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45-604: Tezpur is a city in Sonitpur district , Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra , 175 kilometres (109 mi) northeast of Guwahati , and is the largest of the north bank cities. Tezpur was under the rule of the Koch dynasty in the 9th century, and later became a part of the Ahom kingdom in the 16th century. The Ahoms, known for their administrative prowess and patronage of art and culture, played

90-646: A Mughal army advanced as far as the Kameng, but was soon defeated on both land and water. In 1637, the Mughals defeated and killed Bali Narayan and in the treaty that followed, the entirety of Sonitpur came into Ahom possession. During the chaos that followed the death of Shah Jahan in 1658, the Ahoms tried to push their boundary to the Sankosh river but were pushed back by Mir Jumla, who captured Gargaon. On their advance,

135-577: A minority in the district due to the colonial and post-colonial era settlement of communities like Bengalis (both Hindu and Muslim), Biharis, Marwaris etc. The immigrant Bengali speaking Hindus came from erstwhile undivided Bengal and Bangladesh, as officials and clerks of the British administration and the Tea Industry; and stayed back. Later, on account of the partition of India, Hindu people from Bangladesh coming as refugees added significantly to

180-651: A ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE. Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, and since it covered most of the western parts of it, the kingdom is also sometimes called as Kamarupa-Kamata. It covered a region corresponding to present-day undivided districts of Kamrup , Goalpara , Jalpaiguri , and Cooch Behar district in India and Rangpur and northern parts of Mymensingh in Bangladesh . The rise of

225-401: 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. The major religions of the populace of Sonitpur district are Hindu and Muslim , As per 2011 census there are approximately 908,565 (69.27%) Hindus and 298,381 (22.75%) Muslims in the district. There are around 95,774 (7.30%) Christians in

270-460: A split in the kingdom — Koch Hajo and Koch Bihar . Though Raghudev had accepted the suzerainty of his uncle, the two parts of the original Kamata kingdom split for good in 1587 when Naranarayan died, the boundary between them forming roughly the administrative boundary between the present-day Assam and West Bengal . Koch Hajo , the eastern kingdom, soon came under attack from the Mughal , and

315-399: A treacherous win with 24,000 infantry, cavalry and a war flotilla. Alauddin destroyed the city and eventually annexed the region up to Hajo by 1502, removed the local chieftains, and established military control over the region. He established his son Shahzada Danyal as an administrator and issued coins in his own name as the "conqueror of Kamru and Kamata ...". This rule was short since

360-482: A vital role in shaping Tezpur's heritage. The city witnessed several battles and conflicts during the medieval period. Modern Tezpur is a cultural and educational hub, home to several archaeological sites, temples, and monuments. The average high temperature in summer is around 31 °C (88 °F) while the average winter low temperature is around 13 °C (55 °F). Languages spoken in Tezpur city (2011) At

405-468: Is 1,924,110 as per 2011 Census. It is the third most populous district of Assam (out of 27 ), after Nagaon and Dhubri . 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 2011 census Sonitpur district has a population of 1,924,110, roughly equal to the nation of Lesotho or

450-579: Is also based on the story. Sonitpur district falls under the Darrang Duars which includes the region between the Bornadi River and Dhansiri River . 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

495-464: 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 km (30.5 sq mi). Sonitpur is home to two wildlife sanctuaries : Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary . It is also home to the registered forests (RF) of Behali RF (140 km ), Naduar RF (69 km ), and Charduar RF (260 km ). Sonitpur District falls in

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540-694: Is frequented by Hindus and Muslims alike. Alauddin Hussain Shah's representative in Kamata, his son Shahzada Danyal and his officers, was seized and killed by the Baro-Bhuyans of the region and the region lapsed into their confederated style of governance till the Koches took over. Though it is not known when the Baro-Bhuyan rule began, historians estimate that Biswa Singha 's campaign against

585-459: The Ahom kingdom in the 17th century. The western portion of the Kamata kingdom, Koch Bihar continued to be ruled by a branch of the Koch dynasty and later merged with the Indian territory after the independence of India from the British domain. The boundary between Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo is approximately the boundary between West Bengal and Assam today. Sandhya, was a ruler of Kamarupanagara,

630-554: The Sankosh river to Raghudev and the rest to Lakshmi Narayan. Raghudev's kingdom became known as Koch Hajo , and quickly fell under Ahom hegemony, while the western Koch Bihar kingdom fell under Mughal influence. Koch Hajo's boundary with the Ahoms was at the Kameng river , also known as the Bareli, which flowed through the middle of what is now Sonitpur district. Soon war broke out between Raghudev and Lakshmi Narayan. Lakshmi Narayan

675-540: The Sub-Tropical Rainforest climate region , ( Af ) in Koppen's climate classification and enjoys Hot & Wet type of climate. Summers are hot and humid; with an average temperature of 27 °C. Rainfall is heavy above 3,000 mm (9 ft) in wet months January to June which is both a boon and a bane for the people. A boon, for it, provides natural irrigation to the fields; and a bane, as it causes

