93-514: Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam , India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of area, population and GDP . It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division . It is located 343 kilometres (213 mi; 185 nmi) south east of Guwahati . It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted
186-437: A Fokker F-27 Friendship aircraft. ISBT - SILCHAR ISBT from where Bus are runs every day for Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Siliguri, Imphal. Silchar is home to the main campus of Assam University , a central university that imparts education in both the general and the professional streams. The university, which came into existence in 1994, has 17 schools and 35 post graduate departments. It has 56 colleges affiliated to it. All
279-921: A central university, the Assam University , which is situated at Dorgakuna, 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Silchar. It also has National Institute of Technology, Silchar one of the thirty NITs in India. Silchar Medical College and Hospital is also located in Silchar and is the only medical college in southern Assam. The district includes nine degree colleges. As of 2023, Cachar district includes 1,234 elementary schools and 158 secondary schools. Notable schools include: 25°05′N 92°55′E / 25.083°N 92.917°E / 25.083; 92.917 Bengali literature India Portal Bengali literature ( Bengali : বাংলা সাহিত্য , romanized : Bangla Sahityô ) denotes
372-682: A conference of the Sabha was organised in Silchar to demand better conditions for farmers. The Tebhaga movement of Bengal was organised in Cachar district as well by the Sabha where the local peasants participated. In 1942, the Japanese forces dropped a bomb on Derby Tea Estate 20 km from the town and the Second World War led to the shortage of water, electricity, paper, wood, kerosene. and clothes. Cycle rickshaws were introduced in Silchar
465-408: A government Executive Officer was in charge. 1975 to 1984 saw an elected body preside over the municipal board, but from 1984, it has been run by state government appointees. Silchar Airport (IXS) is located at Kumbhirgram , about 22 km from Silchar. It was built during World war II and the current ATC services are provided by Indian Air Force. Silchar has been selected as one of the towns for
558-642: A literacy rate of 91.05%, with male literacy at 93.63% and female literacy at 88.44%. Religion in Silchar City (2011) Hinduism is the majority religion in Silchar city with around 154,381 followers. Islam is the second most popular religion in Silchar with approximately 21,759 followers. Jainism is practised by 1,408 people, Christianity by 1,052 people, Sikhism by 77 people and Buddhism by 39 people in Silchar city. Around 145 people did not state their religion. Languages spoken in Silchar city (2011) Bengali and Meitei (Manipuri) are
651-848: A lot like what it currently is. Ramai Pandit and Halayudh Misra were notable writers of this period. Muslim writers were exploring different themes through narratives and epics such as religion, culture, cosmology, love and history; often taking inspiration from or translating Arabic and Persian literary works such as the Thousand and One Nights and the Shahnameh . The literary romantic tradition saw poems by Shah Muhammad Sagir on Yusuf and Zulaikha , as well as works of Zainuddin and Sabirid Khan. The Dobhashi culture introduced Arabic and Persian vocabulary into Bengali texts to illustrate Muslim stories. Epic poetry included Nabibangsha by Syed Sultan and Rasul Bijoy by Shah Barid. Chandidas
744-443: A population of 172,830. The sex ratio of Silchar is 989 females per 1,000 males, which is above the national ratio of 940 females per 1,000 males. Silchar municipal area has an average literacy rate of 82.33%, higher than the national average of 74.04%, with male literacy at 84.15% and female literacy at 80.49%. The Silchar Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 228,985, of which 115,443 were males and 113,542 were females, with
837-474: A theorist, Fisher's reasons for choosing Silchar as the administrative centre for Cachar included 'the strategic location of Silchar, its accessibility from Sylhet , availability of land and labour, approach routes to neighbouring hills and prospects of riverine commerce'. The establishment of the Sadar Station was followed by the construction of the treasury and a kutchery. A jail and a police outpost for
930-540: Is Parimal Suklabaidya of the BJP and current MLA is Dipayan Chakraborty of the BJP . Silchar Municipal Board is responsible for the municipal governance of the town. The municipal history of Silchar goes back to 1865 when the town was made a municipality under the Bengal District Town Improvement Act, 1864. The municipality was composed to 8 European and 3 Indian members, in addition to
1023-400: Is also famous for short stories. Some famous short story writers are Rabindranath Tagore , Manik Bandopadhyay , Tarashankar Bandopadhyay , Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay , Rajshekhar Basu (Parasuram), Syed Mujtaba Ali , Premendra Mitra , Bengal is also known for its detective stories and novels written by Satyajit Ray , Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay and others. Rajshekhar Basu (1880–1960)
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#17327733247201116-512: Is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India . After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi , Karimganj , and the current Cachar district. Silchar is Cachar district's center of government. The word Cacahr is derived from the Dimasa word Kachari and traces its origin to
