Sonitpur district
Sonitpur district | |
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UTC+5:30 (IST) | |
ISO 3166 code | IN-AS |
Vehicle registration | AS12 |
Website | sonitpur |
Sonitpur district [Pron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə] is an administrative
.Etymology
The name of the district is derived from a story found in
History
History
Duars
Sonitpur district falls under the
Trade and relation with Tibet
According to Tibetan chronicles, the ruler of Darrang (now Sonitpur district) used to pay tribute to Wongme Palder the ruler of Thembang (now West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh) who was a descendant of an exiled Tibetan prince named Lhase Tsangma, brother of Tibetan ruler Ralpacan in the 9th century C.E.[1]
The Koriapar Dooar falls under the Sonitpur district and was held by Bhutias known as the Monpas (Tibetan: མོན་པ་) and to the Chinese as Monbas.[2] These chiefs were subordinate to the ruler of Tawang, who in turn were a tributary to the Tibetan government at Lhasa.[3] The Koriapar Dooars was annexed by British East India Company in 1844 and added to the Assam province.[3]
Koriapar Dooar under Sonitpur district acted as an trading point between Assam and Tibet. Under Ahom government, the management was under the Sat Rajas and revenue was collected by an officer called Sanzati.
The Tibetan government at Lhasa appointed Tibetan officials called Gellongs to supervise the local Monpa chief. The Monpa chief who looked after the Duar were called Tsorgon. This office was created in the 16th-century.[4]
It was occupied by the Baro-Bhuyan feudal lords in the 14th century.[5]
In the 16th century, the eastern part of the district, up to the
Starting in the 16th century, under the reign of
Soon war broke out between Raghudev and Lakshmi Narayan. Lakshmi Narayan was defeated and appealed to the Mughals for help. The Mughals sent a large force and defeated Raghudev, although Sonitpur was on the eastern boundary and so was not conquered. Raghudev's brother Bali Narayan then fled to his Ahom overlords for help, and when the Mughals demanded his return, the Ahoms refused. This led to
The rajas of Darrang quickly became reduced in territory to a small area around Mangaldoi. In 1792, the Moamoria rebellion broke out, and fighting soon ensured the entirety of Ahom territory fell into anarchy. Several outside kingdoms, including Manipur, attempted to send help but could not do much. The Moamorias raised a Ahom prince to kingship, and in 1786 conquered Rangpur, the Ahom capital. The Ahom raja Gaurinath Singh was forced to flee. While the Ahoms were beset by the Moamoria rebellion, the Darrang raja and a descendant of Bali Narayan, Krishna Narayan, tried to reassert their independence with the help of Bengali mercenaries. However in 1792, a British force sent to help the Ahom kings managed to take back Guwahati and defeated Krishna Narayan. In 1794, they retook Rangpur. However much of the kingdom was still only under weak Ahom control, and subject to constant raids from the surrounding hill-tribes like the Nyishis. In 1818, the Burmese invaded to restore their preferred monarch on the throne, and forced out the Ahom king and took over his land. The Burmese occupation of Assam resulted in massive death and destruction. In 1826, the British declared war on Myanmar and defeated them in the first Anglo-Burmese War. In the subsequent Treaty of Yandabo, the territory came under British control.[5]
Darrang, including present-day Sonitpur district, became a separate district in 1833, and the capital was shifted to Tezpur in 1835. The British introduced tea plantation to the district, and imported large numbers of labourers from the tribal belt of
Administration
- Headquarters: Tezpur
- Number of Revenue Circles/Tehsils
- Number of Mouza: 26
- Number of Community Development(C.D.) Blocks: 17
- Number of Police Stations: 11
- No. of Anchalik Panchayats: 7
- Name of Gaon Panchayats: 158
- Number of Villages: 1615 (including 19 under BTAD)
- Number of Towns: 6
- Names of Towns: Tezpur, Dhekiajuli, Rangapara & Jamugurihat
- Number of Municipality Board: 2
- Number of Town Committees: 4
- Number of Police District: 1 (Sonitpur Police District)
Geography
Sonitpur district lies on the plains between the foothills of the
National protected area
Sonitpur District is home to several wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. In 1998, Sonitpur district became home to Nameri National Park in the north, which has an area of 200 km2 (77.2 sq mi).[11] It is also home to Orang National Park, which it shares with Darrang district. Orang National Park was established in 1999 and has an area of 79 km2 (30.5 sq mi).[11]
Sonitpur is home to two
Climate
Sonitpur District falls in the
Flora and fauna
The forests of Sonitpur district are semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests and bamboo forests, with hydrophytes in the wetlands.
Demographics
The population of Sonitpur district is 1,924,110 as per 2011 Census. It is the third most populous district of Assam (out of
The demography of Sonitpur district is not entirely homogenous as several linguistic, religious and ethnic communities and groups live in Sonitpur district.According to the
The divided district has a population of 13,11,619, of which 142,477 (10.86%) live in urban areas. Sonitpur has a sex ratio of 950 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 65,367 (4.98%) and 139,033 (10.60%) of the population respectively.[13]
Religion
The major religions of the populace of Sonitpur district are
Ethnic groups and languages
Almost 600,000 people in the district are from communities residing in Assam since pre-colonial times, making up around 46% of the population. These are
The immigrant
The third largest community is the
There are nearly 50,000 speakers of Hindi and it's dialect
As per the 2011 census, 37.01% of the population spoke
Notable people
The district has produced notable people, including:-
- Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (1903-1951) playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker
- Kamalakanta Bhattacharya, Assamese essayist and poet
- Ankushita Boro, boxer
- Jamuna Boro, boxer
- Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, playback singer, poet and film-maker
- Bishnu Prasad Rabha (1909–69), promoter of Assamese culture
- Phani Sarma (1909–70), theatre and film actor, playwright and director
Transportation
- Major Railway Station : Dekargaon, Rangapara & Biswanath Chariali.
- Nearest Airport : Salonibari Airport, Tezpur.
- Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) Stand : At the midst of Tezpur town.
Notes
- ^ (Mizuno & Tenpa 2015:16–18)
- ^ (Eilmer 2014:127)
- ^ a b (Das 1998:26)
- ^ (Das 1998:38–39)
- ^ a b c d e "Assam District Gazetteers Volume V: Darrang". INDIAN CULTURE. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- hdl:10603/116399
- ^ hdl:10603/45986
- )
- United Nations Environment Program. 1998-02-18. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
Guadalcanal 5,353km2
- ISBN 978-94-017-0540-0.
- ^ a b c Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Assam". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
- ^ Mazoomdaar, Jay (20 June 2011). "Where the Forests Have No Trees". Open.
- ^ a b c d e f g "District Census Handbook: Sonitpur" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
- ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
Lesotho 1,924,886
- ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
West Virginia 1,852,994
- ^ a b "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Assam". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
- ^ a b c "Table C-16 Population By Mother Tongue: Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
References
- Das, Smriti (1998). Assam Bhutan relations with special reference to duars from 1681 to 1949 (PhD). Guwahati University. hdl:10603/67909.
- Eilmer, David (2014). The Emperor Far Away:Travels at the Edge of China. Bloomsbury.
- Mizuno, Kazuharu; Tenpa, Lobsang (2015). Himalayan Nature and Tibetan Buddhist Culture in Arunachal Pradesh, India : A Study of Monpa. Springer.