28-693: Mekhliganj is a city and a municipality in Cooch Behar district in the Indian state of West Bengal . It is the headquarters of the Mekhliganj subdivision . Earlier it was a Zamindari divided mainly in 3 parts under the Cooch Behar Kingdom. Sikarwar Rajputs, the trading clan along with other local clans started the process of rehabilitation in Mekliganj. It is said that the elephant in
56-452: A sex ratio of 942 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.49%. 10.27% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1,414,336 (50.17%) and 18,125 (0.64%) of the population respectively. Cooch Behar is the only district in India where Scheduled Castes make up a majority of the population. Hinduism is the majority religion. Islam is
84-864: A corrupted form of the word Koch , the name of the Koch tribes, and the word behar is derived from vihara meaning land , Koch Behar means land of the Koches . Cooch Behar formed part of the Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam from the 4th to the 12th centuries. In the 12th century, the area became a part of the Kamata Kingdom , first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The Khens were an indigenous tribe, and they ruled till about 1498 CE , when they fell to Alauddin Hussain Shah ,
112-431: A population of 10,833. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Mekliganj has an average literacy rate of 61%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 53%. In Mekliganj, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age. Mekhliganj police station has jurisdiction over Mekhligaganj municipal area and a part of Mekhliganj CD block. Founded in 1996, Mekliganj College
140-516: A princely kingdom under the protection of British East India company. The Victor Jubilee Palace was based on Buckingham Palace and built in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan . In 1878, the maharaja married the daughter of Brahmo preacher Keshab Chandra Sen . This union led to a renaissance in Cooch Behar state. Maharaja Nripendra Narayan is known as the architect of modern Cooch Behar town. Under an agreement between
168-736: A total area of 47.7 km in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there were 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km . These were part of the high stake card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur. Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves were within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves were within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave
196-519: Is a common and widely cultivated crop in disticts of Cooch Behar , Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur , proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by
224-531: Is an undergraduate college situated at Mekhliganj. Mekhliganj Subdivional Hospital, with 120 beds, functions at Mekhliganj. Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district ( pronounced [ˈkuːtʃ biˈɦaːr] ) is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal . Formerly part of the Kamarupa kingdom , the area became the heart of the Kamata Kingdom in the 12th century. During the British Raj ,
252-477: Is at 26°21′N 88°55′E / 26.35°N 88.92°E / 26.35; 88.92 . It adjoins the boundary of Teesta River . It has an average elevation of 58 m (190 ft). Also it is situated very near to Saniajan River According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Koch Bihar , Mekliganj covered an area of 3.88 km. The map alongside shows the western part of
280-689: The Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency) , which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) . Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency) , which also contains six assembly segments from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts. Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 2 January 2024 (valid until 11 March 2034). It
308-585: The Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal . Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in the north, Dhubri and Kokrajhar district of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal. A geopolitical curiosity was that there were 92 Bangladeshi exclaves , with
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#1732780707821336-613: The 2008 Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district is divided into 9 assembly constituencies: Mekliganj, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency is part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency) , which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district . Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form
364-603: The Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai , making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region. It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag. The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity. Khen dynasty Too Many Requests If you report this error to
392-503: The Kamata Kingdom reached its zenith. Nara Narayan's younger brother, Shukladhwaj ( Chilarai ), was a noted military general who undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom. He became governor of its eastern portion. After Chilarai's death, his son Raghudev became governor of this portion. Since Nara Narayan did not have a son, Raghudev was seen as the heir apparent. However, a late child of Nara Narayan removed Raghudev's claim to
420-740: The Royal Symbol of Koch Kingdom, was a gift from the Sikarwar Rajputs to the Koch King, Shri Shri Maharaja Shivendra Narayan, in return of fertile land near the Teesta River and 2 Rupees as nazrana. Later the Rajputs established Chattradhari Estate here. After the succession by Shri Shri Maharaja Narendra Narayan named this place to Mekhliganj, a place where 'Mekhla' (born as Simha) also (people from Narmada) people stays. Mekliganj