1209-612: Is chiefly a translation of the 10th and 11th cantos of the Bhagavata Purana , is the earliest Bengali narrative poem that can be assigned to a definite date. Composed between 1473 and 1480 C.E., it is also the oldest Bengali narrative poem of the Krishna legend. The Ramayana , under the title of Sri Rama Panchali , was translated by Krittibas Ojha . Bengali literature flourished in Arakan following its reconquest . It
1302-408: Is more than 3,000 millimetres (120 in). Its climate is tropical wet; the district has hot and wet summers and cool winters. According to the 2011 census , Cachar district has a population of 1,736,617. It ranks 278th out of a total of 640 districts in India. The district has a population density of 459 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,190/sq mi). Its population growth rate over
1395-592: Is one of the most important business centers of Assam. Because of its wet climate, the main crops of the district are rice and tea. The Indian government identified Cachar as one of the country's 250 most backward districts in 2006; there are 640 districts in India. It currently receives funding through the Backward Regions Grant Fund program (BRGF). There are several temples and historic sites in Silchar and Cachar. The village of Khaspur, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Silchar, features
1488-638: Is probably the only bilingual (Bengali -English) literary movement in India mothered by Bengali literature, that has spread its wings worldwide through the participation of well known international avant-garde writers and mail artists such as Richard Kostelanetz , John M. Bennett , Sheila Murphy , Don Webb , with notable Bengali poets, writers and artists like Vattacharja Chandan. Humayun Ahmed , created his own style of simplistic writing that became immensely popular. His characters like Himu, Misir Ali, Baker Bhai etc. continue to be household names loved by all. His teacher, Natyaguru Nurul Momen , regarded as
1581-763: Is the Charyapada , a collection of Buddhist mystic songs in Old Bengali dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The timeline of Bengali literature is divided into three periods: ancient (650–1200), medieval (1200–1800) and modern (after 1800). Medieval Bengali literature consists of various poetic genres, including Hindu religious scriptures (e.g. Mangalkavya ), Islamic epics (e.g. works of Syed Sultan and Abdul Hakim ), Vaishnava texts (e.g. biographies of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ), translations of Arabic , Persian and Sanskrit texts, and secular texts by Muslim poets (e.g. works of Alaol ). Novels were introduced in
1674-488: Is the center of government. There are seven Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Barkhola , Dholai , Katigorah , Lakhipur , Silchar , Sonai , and Udharbond . These seven constituencies make up the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency . Dholai is designated for scheduled castes , among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. Silchar is the district headquarters and
1767-679: The Brahmaputra Valley and Manipur by 1823, the Burmese made forays into Cachar as well. The then Governor General of India, Lord William Amherst , saw the British occupation of Cachar as essential towards guarding the nearby British held district of Sylhet from the Burmese. On 6 March 1824, Gobinda Chandra signed the Treaty of Badarpur with the British, who declared Cachar as a British protectorate and recognised Raja Gobinda Chandra as
1860-613: The Chief Commissionership of Assam on 6 February 1874. In the later 19th century, southern Cachar was raided numerous times by the Lushais . After India's partition from Great Britain in 1947, the Karimganj sub-division of undivided Sylhet District became part of the Cachar district. North Cachar was separated from Cachar as Dima Hasao district in 1963, followed by Karimganj district . Hailakandi district
1953-641: The Kachari Kingdom . Around the year 1536, the elder prince of Dimasa Kachari, Drikpati, and a younger prince, Dakhin, had a conflict. Dakhin and his followers were driven out and built a new capital at the Barak Valley , declaring themselves as Dibrasa or the Children of the Barak River ( Di means "River", and Brasa means "Barak" ). The Dibrasa were later known as Twiprasa and formed
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#17327733247202046-1054: The Rabindra Puraskar , the highest literary award of Paschimbanga in 1955 for Krishnakali Ityadi Galpa . Rajsheskhar was also a noted lexicographer, translator and essayist. His Chalantika (1937) is one of the most popular concise Bengali dictionaries, while his Bengali-language translations of Meghaduta (1943), the Ramayana (1946), the Mahabharata (1949) and the Bhagavat Gita (1961) are also acclaimed. His major essays are included in Laghuguru (1939) and Bichinta (1955). Other three well-known authors of that time were Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay , Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay and Manik Bandyopadhyay ; popularly known as Bandyopadhyay Troyee (Trio of Bandyopadhyay s). Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay , who wrote under
2139-752: The Twipra Kingdom in the Barak Valley . In 1562, the Koch dynasty King Chilarai invaded and captured the Barak Valley from the Twipra Kingdom. King Chilarai gave his brother, Kamal Narayan, authority over the region. The descendants of Kamal Narayan ruled the region until the 18th century. After the fall of the Koch kingdom due to no heir, the Dimasa Kingdom took over and ruled most of
