The district has a population of about 1.2 million (1991 census). There are 939 females per 1000 males. About 90.2% population live in rural areas, while 9.8% of the population lives in urban areas. The SC and ST contribute about 14.7% and about 1.7% of the population respectively. The decennial growth rate of population between 1981-1991 was 47.65%. Main language spoken in the district is Assamese.
Flora and Funa
The Cachar district is a heterogeneous land composed of high hills, low lands and level plains. The general appearance of this district is extremely picturesque. On the north, east and south it is shut by ranges of purple hills whose forest clad sides are seamed with beautiful landscapes. The Silchar sub-division includes the southern section of the Assam range and a belt of hilly country with an average width of six to seven miles, containing peaks between three to four thousand feet in height. The Bhuban range on the eastern frontier covers a considerable area, and rises in places to over 3000 feet above the level of the sea. Almost the whole of the country north and south of the river Barak is dotted with low-ranged isolated hills called “tilahs” rising from the level of alluvial soil. Most parts of the Barak’s banks are lined with villages concealed in groves of slender areca palms, broad-leaved plantains and feathery bamboos, and in all seasons of the year, the country looks fresh and green. The hills on the southern part of this district are covered with dense ever-green forest and bamboo jungle.
River
Barak is the main river, which passes through the district.
Sub Division
The district is at present comprise only one sub-division i.e. Silchar and five circles viz. Katigora, Silchar, Udarbond, Lakhipur and Sonai. It has seven Community Development Blocks and two towns (Table-1). The district has 1050 villages, of which 1024 are inhabited villages and 26 are uninhabited villages.
Silchar is the gateway to Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura and therefore, it plays a vital role so far supply of essential commodities to those states are concerned. Silchar is connected by air from Calcutta and Guwahati, by rail from Guwahati via Lumding and by road to Guwahati via Shillong. Total road length in the district is 945 kms.
Tourist Place
Sidheswar Shiva Temple: There is an old shrine at Badarpurghat on the bank of Barak.About 200 mts to the east of the Badarpurghat railway station this old "Shrine",dedicated to "LORD SHIVA" was built on an old rock.This temple has a stone image of Lord Shiva in the form of a lingam and some other deities.The main lingam of the temple was made of stone and was installed in the days of yore by a saint named "Kapila".Every year on the occassion of Baruni ,thousands of people gather there for the purpose of congregation.This gatherings is known as BARUNI Mela.
Narsing Akhra: There is an old temple established at Tullapatty(SILCHAR town) perhaps in about 1846 AD by a Sadhu named Bhagwan Das Ramayati hailing from Ayodhya . Many devotees visit this "Akhra" everyday.
Bhairab-Bari: About 20 kms from Silchar west of Lakipur,there is a shrine of Lord Shiva on a hillock about 50 mts high- known as Bhairab Bari.The installation is ascribed to King Lakshmi Chandra
Khaspur: The last Capital of Kachari Kings established by Tamradwaj Narayan about 1690 AD is situated about 24 kms north-east of Silchar on the way to the Kumbhirgram Airport.Being a large area it contains the ruins of a brick built twoo storied palace,temple of Ranachandi , Vishnu temple ,brick walls ,tanks etc.
Bharambaba Temple: Situated at Silkuri grant at a distance of about 18kms from Silchar , on the way to Hailakandi , two stone images of Brahma and Lakhinarayan are there in the temple.Large number of people gather in the temple on the occassion of Rash Purnima and Magh Purnima every year.