720-455: The 2011 census, the population of the Tezpur city Municipal Corporation area was 102,505. Of these, 40,837 people spoke Assamese, 18,696 spoke Bengali, 11,050 spoke Hindi, and 31,920 spoke other languages. Tezpur has several tourist attractions: Tezpur is part of Tezpur (Lok Sabha constituency) . Ranjit Dutta from Bharatiya Janata Party is the current member of parliament for the Tezpur constituency. Sonitpur district The name of

765-738: The 9th century C.E. 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. These chiefs were subordinate to the ruler of Tawang , who in turn were a tributary to the Tibetan government at Lhasa . The Koriapar Dooars was annexed by British East India Company in 1844 and added to the Assam province. Koriapar Dooar under Sonitpur district acted as an trading point between Assam and Tibet . Under Ahom government,

810-494: The Ahom victory at the Kameng, Nara Narayan sacked the Ahom capital at Gargaon and forced the Ahoms to pay tribute. Its eastern conquests were completed by Raghudev, the nephew of the king and heir as Nara Narayan had no son. However eventually one of Nara Nayaran's queens gave birth to a child, Lakshmi Narayan. Raghudev rebelled, supported by the Ahoms, but was eventually defeated. In response Nara Narayan gave Koch territory east of

855-540: The Baro-Bhuyan confederacy and established the Koch dynasty soon, in 1515. The Koches were the last to call themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far-reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom. In the same century the kingdom split in two: Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo . The eastern kingdom, Koch Hajo, was soon absorbed into

900-640: The Baro-Bhuyans began in about 1509. The Kamata kingdom then passed into the hands of the Koch dynasty , with Biswa Singha consolidating his control over the Bara-Bhuyans one after another and establishing the Koch dynasty with its dominion from the Karatoya river in the west to the Barnadi river in the east. In the 1581 Raghudev, the son of Chilarai and the nephew of Nara Narayan , affected

945-636: The Baro-Bhuyans rose up in revolt soon after and exterminated Sultanate rule. Nevertheless, the Muslim rule had lasting effects. Hussein Shah's coins continued to be used till 1518, when the Koch dynasty began consolidating their rule. Ghiasuddin Aulia, a Muslim divine figure from Mecca , established a colony at Hajo. His tomb, which is said to contain a little soil from Mecca, now called "Poa Mecca" ("a quarter Mecca"),

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990-546: The Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the history of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The last rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced in 1498 by Alauddin Hussain Shah , the ruler of the Bengal Sultanate . Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he lost political control to a confederation of Baro-Bhuyan within a few years. Biswa Singha removed

1035-592: The Mughals took a fort near Silghat while the Ahoms evacuated the Chandara fort near Tezpur. However the rains that set in during their retreat, as well as the dieases, took a huge toll on the Mughal army, and the Ahoms soon took back Guwahati and kept it. 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

1080-583: The US state of West Virginia . This gives it a ranking of 245th in India (out of a total of 640 ). The district has a population density of 365 inhabitants per square kilometre (950/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.67%. Sonitpur has a sex ratio of 946 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 69.96%. The divided district has a population of 13,11,619, of which 142,477 (10.86%) live in urban areas. Sonitpur has

1125-544: The capital of the erstwhile Kamarupa . After withstanding an attack from Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak , in which Iuzbak was killed (in 1257), Sandhya moved his capital to Kamatapur, near present-day Cooch Behar town. Sandhya styled himself Kamateswara and the kingdom came to be known as Kamata. Pratapdhvaj was a minister of Singhadhvaj when he usurped power. At his death, his cousin Dharmanarayan seized power. He

1170-641: 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 Chota Nagpur to the Sonitpur area. Sonitpur district lies on the plains between the foothills of the Himalayas and the valley of the Brahmaputra which forms its southern border. Sonitpur district had the second largest area of districts in Assam, after Karbi Anglong district , at 5,324 square kilometres (2,056 sq mi), comparable in size to

1215-512: The community. Their primary language is Bengali, most of them are also fluent in Assamese too. They are mostly urbanised having a sizeable population in towns of Rangapara, Tezpur, Dhekiajuli, Biswanath Chariali, and Balipara. The population of Bengali Hindus is over 100,000 in the district. There has a sizeable population of immigrant-origin Bengali speaking Muslims living since colonial times in

1260-594: The district is derived from a story found in Hindu epics specifically the Bhagavata Purana and in the locally composed Kalika Purana by the Brahmin pandits where the city was established by Banasura the eldest son of Bali who did great penance or tapasya to Lord Shiva who promised to look over the city. The Sanskrit word Śōṇita means blood. The etymology of Tezpur , the headquarter of this district

1305-506: The district mainly in and around char areas of Brahmaputra river and surrounding areas of Dhekiajuli, Thelamara, and Tezpur (Napam). The population of Bengalis total is now around 250,000 in the district and make up almost 20% of the population. The third largest community is the Adivasis , or tea garden tribes. Their ancestors were brought from tribal areas of central India to work as labourers on tea plantations. They are now spread all over