2232-499: The stump-tailed macaque , the masked finfoot , and the white-winged wood duck . The sanctuary is also home to tiger , the hoolock gibbon , and the gaur . The Asian elephant is already extinct. The southern part of the district was also recommended as a Dhaleswari wildlife sanctuary but has yet to receive that status. Silchar has an airport, which is located at Kumbhirgram . It is served by regular flights from IndiGo , Air India , and SpiceJet . Broad-gauge railways connect
2325-782: The undivided Cachar district . Raja Shri Krishna Chandra Dwaja Narayan Hasnu Kacharihe was the most powerful king of the Dimasa Kingdom at Khaspur. During Krishna Chandra's rule, the Manipuri king sought help against the Burmese army. Krishna Chandra defeated the Burmese in battle and was offered the Manipuri Princess Induprabha in thanks. Because Krishna Chandra was already married to Rani Chandraprabha, he asked Princess Induprabha to marry his younger brother, Govinda Chandra Hasnu. During this period, Khaspur
2418-549: The 16th century, Cachar was a part of the Tripura kingdom. The Tippera kings continued their rule in Barak Valley till mid-16th century, when commander Chilarai of the Koch dynasty defeated the king of Tripura in 1562 in Longai. Longai became the boundary between the Tripura and Koch kingdoms. Bir Chilarai, also known as Shukladhwaja, was the younger brother of the Koch king Naranarayan . Gosai Kamal, also known as Kamal Narayan,
2511-571: The 1880s, Chatterjee critically analysed Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita as well as the problems of Krishnaism from a historical perspective in his Dharmatattva and Krishna Charitra . Romesh Chunder Dutt and Mir Mosharraf Hossain are notable for their works of fiction. Girish Chandra Ghosh and Dwijendralal Ray were prominent playwrights of the time, whereas Akshay Kumar Boral and Ramendra Sundar Tribedi are famous for their influential essays. Rassundari Devi authored
2604-651: The Deputy Commissioner's office. The latter two still survive. Under him, the jail was shifted from Fatak Bazar to its present site, and traders from nearby areas in Bengal were encouraged to settle in the town. Communication facilities were strengthened with the steamer service between Silchar and Kolkata in 1850, the establishment of the Head Post Office in 1852, and the introduction of telegraph in 1861. While Tarapur, Malugram and Itkhola were part of
2697-497: The Deputy commissioners were the chairpersons of the municipality. The chairpersons began to be elected from 1913 onwards. Kamini Kumar Chanda and Mahesh Chandra Dutta were the first elected chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Silchar municipality. The municipality took decisions like construction and repair of roads, buying medicines and taking public health preventive steps, sanitation, and setting prices to guard again inflation. As
2790-754: The Digboi Centenary Museum, the Railway Heritage Park and Museum, and the Sonitpur District Museum. Barail Wildlife Sanctuary is the only wildlife sanctuary in the district and was established in 2004. The naturalist Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury worked to create the sanctuary in the early 1980s. Rare species in the sanctuary included the Hoolock gibbon , the phayre's leaf monkey , the pig-tailed macaque ,
2883-626: The District & Sessions Judge, Jorhat till 1955 when the District & Sessions Judge of Cachar District took over in Silchar. S. K. Dutta became the first District & Sessions Judge of Cachar District Judiciary. Apart from the refugees from East Pakistan, Silchar also saw a lot of migration from neighbouring states in Northeast due to political disturbances which added to the population growth. The 1971 Bangladesh liberation war saw more in migration from then East Pakistan. Silchar saw one of
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2976-825: The High Grammar School, which later became the Government Boys Higher Secondary School. In 1864, a charitable dispensary was set up, which later became the Civil Hospital. Silchar got its very first body for self governance In 1882, when a Town Committee was established under the Bengal Municipal Act, 1876. Keating Library, the first library in Silchar, was established in 1876 and was renamed to Arun Chanda Granthagar after Independence. The earliest newspaper in Cachar, called 'Silchar', appeared in 1883. In 1891,
3069-796: The Raja after Bhim Singha's death and eventually the two kingdoms were merged and present day Cachar came under Dimasa rule. Under the Dimasa kings, Cachar witnessed attacks from the Mughals , the Jaintias , the Manipuri kings , the Burmese , and the Ahoms . While the hill areas of the Kachari kingdom i.e. Dima Hasao, had a Dimasa stronghold, the plain areas i.e. present day Cachar had Bengalis constituting
3162-478: The Shakespeare of Bangladesh was the pioneer in simultaneously three fields of literature:- Playwrighting, Belle Lettres & Satire. Other prominent writers include Muhammed Zafar Iqbal , Humayun Azad , Ahmed Sofa , Selina Hossain , Taslima Nasreen , and many others. Waliullah Bhuiyan is one of the modern-era authors and publishers in the children literature of Bangladesh. His books and stories are some of
