Karimganj district General information
Karimganj District is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Karimganj.
History
The early history of present district of Karimganj, Assam, is hazy and obscure. With available source materials and evidences, it is difficult to construct a chronologically comprehensive account of early history of the region. Only a broad outline, with major gaps, can be attempted.
From the Nidhanpur copper inscriptions issued by King Bhaskarbarman, it is learnt that the region has been within the Kamrupa Kingdom for about a hundred years since A.D. sixth century. The Aryanisation of the region under the leadership of the pioneer immigrant Brahmins with plough-based agriculture as economic basis had its beginning during this period. From the Kalapur copper plates issued by Samata Marundanatha, it is learnt that in the 7th Century A.D., this region, along with foothills of North Cachar Hills had passed on to the Samatata Kingdom of the Eastern Bengal. Of ourse, there is no direct evidence to prove it. In the 10th Century A.D., King Srichandra of the renowned Chandra Dynasty of Eastern Bengal incorporated the entire region within his Vanga Kingdom. During this period, the Chandrapura Matha or monastery, situated at Panchakhanda (8 miles From Karimganj town, now in Bangladesh), became a very reputed centre of learning. According to the renowned historian D.C. Sarkar, the Chandrapura Matha was the greatest centre of Hindu-learning in the entire Eastern India of the early period. From two Bhatera inscriptions of Govindakeshava Deva and Ishana Deva, it is learnt that there was an independent Srihatta Rajya in the 12th Century within which the entire Karimganj District along with a major portion of the Cachar plains were incorporated.
When Hazarat Shah Jalal, a warrior Muslim Saint from Yemen, conquered Sylhet in 1328 A.D., Srihatta, along with a major portion of Karimganj district passed on to the Bengal Sultanate. A portion of Karimganj district comprising the present thana area of Patherkandi was under the control of the Tripura King at that period. However, during the reign of Hussain Shah (1483-1519), this region - at that time known as Pratapgarh - also came under the Sultanate. We have two inscriptions - one of Hussain Shah, and another of his son Mahmud Shah, found respectively at Kaliganj and Suprakandi, to show that Bengal Sultanate had complete sway over this entire region. The region, along with other parts of Sylhet, was incorporated within the Mughal Empire in 1576 during the reign of Akbar. According to Ain-I-Akbari, most of the areas of the district were placed under the Pratapgarh Revenue Mahal of the Silhat Sarkar of the Mughals. The district continued to be part of the Silhat Sarkar and Bangla Suba of the Mughals.
In 1765, the diwani of the Bangla Suba was taken over by the British East India Company and the District of Sylhet, of which Karimganj was a part, passed on to the British. However, upto 1786, the British could not establish their hegemony over the entire region. A local Zamindar, Radharam, brought under his administrative control, a vast region of Southern Karimganj, and local people started calling him Nawab Radharam. His blatant defiance of British authority brought the matters to a head, but Radharam could survive two successive expeditions of the British contingents. Ultimately, a reinforced contingent succeeded in capturing him after defeating his native force. While he was being carried to Sylhet by the Company soldiers, Radharam reportedly committed suicide. It is only with his fall in 1786 that the British could establish their complete authority in the region around Karimganj.
In November 1857, three companies of the 34th Native Infantry stationed at Chittagong mutinied and they subsequently emerged in the south-east of the Sylhet District. At Latu village of present Karimganj district, these rebel soldiers encountered a contingent of the Sylhet Light Infantry under the command of Major Byng. The sepoys were defeated, but Major Byng was killed. At Malegar hillock of Latu village, the graves of the fallen rebels are still venerated by the local peple.
The Sub-division of Karimganj under the Sylhet District was created in 1878 with Karimganj town as its headquarters. The sub-division played an important role in the freedom movement. The famous Chargola exodus, one of the earliest organised labour movements of the country, had its origin in the Chargola valley tea-belt of Karimganj sub-division.
At the time of partition of the country, in 1947, the district of Sylhet was transferred to East Pakistan barring three-and-half thana areas (Ratabari, Patherkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj thana) of the Karimganj sub-division. This truncated Karimganj sub-division was incorporated in the Cachar District of Assam as a full-fledged sub-division. This sub-division was upgraded to a district on the 1st of July, 1983, vide Govt. Notification no. GAG15/83/1 dated June 14, 1983.
Geography
The geographical location of Karimganj district is between longitudes 92°15' and 92°35' east and latitudes 24°15' and 25°55' North.