448-540: The advice of an unknown saint, transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati (now called Cooch Behar town) on the banks of the Torsa river between 1693 and 1714. The capital has always been in or near its present location since then. In 1661 CE, Maharaja Pran Narayan planned to expand his kingdom. However, Mir Jumla , the subedar of Bengal under the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb , attacked Cooch Behar and conquered
476-780: The district flow. Most of the highland areas are in the Sitalkuchi region and most of the low-lying lands lie in Dinhata region. The rivers in the district of Cooch Behar generally flow from northwest to southeast. Seven rivers that cut through the district are the Teesta , Jaldhaka , Torsha , Kaljani , Raidak , Gadadhar and Ghargharia . In 1976 Cooch Behar district became home to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (now Jaldapara National Park ), which has an area of 217 km (83.8 sq mi). It shares
504-426: The district was known as Cooch Behar state ruled by the Koch dynasty until 1949, when it became part of India. The district consists of the flat plains of North Bengal and has several rivers: the most notable being the Teesta , Jaldhaka and Torsa . The district has the highest proportion of Scheduled Castes in the country, where they form a majority. The name Cooch Behar is derived from two words— Cooch ,
532-410: The district. In Mekhliganj subdivision, 9.91% of the population lives in the urban areas and 90.09% in the rural areas. In Mathabhanga subdivision 3.67% of the population, the lowest in the district, lives in the urban areas and 96.35% lives in the rural areas. The entire district forms the flat alluvial flood plains of mighty rivers. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in
560-518: The independent Pathan Sultan of Gour . The new invaders fought with the local Bhuyan chieftains and the Ahom king Suhungmung and lost control of the region. During this time, the Koch tribe became very powerful and proclaimed itself Kamateshwar (Lord of Kamata) and established the Koch dynasty. The first important Koch ruler was Biswa Singha , who came to power in 1515. Under his son, Nara Narayan ,
588-546: The kings of Cooch Behar and the Indian Government at the end of British rule, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred full authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India , effective 12 September 1949. Eventually, Cooch Bihar became part of the state of West Bengal on 19 January 1950, with Cooch Behar town as its headquarters. Cooch Behar is a district under
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#1732780707821616-491: The minority religion, and is mainly rural. Muslims are a significant minority in Dinhata I (36.98%), Dinhata II (36.68%) and Sitalkuchi (35.31%) blocks. Languages of Cooch Behar district (2011) At the time of the 2011 census, 94.79% of the population spoke Bengali , 1.31% Rajbongshi and 1.17% Hindi as their first language. 2.01% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Bengali. The district of Cooch Behar comprises five sub-divisions: As per order of
644-420: The park with Alipurduar district. According to the 2011 census Cooch Behar district has a population of 2,819,086, roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica . This gives it a ranking of 136th in India (out of a total of 739 ). The district has a population density of 833 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,160/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 13.86%. Koch Bihar has
672-418: The subdivisions. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full-screen map. As per 2011 Census of India Mekliganj had a total population of 9,217 of which 4,664 (51%) were males and 4,463 (49%) were females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 1,098. The total number of literate persons in Mekliganj was 6,009 (74.84% of the population over 6 years). As of 2001 India census , Mekliganj had
700-557: The territory, meeting almost no resistance. The town of Cooch Behar was subsequently named Alamgirnagar. Maharaja Pran Narayan regained his kingdom within a few days. In 1772–1773, the king of Bhutan attacked and captured Cooch Behar. To expel the Bhutanese, the kingdom of Cooch Behar signed a defence treaty with the British East India Company on 5 April 1773. After expelling the Bhutanese, Cooch Behar became
728-473: The throne. To placate him, Nara Narayan had to anoint Raghudev as a vassal chief of the portion of the kingdom east of the Sankosh river . This area came to be known as Koch Hajo . After the death of Nara Narayan in 1584, Raghudev declared independence. The kingdom ruled by the son of Nara Narayan, Lakshmi Narayan , came to be known as Cooch Behar. The division of the Kamata Kingdom into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo
756-411: Was Balapara Khagrabari which surrounded a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounded an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari , of less than one hectare (link to external map here [1] ). But all this has ended in the historic India-Bangladesh land agreement. See Indo-Bangladesh enclaves . Cooch Behar is a flat region with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers of
784-642: Was permanent. Koch Behar aligned itself with the Mughal Empire and finally joined the India as a part of the West Bengal, whereas remnants of the Koch Hajo rulers aligned themselves with the Ahom kingdom and the region became a part of Assam . As the early capital of the Koch Kingdom, Cooch Behar's location was not static and became stable only when shifted to Cooch Behar town. Maharaja Rup Narayan, on
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