3255-819: The Sun Gate, Lion Gate, the king's palace, a temple, and other remains of the 17th century Kachari Kingdom . The ruins of Kachari Fort in Dimapur , Nagaland , date to the 13th century. The Baro Dwari, Bishnu Mandir, Kali Mandir, Singh Duwar, and Snan Ghar are other ancient monuments in the Cachar district. Other sites include Badarpur Fort in Badarpur , Bhubaneswar Shiva temple at Chandragiri in Sonai , Nrimata temple at Barkhola , and Siddeshwar temple in Badarpur. Silchar has several museums, including Assam State Museum ,
3348-684: The Sylhet Light Infantry was constructed in Fatak Bazar, while offices and residential quarters were made in Janiganj. Parts of Janiganj were also allotted to officers and traders. John Edgars, the successor to Captain Fisher, added to the urban growth of the city. He prepared a blueprint for the planned development of Silchar, paved the roads, and supervised the construction of office buildings, residential quarters, circuit house and
3441-540: The Treaty of Badarpur. Captain Thomas Fisher, an army officer took charge of Cachar on 30 June 1830 with the headquarters in Cherrapunji . On 14 August 1832 Cachar came under formal British occupation and in 1833 Silchar was made the headquarters. Cachar was part of the Bengal province from 1832 to 1874, when the district was transferred to the new Assam province. There is no mention of any place called 'Silchar' before
3534-481: The annexation of Cachar. Its constituent areas such as Tarapur, Ambikapur, Kanakpur, and Rangpur have been mentioned as villages under Gobinda Chandra, but not 'Silchar'. The earliest mention of Silchar was in 1835 in a report by R.B. Pamberton, and since then it was mentioned in British official documents. Silchar was founded as the administrative headquarters of Cachar around the Janiganj-Sadarghat area of
3627-521: The best-selling books in Bangladesh. He started Goofi Books – where he writes and publishes children books focusing on developing values, empathy, creativity among children. West Bengal Bengali literature was influenced by a flock of modernist thinkers who steered Bangla literature. Sunil Gangopadhyay , a poet, novelist, and children's story writer, was one of the most prolific writers of his time. Satyajit Ray created his own detective Feluda , who
3720-574: The body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali has developed over the course of roughly 1,400 years. If the emergence of the Bengali literature supposes to date back to roughly 650 AD, the development of Bengali literature claims to be 1600 years old. The earliest extant work in Bengali literature
3813-748: The chairperson and the vice-chairperson. This was later withdrawn in 1868. In January 1882, Silchar got a Town Committee under the Bengal Municipal Act, 1876. Mr. Wright, the Deputy Commissioner, was the chairperson and Babu Jagat Bandhu Nag was elected by the committee members as the vice-chairperson. Silchar had been divided into four wards - Janiganj, Ambicapur, Tarapur, and Malugram - but each ward had only 20-50 voters. The Town Committee had limited powers to impose taxes, which constrained its funds and municipal activities. Yet it carried out some important activities: road construction, creating tanks and cleaning older ones, making public latrines, removable of 'objectional' houses such as distillery and slaughter houses out
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3906-459: The circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley. Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII, 1961, safeguards the use of Bengali in the Cachar district. It says, “Without prejudice to the provisions contained in Section 3, the Bengali language shall be used for administrative and other official purposes up to and including district level.” Silchar is located in
3999-532: The colleges in Silchar city are affiliated to the Assam University. Apart from the university, Silchar also has multiple colleges; G.C. College established in 1935, Cachar College, A.K.Chanda Law College, Teacher's Training College established in 1960, Women's College in 1963, Silchar Medical College in 1968, National Institute of Technology (Regional Engineering College) in 1969, and Radha Madhab College in 1971. Cachar district Cachar district
4092-587: The construction of 51 low-cost airports across the country. Silchar Airport is the 2nd busiest airport (70 civilian flights/week) in Assam and 4th busiest in North east after Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal and handles approximately 200,000 PAX yearly. In December 1985, Air India operated the first all-woman crew flight in the world from Kolkata to Silchar which was commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on
4185-442: The court, and Alaol finished off Qazi's romance as the latter had died before managing to complete it. Heyat Mahmud , a judge by profession, is considered to be the last poet of Middle Bengali literature. The modern period of Bengali literature can roughly be categorized into six phases. The first Bangla books to be printed were those written by Christian missionaries. Dom Antonio 's Brahmin-Roman-Catholic Sambad, for example,
4278-438: The culture of writing to communicate novel ideals made rapid growth. Michael Madhusudan Datta 's first epic Tilottama Sambhab Kabya published in 1860 was the first Bengali poem written in blank verse . Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was considered one of the leading Bengali novelists and essayists of the 19th century. He also wrote Vande Mataram , the national song of India, which appears in his novel Anandamath (1882). In