The district is bounded on the North by Bangladesh and Cachar district; on the South by Mizoram and Tripura states, on the West by Bangladesh and Tripura and on the East by Hailakandi district.
Located strategically, the district shares 92 Kms. of International Border with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. 41 Kms of this is demarcated by the river Kushiara while 51 Kms is land border. On some stretches, there is no natural geographical demarcation for the border which cuts across open agricultural or grazing fields. However, on most parts, the international border with Bangladesh is marked by either the river Kushiara, or the sub-mountain tracts of the Adamail range. In a sense, Karimganj, along with the neighbouring district of Cachar demarcates the frontier between the plains of the Padma-Meghna basin and the hilly North-east India.
Hills
Karimganj district is actually shut in between two hill ranges, whereas there is a third hill that runs through the southern part of the district.
The Chhatachura range that starts from the south-east border, forms the whole length of border with Hailakandi district. The summit of the range is called the Chhatachura peak and its height is 2087 feet above the sea-level. The hills gradually decline in height and in the middle section, which bears the name Sarashpur, are only 1000 feet above the sea-level near the Barak river. At the lowest level, where they are known as the Badarpur hills, the average height is about 500 feet. The Chhatachura range is about 50 miles from north to south and at some parts, 13 miles in breadth.
The Adamail or Patharia range marks the western border of the district forming the international border with Bangladesh. Running from the south to the north, its length is about 28 miles and breadth about 7 to 8 miles. The highest point of the range is about 800 feet above sea-level.
The third hilly range crossing through the district is the Duhalia range, also called the Pratapgarh range. It runs through the mid-south of the district demarcating the Longai Valley and the Chargola valley. The length of the range in the district is about 28 miles with highest peak at 1500 feet above sea-level,
Besides these main ranges, the plains of the district are also dotted with hillocks and forests. The north and north-eastern portion of the district are mainly plains whereas the South and South-western parts are mainly covered with forest.
Rivers
Kushiara, Longai and Shingla are the main rivers flowing through the district.
Demography
Caste Distribution : A fairly large percentage (13%) of the population belongs to the Scheduled Caste community largely comprising Kaibarta and Namashudra castes. Total Scheduled Tribe population of the district was put at only 2901 by the 2001 Census Report - a figure largely disputed by many, according to whom the ST population was grossly under-enumerated in the census. The tribal population of the district largely comprises Dimasas, Khasis, Barmans, Tripuras, Halams and many others.
Language : The predominant language of the district is Bengali (particularly, Sylheti, a dialect of Bengali spoken by the people of Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, to which Karimganj once belonged). The other important languages spoken in the district are Hindi (used largely by the tea-plantation workers who migrated from Bihar, eastern UP and other states), Manipuri, Assamese, Dimasa, Khasi and so on.
Urbanisation : As much as 93% of the district population lives in rural areas. Urban population accounts for only about 7% compared to 11% for the state (Assam) and 26% for the country (India). Of course, the rural area includes many semi-urban localities like small townships which can boast of many of the urban facilities, though yet to be notified as towns. There are only two notified Urban areas in The District - Karimganj Town (administered by Karimganj Municipal Board with a population of 43,883) and Badarpur Urban Area (administered by Badarpur Town Committee and Badarpur Railway Town Committee with a combined population of 16,498). Other semi-urban localities are Ramkrishna Nagar, Patharkandi, Nilambazar etc.
Population Density : Population density of Karimganj district, is one of the highest in India. With a total population of 1007976 (in 2001) and a total land area of 1809 Sq.Km., the density stands at 557 persons per sq.km. This far outstrips the corresponding state figure of 286 and the national figure of 273. In fact, this is the second highest district level density in the whole of North-east. With the further growth of population in the last few years, the density has gone up further.
Literacy : Despite a lot of progress in the field of education on post-independence era, more than 45% of the district population is still illiterate as per Census-2001. Somewhat comforting, however, is the fact that the literacy rate of the district at 55.78% is marginally higher than the State (Assam) average of 52.89% and also the national (Indian) average of 52.21%. In the area of Female literacy also, the district average (44.76%) is significantly ahead of the corresponding national figure of 39.29%.
Economy
Karimganj town is an important centre of trade and commerce in the North East India. Its river port, with elaborate infra-structures like cargo-terminal, jetty, warehouses etc., is capable of handling large volumes of cargoes carried by steamers plying through river ways via Bangladesh. Karimganj is also a borders trade centre and import-export business worth crores of rupees is carried out through the custom trade point at Kalibari Ghat in the town.