Karimganj district

Coordinates: 24°52′00″N 92°21′00″E / 24.8667°N 92.3500°E / 24.8667; 92.3500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Karimganj district
Manipuri)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Notable Education Institutions
Websitekarimganj.assam.gov.in

Karimganj district is one of the 31

Sylhet District before the Partition of India
. It became a district in 1983.

History

Karimganj was first established as a subdivision of the

Bengali Muslim mirashdar[note 1] who originally established a bazaar (known as Karimganj) less than four miles south of the confluence of the Natikhal and Kushiyara River. However, the Natikhal would become dry in autumn and for this reason, the bazaar was relocated to its present headquarters, Karimganj, in the 1870s.[3]

During the partition of India 1946–47, a plebiscite was held so as to decide which whether Sylhet region covering entire Sylhet, Maulvibazar, Karimganj would remain in India or join the newly formed Pakistan. Abdul Matlib Mazumdar was one of the silent Indian freedom fighters who led a delegation before Radcliffe commission to ensure Greater Sylhet region remained with India/Assam. But on stern demands of the Muslim League, and with support of top leaders of Assam then,[4] plebiscite was held where Sylhet region (including Karimganj) voted to go with Pakistan, winning by a very small margin. The referendum was held in July 1947, and the ayes for Pakistan won by a razor-thin margin. There were allegations of rigging and bogus votes, but that was only to be expected, whichever side won.[5] Sylhet was gifted to East Pakistan with Karimganj being divided and handed over to India/Assam reason stated to let India have proper connectivity with Tripura. The Kushiyara River was made the river border between India & East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Parts of Greater Karimganj including Beani-Bazar, Barlekha, Shahpur and Zakiganj fell under East Pakistan and Karimganj was given to India.

Geography

A typical house of Karimganj

Karimganj district occupies an area of 1,809 square kilometres (698 sq mi),

Cachar District, east and south by Hailakandi district, south by Mizoram, southwest by Tripura state, and on the west and northwest by Bangladesh. Karimganj, the administrative headquarters and main town of the district also bears the same name, that is, Karimganj. Karimganj town is located on the northern fringe of the district adjoining Bangladesh, by the river Kushiyara
.

Its distance from Guwahati – the largest city of Assam - is approximately 330 km by road and about 350 km by rail. Distances of other important places are : Silchar – 55 km, Shillong – 220 km, Agartala – 250 km. Flanked on two sides by the rivers Kushiyara and Longai, Karimganj town is located just on the Bangladesh border with the river Kushiyara flowing in between. One prominent feature of the place is a long and winding canal called Noti Khal meandering through the town. Earlier, it used to be a connecting river way between Kushiyara and Longai facilitating river communication and also balancing of water-levels between the two rivers. Now, however, this canal has been blocked at several places through embankments and landfills to pave way for road transport and construction works. Karimganj and the Barak valley has been prone to serious flooding for decades. The recent floods that did significant damage were in 1976, 1988 and 2007.[8][9][10]

The forests of Karimganj were once rich in wildlife but now vanishing due to human onslaught.[11] Rare species found are Tiger, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine, Golden Langur (Hanuman), Monkey, Fox, Asian Elephant, Giant river otter, macaw parrots, Parakeets, Hornbill, Maina, different types of local and migratory birds, Snakes, Coypubara (2nd largest rodent in world) etc., have been recorded.[12][13] The Patharia hills reserve forest of the district is the habitat of many mammals and was recommended to upgrade as 'Patharia hills wildlife sanctuary'.[11] The southern part was also recommended as 'Dhaleswari' wildlife sanctuary.[14][15]

Economy

Karimganj is an agricultural district

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 border trade centre and import-export business worth crores of rupees is carried out through the custom trade point at Dakbangla Ghat in the town and Sutarkandi Custom Station.

Karimganj is an agricultural district. Historically, tea has been the major agricultural product of Cachar region including Karimganj.[16]

Administration

Divisions

Karimganj District has one sub-division. The district has 5

Ramkrishna Nagar, Patharkandi, Ratabari, Nilambazar, and Bazarichara), 95 gram panchayats
, and seven anchalik panchayats.

There are five

Karimganj Lok Sabha constituency.[18]

Transport

New BG station, Karimganj Junction
Another view of New BG station, Karimganj Junction

Karimganj town is linked via both rail and road transport with the rest of India. Karimganj town is a railway junction and

Cachar. Karimganj town is also an important river port and has seasonal cargo and freight transport links with Kolkata through river ways via Bangladesh
.