4371-442: The decade of 2001 to 2011 was 20.17%. Cachar has a sex ratio of 958 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.36%. 18.17% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 15.25% and 1.01% of the population, respectively. Hinduism is the main religion in Cachar, including 59.83% of the population. Christians are mainly found in tribal communities, and represent just 2.17% of
4464-512: The district to Guwahati in Assam and other parts of India including New Delhi , Kolkata and Chennai ; from here, regular train service is provided to all cities in North-East India. Roads connect the district to the rest of the country. In addition, there is regular bus service to cities in North-East India. Cachar district has several well-known educational institutions. Silchar is a major learning hub of Assam. The district has
4557-595: The emergence of Tagore culture, and the burgeoning preference for literary elegance and refinement in Bengali society. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 's Vande Mataram played a vital role in the Indian independence movement and he is widely respected in India. His novels are popular to a lesser extent in Bangladesh. Bankim Memorial Award is the highest literary award which is given by the Government of West Bengal , India. Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam are
4650-452: The first Superintendent of the District. The British annexed Cachar plains on 14 August 1832. The district's headquarters moved to Dudpatil in 1833, and later to its current location of Silchar . Northern Cachar remained a separate principality but came under British occupation in 1854 after the death of Tularam; the British justified this takeover of northern Cachar because of the "misconduct of its rulers." Cachar district became part of
4743-1141: The first full-fledged autobiography in modern Bengali literature in 1876. The pre-Tagore era also saw an undercurrent of popular literature which was focused on daily life in contemporary Bengal. The prose style, as well as the humour in these works, were often crass, blunt and accessible. A masterpiece in this regard was "Hutom Pechar Naksha" (The Sketch of the Owl) written by Kaliprasanna Singha , and satirically depicts "Babu" culture in 19th century Kolkata. Other notable works in this regard are "Alaler Ghorer Dulal" (The Spoilt Brat) by Peary Chand Mitra , " Ramtanu Lahiri o tatkalin Banga shamaj" (Ramtanu Lahiri & contemporary Bengali society) by Shibnath Shastri and "Naba Babu Bilas" & "Naba Bibi Bilas" by Bhabanicharan Bandopadhyay. These books arguably portrayed contemporary Bengali dialect and popular society effectively, and also incorporated now-extinct music genres such as Khisti, Kheur and Kabiyal gaan by stalwarts like Rupchand Pakhi and Bhola Moyra. Books like these have become rarer since
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#17327733247204836-399: The floods and supervised the relief activities till 19 June when the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner returned from Shillong and Haflong , where they were stranded. Buildings in the town sustained major damages and the supply of filtered water was absent from 12 June to 5 July. By 1934, Silchar town had grown because of good connectivity through road, river, and rail. The population in
4929-455: The headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar. It earned the moniker "Island of Peace" from Indira Gandhi , the then Prime Minister of India . Silchar is the site of the world's first polo club and the first competitive polo match. In 1985, an Air India flight from Kolkata to Silchar became the world's first all-women crew flight. Silchar was a tea town and Cachar club was the meeting point for tea planters. The name Silchar comes from
5022-408: The last Koch Raja of Khaspur, only had a daughter called Kanchani who was married off to Prince Laksmichandra of the Kachari Dimasa kingdom of Maibang in 1745. Maibang is in present-day hill district of Dima Hasao , adjacent to Cachar. Laksmichandra was made the governor of a part of the kingdom which is still named after him - Lakhipur , situated 25 km away from Silchar. Laksmichandra became
5115-480: The majority. While Bengalis had been inhabiting Cachar before the Koch rule, the Dimasa kings encouraged increased migration of Bengalis from nearby areas as priests, cultivators, and ministers at court. Eventually, the formal conversion of Dimasa kings into Hinduism was carried out under Bengali Brahmins when Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Govinda Chandra performed the Hiranyagarbha ceremony in 1790. The kings in turn were great patrons of Bengali literature ; Bengali
5208-629: The mid-19th century. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore is the best known figure of Bengali literature to the world. Kazi Nazrul Islam , notable for his activism and anti-British literature, was described as the Rebel Poet and is now recognised as the National poet of Bangladesh . The first works in Bengali appeared between 10th and 12th centuries C.E. It is generally known as the Charyapada and are 47 mystic hymns composed by various Buddhist monks, namely; Luipada , Kanhapada , Kukkuripada , Chatilpada, Bhusukupada, Kamlipada, Dhendhanpada, Shantipada and Shabarapada amongst others. The manuscript
5301-419: The most well-known prolific writers of Bengal in the 20th century. Tagore is celebrated as the writer of both India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla as well as being a source of inspiration for the Sri Lanka Matha . Tagore’s short stories are celebrated for their profound exploration of human emotions and social issues. Through characters like Phatik in "The Homecoming" and