1350-519: The district who are primarily immigrated into the district from Hindi-speaking regions of India particularly Bihar and Rajasthan . As per the 2011 census, 37.01% of the population spoke Assamese , 19.36% Bengali , 12.52% Sadri , 8.93% Boro , 6.63% Nepali , 3.79% Hindi , 2.54% Odia and 1.98% Mundari as their first language. The district has produced notable people, including:- Kamata Kingdom The Kamata Kingdom (pron: ˈkʌmətɑ) emerged in western Kamarupa probably when Sandhya ,

1395-570: The district. However, they are mostly concentrated in the surrounding regions of Dhekiajuli , Rangapara , Balipara, Jamugurihat , Biswanath chariali , Behali , Gohpur , Helem and northern parts of the district. They use Sadri , a dialect of Hindi as their first and primary language amongst themselves and Assamese as their second or third language. Around 50,000 still speak their original languages like Mundari and Kurukh . Almost 100,000 of them practices Christianity. There are nearly 50,000 speakers of Hindi and it's dialect Bhojpuri living in

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1440-519: The district. Other small population following Buddhism (0.5%), Jainism and Sikhism is also present in the district. Languages in Sonitpur district (2011) 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 Assamese Brahmins , Koch Rajbongshis , Ahom , Karbi , Keot (Kaibarta), Mising , Nath Jogis, Bodo , Thengal Kachari, Chutia , Rabha , Gorkhas and other communities of Assam. They have become

1485-461: The eastern part of the district, up to the Kameng river, was conquered by the Ahoms . In 1523, they deported a large number of Chutia families to a place on the east bank of the Kameng. In 1532, they defeated a Mughal army sent against them at the banks of the Kameng. Starting in the 16th century, under the reign of Nara Narayan , the Koch kingdom expanded to a great extent. Several years after

1530-568: 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

1575-510: 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

1620-459: The island of Guadalcanal . Other than the Brahmaputra , the major rivers in the district are its right tributaries and include the Jiabharali , Gabharu , Borgang and Buroi. 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 km (77.2 sq mi). It

1665-574: The kingdom to include the present Koch Bihar districts of West Bengal and the undivided Kamrup and Darrang districts of Assam and northern Mymensingh in Bangladesh as well as eastern parts of Dinajpur district, though he was removed by Alauddin Husain Shah in 1498. Alauddin Hussain Shah , a Sultan of Bengal , removed the last Khen ruler in 1498. This followed a long siege that likely started in 1493 soon after Alauddin's ascension and ended in

1710-524: 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. It was occupied by the Baro-Bhuyan feudal lords in the 14th century. In the 16th century,

1755-594: The region went back and forth for between the Mughal and the Ahoms , finally settling with the Ahoms. Koch Bihar, the western kingdom, first befriended the Mughals and then the British, and the rulers maintained the princely state till the end of the British rule. Yuvaraj : Biswa Singha appointed his brother Sisu as the Yuvaraj . The descendant of Sisu became the Raikat kings of Jalpaiguri . Karjis/Karzis : Biswa Singha appointed twelve minister from his tribesman to form

1800-788: The rivers to overflow their banks and cause floods. All months have average precipitation of at least 60 mm and the average temperature of the cold month is above 18 °C. As anyone can expect, Tropical rainforest is the vegetation in and around the city. The forests of Sonitpur district are semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests and bamboo forests, with hydrophytes in the wetlands. Species include: Aegle marmelos , Albizia procera , Alstonia scholaris , Arundo donax , Bambusa balcooa , Cynodon dactylon , Dipterocarpus macrocarpus , Duabanga grandiflora , Eichhornia crassipes , Mesua assamica , Melocanna baccifera , Mesua ferrea , Shorea assamica (mekai) and Shorea robusta . The population of Sonitpur district

1845-410: 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. Darrang, including present-day Sonitpur district, became a separate district in 1833, and

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1890-438: Was Candivara, the great-great-grandfather of Sankardev . The court poets of Durlabhnarayan ( Hema Saraswati and Harivara Vipra ) and Indranarayan produced literary works that are considered to be the first examples of Early Assamese . The invasion of Assam by Sikandar Shah (1357–1390) weakened Indranarayan. Though Shah had to retreat from central Assam because of an attack on Bengal by Firuz Shah Tughlaq , Indranarayana

1935-402: Was challenged by Pratapdhvaj's son Durlabhnarayan and they decided to settle. Durlabhnarayan assumed power Kamrup, Goalpara, Jalpaiguri, Koch Bihar, along with the capital Kamatapur, while Dharmanarayan retained Rangpur and Mymensingh. As part of the settlement in about 1330, Durlabhnarayan received from Dharmanarayan the custody of fourteen families of Brahmans and Kayasthas , one among whom

1980-415: 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 several wars between the Ahoms and Mughals, most of which were in lower Assam . In 1615,

2025-454: Was sufficiently damaged that a Bhuyan from Darrang , Arimatta, was able to usurp power. The Khen dynasty, of Kheng-Bhutanese affiliation, replaced the weak rulers of Kamata kingdom following Arimatta in the middle of the 15th century. Niladhvaj Khen, the first king, united several Baro-Bhuyan chieftains of the area and removed the last of Arimatta's successors—Mriganka. There were only three Khen rulers. The last king, Nilambar expanded

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