Sutarkandi international border crossing

Sutarkandi international border crossing on Bangladesh–India border on Karimganj-Beanibazar route is in Karimganj district of Assam in India.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901215,521—    
1911243,399+1.22%
1921251,172+0.31%
1931266,007+0.58%
1941291,320+0.91%
1951378,324+2.65%
1961465,198+2.09%
1971582,108+2.27%
1991827,063+1.77%
20011,007,976+2.00%
20111,228,686+2.00%
source:[19]

According to the

640).[1] The district has a population density of 673 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,740/sq mi) .[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.74%.[1] Karimganj has a sex ratio of 961 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 79.72%. 8.93% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.85% and 0.16% of the population respectively.[1]

Religion

Religion in Karimganj district (2011)[22]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 56.36%
Hinduism
 
 42.48%
Christianity
 
 0.98%
Other or not stated
 
 0.18%

Religious demographics are as follows:[22]

  • Muslims () - 692,489
  • Hindus () - 521,962
  • Christians () - 11,990.
Population of circles (sub-districts) by religion
Circle Muslims (%) Hindus (%) Christians (%) Others (%)
Karimganj 57.16 42.36 0.22 0.26
Badarpur 64.91 34.49 0.37 0.24
Nilambazar 75.30 24.24 0.35 0.12
Patharkandi 47.74 49.55 2.49 0.23
Ramkrishna Nagar 42.28 56.42 1.21 0.09

According to

2011 Indian Census, the Muslims form a slight majority in the district constituting 56.4% of the population, with Hindus at 42.5% of the population, followed by 1.0% Christians. Small populations of Jain, Buddhists and Sikhs also reside in the district.[22]

Language

Languages in Karimganj district (2011)[23]

  
Bishnupriya Manipuri (2.00%)
  Bhojpuri
(1.65%)
  Others (3.81%)

Manipuri) are the official languages of this place.[24][25]

According to the 2011 census, 86.84% of the district spoke

Bishnupriya and 1.65% Bhojpuri as their first language.[23]

Karimganj is one of several districts in Assam where

Bishnupriya and Meitei, Dimasa, and Kokborok. There are also a small tribal communities like Hrangkhol, Kuki, Khasi, and Sakachep
.

Notable people

Notes

  1. ^ Mirashdar is a term referring to a landowner who pays taxes directly to the government.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "District census 2011 - Karimganj" (PDF). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2011.
  2. ^ Laskar, Nitish Ranjan (1985). Mahishya Das of Cachar and their Social Background. Proceedings of North East India History Association. North East India History Association. p. 456.
  3. ^ Choudhury, Achyut Charan (2000) [1916]. "করিমগঞ্জের নামতত্ত্ব". Srihatter Itibritta: Uttorangsho (in Bengali). Kolkata: Kotha. p. 111.
  4. ^ "How the 1947 Sylhet partition led to Assam's politics of the foreigner". 13 August 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  5. ^ "My memories of partition". 15 August 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  6. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help
    )
  7. United Nations Environment Program
    . 18 February 1998. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Afognak 1,809km2
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Phanindra Goyari. "Flood Damages and Sustainability of Agriculture in Assam." Economic and Political Weekly 40, no. 26 (2005): 2723-729. [1].
  10. ^ "Web Archives". www.worldbank.org. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b Talukdar, N.R., Choudhury, P. (2017). Conserving wildlife wealth of Patharia Hills reserve Forest, Assam, India: a critical analysis. Global Ecology and Conservation 10:126–138.
  12. ^ Choudhury, A.U. (1999). Status and Conservation of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus in north-eastern India. Mammal Review 29(3): 141-173.
  13. ^ Choudhury, A.U. (2004). Vanishing habitat threatens Phayre's leaf monkey. The Rhino Found. NE India Newsletter 6:32-33.
  14. ^ Choudhury, A.U. (1983). Plea for a new wildlife refuge in eastern India. Tigerpaper 10(4):12-15.
  15. ^ Choudhury, A.U. (1983). Plea for a new wildlife sanctuary in Assam. WWF - India Newsletter 4(4):15.
  16. ISBN 978-81-8324-098-7
    .
  17. ^ a b "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Revenue & Election District wise break - up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  18. ^ "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Parliamentary Constituencies wise break - up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  20. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Bahrain 1,214,705 July 2011 est.
  21. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011. New Hampshire 1,316,470
  22. ^ a b c "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Assam". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  23. ^ a b "Table C-16 Population By Mother Tongue: Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  24. ^ "Govt withdraws Assamese as official language from Barak valley". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  25. ^ Purkayastha, Biswa Kalyan (24 February 2024). "Assam recognises Manipuri as associate official language in four districts". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  26. ^ Ahmed, Ohi Uddin (2019). "The Mahimal Community of Sylhet-Cachar Region:A Historical Study with Special Reference to the Regional Ecology". History Research Journal. 5 (5): 1116.

External links

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24°52′00″N 92°21′00″E / 24.8667°N 92.3500°E / 24.8667; 92.3500

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