5394-425: The north, and the Sonai River and Daleswari River from the south. The district consists primarily of plains but also includes several ranges of hills throughout the district. At times, the wetlands of the plains flood, forming lakes. The district is mostly a tropical evergreen forest , with large tracts of rainforests in the north and south of the district. The average annual rainfall of Cachar district
5487-641: The official languages of the Cachar district. According to the 2011 census, Bengali is spoken by 75% of the overall population. Although Bengali is the official language, the most common spoken language is Sylheti , generally grouped with Bengali as a dialect. Sylheti Bengalis are the majority ethnic community, but other ethnic groups also live in the district and speak Meitei , Bhojpuri , Bishnupuriya , Dimasa , Rongmei-Naga , Mizo , Khasi , etc. Immigrants from other parts of India are also present and are mainly Hindi speakers. The district has three sub-divisions: Silchar, Lakhipur, and Katigorah. Silchar
5580-518: The official languages of this place. According to 2011 census, Silchar city having a population of 172,830 persons, of which Bengali is spoken by 158,606 people, Hindi is spoken by 9,263 people, Manipuri is spoken by 3,543 people, Bishnupriya Manipuri is spoken by 1,244 people, while Others constitute 0.1% of the city's population according to 2011 census. Silchar is part of the Silchar (Lok Sabha constituency) and Silchar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) . The current member of Parliament from Silchar
5673-459: The older settled areas, newer localities such as Central Road, Nazirpatty, Premtola, Tulapatty, and Narshingtola emerged. Due to the initiatives of Captain Fisher, a medical centre was established in Silchar in 1835, which became a hospital in 1864. The tea industry in Cachar was growing by 1855, which lead to Silchar's emergence as a centre of trade and commerce. The town got its first English education institution in 1863 when Reverend Pyrse started
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#17327733247205766-448: The pen name of Banaphul , was another noted author of that period. He is most noted for his short vignettes , often just half-page long, but his body of work spanned sixty-five years and included "thousands of poems, 586 short stories (a handful of which have been translated to English), 60 novels, 5 dramas, a number of one-act plays, an autobiography called Paschatpat ( Background ), and numerous essays." Saradindu Bandyopadhyay , who
5859-417: The pro-Independence sentiments grew, the municipality started to participate as well; reception plans for the Viceroy Chelmsford 's visit to Silchar in 1919 were cancelled because of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre , a resolution was passed after the death of Chittaranjan Das in 1925, and members of the municipality proposed a hartal to protest against the Simon Commission 's visit to India in 1928. In 1930,
5952-480: The ruler of Cachar. The Burmese army attacked Cachar in 1824 and the British declared war on them. Eventually, the two armies clashed in the Burmese stronghold of Dudpatil, 15 km from Silchar and the British were able to drive the Burmese away to Manipur in 1825. The clash in Cachar was the start of the First Anglo-Burmese War , which ended with the Treaty of Yandabo , wherein the Kingdom of Ava agreed to stop attacking Cachar, amongst other areas. Gobinda Chandra
6045-421: The same year. In the 1850s, the British observed exiled Manipuri princes in Silchar play Sagol Kangjei, the predecessor to modern polo which was already popular in nearby Manipur . Captain Robert Stewart, then assistant deputy commissioner, participated in the game with the Manipuri players. In 1859, Stewart, now the deputy commissioner, and Major General Joseph Sherer, assistant deputy commissioner, established
6138-488: The southernmost part of Assam. It is located between longitudes 92º24’ E and 93º15’ E and latitudes 24º22’N and 25º8’N East and is 35 meters above mean sea level. The city is located in an alluvial flat plain with swamps, streams, and isolated small hills (locally known as tilla ) marking its landscape. Apart from Barak river, the other major river is Ghagra river. Silchar is in Zone V on the Seismic Zonation Map and has witnessed major earthquakes. The earthquake in January 1869
6231-506: The themes of class in "The Babus of Nayanjore," Tagore masterfully depicts the complexities of Indian society and the human experience. Similarly Nazrul is celebrated as the national poet of Bangladesh. Sarat Chandra Chatterjee wrote novels, novellas, and stories. He also wrote essays, which were anthologized in Narir Mulya (1923) and Svadesh O Sahitya (1932) . Shrikanta, Charitrahin, Devdas, Grihadaha, Dena-Paona and Pather Dabi are among his most popular works. Bengali literature
6324-423: The then chairperson Dhirendra Kumar Gupta and member Satindra Mohan Deb were arrested because of their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement . The municipality took out a resolution in July 1947 against including Cachar within Pakistan and sent a member to Kolkata to submit a memorandum in front of the Boundary Commission. By 1952, when the first post Independence municipal elections took place, Madhurban
6417-463: The total population of the region. Among the Bengalis , Hinduism and Islam religions are equally represented, although Muslims are only 37.71% of the region's total population. Sikhism arrived in Cachar after Guru Nanak 's visit to eastern India in 1508. In the early 20th century, most of the Sikhs lived in the northern part of Cachar where they worked for the Assam Bengal Railway . Languages in Cachar district (2011) Bengali and Meitei are
6510-403: The town became a municipality and in 1899 the Assam-Bengal railways reached Silchar, providing easier access to the Chittagong sea port . Silchar was connected to Kolkata through steamers as well. Silchar witnessed major flooding in June 1929 because of incessant rains and flooding of river Barak . N. G. A. Edgley, District and Sessions Judge of Sylhet and Cachar, was present in Silchar during
6603-463: The town had grown by 60% since 1901 and had access to water supply. The town now had increased amenities, including 'presses, motor woks, druggist shop, oil mills, ice factory'. This led to the increase in revenue rates in 1934 by the then Deputy Commissioner P.C. Chatterjee. 1935 saw the establishment of G.C. College as the Guardian College. In 1937, the Cachar Branch of the Kishan Sabha was established with Dwijen Sen as first General Secretary. In 1940,
6696-424: The town of Silchar saw a large increase of 10.5% in its population in the decade of 1941–51. This was largely because of the in migration of Hindu refugees from the adjacent district of Sylhet went to East Pakistan . The effect of the partition was felt administratively as well. The Sessions Court of Sylhet had a Circuit Court present in Silchar till Independence. After that, Silchar and the rest of Cachar came under
6789-599: The town, and draining of swamps to prevent diseases. In 1891, on recommendation of the Deputy Commissioner to the Assam Government, Silchar was turned into a municipality. The first Municipal elections in Silchar were held in February 1900 but only 14.6% of the town was eligible to vote. 12 members were elected, who joined 2 ex-officio members and 6 nominated members to form the municipality. Of these 20 members, 16 were Indians and 4 were Europeans. From 1882 to 1912,
6882-561: The town. After shifting the district headquarters to Silchar in 1832, Captain Fisher started building Sadar Station in Janiganj. Janiganj existed prior to the British as part of a taluk under the Mirasdars of Ambikapur before being taken over by Gobinda Chandra. In this respect, Captain Thomas Fisher was the founder of Silchar. The Sadar Station and the District Court are still located in and around present day Janiganj. According to
6975-459: The two Sylheti words 'shil' and 'char', meaning 'rock' and 'shore/island' respectively. The city was founded in Janiganj-Sadarghat area of the town near the Barak bank which was used as a river port. It is theorised that the locals started calling the area 'Shiler Chor' meaning the rocky shore, which got shortened to 'Silchar', which was in turn adopted and popularised by the British. Since Silchar
7068-407: The uprisings in favour of the Bengali language . When the Assam government, under Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha , passed a circular to make Assamese mandatory, Bengalis of Barak Valley protested. On 19 May 1961, Assam police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar railway station . Eleven people (listed below) were killed. After the popular revolt, the Assam government had to withdraw
7161-587: The world's first polo club in Silchar, called the Silchar Kangjei Club. It was later renamed to Silchar Polo Club and survives today as the Cachar Club , though no polo is played any more. The first competitive modern form of polo was played in Silchar as well, and the plaque for this feat still stands behind the local District Library. After the Partition of Assam and Independence of India,
7254-560: The “wet” season begins early as the monsoon moves into the region during April, with the result that for seven months of the year Silchar has very hot and humid weather with heavy thunderstorms almost every afternoon until the middle of October, when there is usually a brief period of hot and relatively dry weather before the “cool” season sets in during November. Silchar has been ranked 30th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India. According to 2011 India census , Silchar municipal area has
7347-476: Was added to the ward list and the town now had 5 wards in total. This period also saw the municipality giving over the control of the fire brigade to the state government, and donation of land to establish educational institutes. The area under the Silchar Municipal Board was 10 km in 1971 and 15.75 km in 1971. Till 1975, the municipality had elected members, but from 1975 to 1979,
7440-558: Was also a renowned historical fiction writer, created the detective Byomkesh Bakshi . Other noted authors of this period included Samaresh Basu , Premendra Mitra , Shibram Chakraborty , Narayan Gangopadhyay , Subodh Ghosh , and Narendranath Mitra . Prakalpana Movement, branded by Steve LeBlanc, the noted US critic, as 'a tiny literary revolution', 'nurtured' by Kolkata, has been fostering its new genres of Prakalpana fiction, Sarbangin poetry and Chetanavyasism for over four decades, spearheaded by Vattacharja Chandan, beginning in 1969. It
7533-408: Was another brother of Naranarayan. He was made the governor of Barak Valley and ruled the area from Khaspur, 20 km away from Silchar. Even after the collapse of the Koch kingdom elsewhere, the Koch continued ruling Cachar from Khaspur. The area was ruled by seven more Koch kings after Gosai Kamal: Udita Singha, Dhir Singha, Mehendra Singha, Ranjit Singha, Nara Singha and Bhim Singha. Bhim Singha,
7626-402: Was assassinated on 24 April 1840 at Haritikar. Because he died without a natural heir, his territories were annexed by the British under doctrine of lapse , adding it as the Cachar district of Assam. The British sent army officer T. Fisher to oversee the region; he established its headquarters at Cherrapunji on 30 June 1830. Fisher was both the magistrate and the collector, later becoming
7719-505: Was discovered on a palm leaf in the Nepal Royal Court Library in 1907 by the Bengali linguist Haraprasad Shastri . Due to the language of these manuscripts only being partially understood, they were classified by Shastri with the name Sandhya Bhasha (সন্ধ্যা ভাষা), meaning dusk language . This period is considered to be the time in which many common proverbs and rhymes first emerged. The Bengali alphabet became
7812-624: Was formed from Cachar district in 1989. Cachar district occupies an area of 3,786 square kilometres (1,462 sq mi). The district is surrounded on the south by Mizoram , to the east by Manipur , to the west by Hailakandi district and Karimganj district , and to the north by the Barali and the Jayantia hill ranges. The Barak River is the main river of the district, along with its tributaries—the Jiri River and Jatinga River from
7905-453: Was home to prominent writers patronised in the Arakan royal court such as Alaol , who wrote Padmavati , as well as Daulat Qazi , Dawlat Wazir Bahram Khan , Quraishi Magan Thakur who wrote Chandravati and Maradan who wrote Nasirnama. Qazi was the first poet under the court patronage. He started writing Satimayna O Lorchandrani, considered to be the first Bengali romance. Teamwork was common in
7998-494: Was of magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale and caused heavy damage. Other significant earthquakes include those in 1947 (magnitude 7.7), 1957 (7.0) and 1984 (6.0). Silchar has a borderline tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen Am ) slightly too hot in the “winter” or “cool” season to qualify as a humid subtropical climate ( Cwa ). During this "cool" season the weather is generally warm and dry with cool to mild mornings; however,
8091-607: Was only founded after the introduction of the British in 1832, the pre-colonial history of Silchar can be approximated through the history of the region and nearby areas. Cachar district, whose headquarters is in Silchar, was ruled by the Tippera dynasty in the 13th century. The initial capital of the kingdom was in Khalangsha in Cachar, which has been identified as Rajghat village in Sonai , 18 km from Silchar. The Tippera eventually moved eastwards to present day Tripura. By
8184-404: Was reinstated on the throne but had to pay an annual tribute of Rs.10,000 to the British as per the Treaty of Badarpur, which adversely affected the post-Burmese occupation Cachar's economy. Gobinda Chandra was assassinated without any heir on 24 April 1830. Though Gambhir Singh of Manipur, who was suspected to be behind the assassination, laid claim on Cachar, it passed onto British hands as per
8277-520: Was the best-known writer of satiric short story in Bengali literature. He mocked the charlatanism and vileness of various classes of the Bengali society in his stories written under the pseudonym "Parashuram". His major works include: Gaddalika (1924), Kajjwali (1927), Hanumaner Swapna (1937), Gamanush Jatir Katha (1945), Dhusturimaya Ityadi Galpa (1952), Krishnakali Ittadi Galpa (1953), Niltara Ittadi Galpa (1956), Anandibai Ittadi Galpa (1958) and Chamatkumari Ittadi Galpa (1959). He received
8370-573: Was the capital of Cachar. The last king of Cachar was Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu. The British moved into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War , which was then under Burmese occupation. At the time, the Cachar kingdom was ruled by two leaders—Raja Govindra Chandra Dwaja Narayana Hasnu in the southern plains, and Raja Tularam Thaosen in the North Cachar Hills ( Dima Hasao ). Raja Govinda Chandra
8463-490: Was the celebrated Hindu lyrical poet of this period, famed for translating Jayadeva 's work from Sanskrit to Bengali and for producing thousands of poems dedicated to the love between Radha and Krishna such as the Shreekrishna Kirtana . Majority of Hindu writers in this period drew inspiration from a popular Maithili language Vaishnavite poet known as Vidyapati . Maladhar Basu 's Sri Krishna Vijaya , which
8556-490: Was the court language of the Kachari kings, translation of Sanskrit texts into Bengali was carried out, and the kings themselves composed prose and poetry in Bengali. In fact some of the only surviving written examples of the Bengali tradition in later 18th and early 19th century Cachar are the 27 letters written by Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Gobinda Chandra to the East India Company . After taking over parts of
8649-479: Was the first Bangla book to be printed towards the end of the 17th century. Bangla writing was further developed as Bengali scholars wrote textbooks for Fort William College . Although these works had little literary values, prose-writing was greatly developed with the practice of these didactic works. Raja Rammohan Roy contributed to Bengali collection of religious and educational books. As more journals and newspapers were published by missionaries and Brahmo Shamaj ,
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