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The Barak Valley is the southernmost region and administrative division of the Indian state of Assam. It is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley consists of three administrative districts of Assam - namely Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. The largest city is Silchar, which seats the headquarters of both the Cachar district and the Barak valley division. Once North Cachar Hills was a part of Cachar district which became a subdivision in 1951 and eventually a separate district. On 1 July 1983, Karimganj district was curved out from the eponymous subdivision of Cachar district. In 1989 the subdivision of Hailakandi was upgraded into Hailakandi district.

Etymology

The name "Barak" has derived from the Dimasa words 'Bra' and 'Kro'. Bra means bifurcation and Kro upper means portion/stream. The river Barak is bifurcated near Haritikar in the Karimganj district in to Surma River and Kushiyara River, respectively. The upstream of this bifurcated river was called Brakro by the local Dimasa people.

Barak valley excluding Karimganj was once part of the Kachari kingdom. Some have suggested the word "Kachar" in Bengali language means a stretch of land at the foot of a mountain and Cachar might have been the name given by Bengalis of Sylhet to the land surrounded by mountains from all the sides. Others have pointed out that the name "Kachari" is widely prevalent in the Brahmaputra valley and that the Dimasa people were known as "Kachari" even before they came to rule the Cachar plains, suggesting that it was the Dimasa people that gave the name Cachar to the plains.

History

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The three districts of the Barak Valley have their own historical origins; nevertheless the region has been defined not from a natural growth from social, historical or cultural lives of the vernacular groups present in these regions, but they are the products of empire building, especially under the East India Company and the British Raj. The pre-colonial kingdoms were not cartographically defined; they were rather defined according to heartlands, and the defence of the margins were not important, and it was communities living in different places owing loyalties to different royal lineages that implied territories. The EIC interests led to drastically differently defined cartographic territories—it was in the interest of the two contending parties, the Tripura and the Kachari kingdoms, to define a boundary east to west across the Dalasuri flowing south to north and settle whether Hailakandi was control of the Tripuri or the Kachari polity; whereas the EIC was more interested in defining a north-south border along the Dalasuri so it could be defended.

Pre-colonial formations

Cachar

The Cachar district (Cachar plains) and Dima Hasao (Cachar hills) were both parts of the Kachari kingdom. The Kacharis/Dimasas appear in historical accounts in the 13th century, when Sukaphaa encountered them in the Brahmaputra valley. They had their capital in Dimapur, but due to the pressure from the Ahom kingdom, they moved their capital twice—once to Maibong in Dima Hasao, and then to Khaspur in the Cachar plains close to present-day Silchar.

In the 16th century, the Tripura kingdom was in control of the Cachar plains, when in 1562 the Koch general Chilarai annexed the Cachar region to the Koch kingdom and it came to be administered from Khaspur (or Kochpur) by his half-brother Kamalnarayan. After the death of the Koch ruler Nara Narayan, the region became independent and was ruled by the descendants of Kamalnarayan and his group, and they became known as the Dehans (after Dewan). Between 1745 and 1755, the last Koch ruler's daughter married the king of the Kachari kingdom, and the rule of Khaspur passed into the hands of the Kachari rulers who adopted the title Lord of Hedamba". The Kachari rulers adopted the title

The Kachari kings at Khaspur appointed Brahmins as rajpandits and rajgurus and provided land grants to Muslims from Sylhet for cultivation.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).

Hailakandi

Hailakandi, claimed by both the Tripura and Kachari kingdoms, was a market town on the banks of the Dalasuri river which connected the resource-rich southern hills with the markets in the north along the Barak river. In 1821-22 when Thomas Fischer surveyed the area, he found that Hailakandi was controlled by the Kacharis, though it was surrounded by villages of the Kuki Tanghum community that owed allegiance to the Tripura kingdom. In this region a past Tripura king received a princess from Manipur. It was uncertain which of the three kingdoms the communities paid their tributes to and it effectively formed a boundary zone, a concept that differed significantly from the idea of clearly defined borders between kingdoms.

Karimganj

The Kalapur copper plates were issued by Sam Marundanatha, in the late 7th century AD. It was learnt from them the Karimganj along with foothills of North Cachar hills was once passed on to the Samatata kingdom under king Srichandra of the renowned Chandra dynasty. The Paschimbagh copper plate inscription was issued in 10th century A.D. by King Srichandra Dev of the Chandra dynasty that ruled the Harikela Kingdom from (reigned c. 930–975) AD. During this period, the Chandrapura matha or monastery, at Panchakhanda (now in Bangladesh's Sylhet), became a reputed centre of art, crafts and learning. From two Bhatera inscriptions of Ishana deva and Govindakeshava deva, it is learnt that there was an independent Srihatta kingdom in the 12th century within which the entire Karimganj district along with a major portion of the Cachar plains was incorporated into it. Historically the Srihatta Rajya, was ruled by the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Harikela and Kamarupa, respectively, before passing to the control of the Sena and Deva dynasties in the early medieval period.

According to David R. Syiemlieh up to 1837 A.D. the plains of Cachar Valley, were sparsely populated and were dominated by the Dimasa Cachari, a Tibeto Burmese tribe, under the rule of the Kachari Raja, who have established his kingdom's capital at Khaspur, Cachar plains. He had a good number of Bengali advisers (mostly Brahmins) around him and gave grants of land to some of them, but the population resembled that of the North Cachar Hills of today as evident from various historical chronicles. Bengali settlers from neighbouring East Bengal poured into the Cachar plains after the British Annexation of the region in 1832 A.D., and afterwards the plains portion of Cachar Valley, i.e., the Cachar and Hailakandi, became a Bengali-majority colony. Once, Barak Valley from (1832-1874) A.D. was a part of the Bengal Presidency under the British Empire. The British Annexation of Cachar transformed the demographic patterns of the valley overnight. There was a sudden phenomenal growth in population, while the plains of Cachar had about 50 thousands inhabitants in all in 1837 A.D. that is five years after its annexation, which eventually indicates that there was a large-scale immigration. The population rose to more than five lakhs a few years later. The population of Muslims in the colonial era Barak Valley decreased in the late 19th century largely because the fertile lands were occupied by earlier settlers of the region and later they immigrated to the present Hojai of Assam which was also a part of Kachari Kingdom up to 1832 AD. A population 85,522 of diverse backgrounds including hill tribes, in the 1851 Census, Muslims and Hindus, 30,708 and 30,573, respectively, mostly Bengalis, constituted 70% of the total population of Cachar Valley, followed by 10,723 Manipuris, 6,320 Kukis, 5,645 Naga and 2,213 Cacharis. Karimganj, which have become a part of Cachar Valley plains after 1947, was a part of Sylhet before the Partition of Bengal (1947). The region of Karimganj was ruled by the Pratapgarh Kingdom from (1489-1700s), which was eventually a Secular Bengali kingdom.

Inclusion of Karimganj

In 1947, when a plebiscite was held in Sylhet of then Assam Province with majority voting for incorporation with Pakistan. The Sylhet district was divided into two; the easternmost subdivision of Sylhet which is known as Karimganj joined with India, and now is a district of Assam, whereas the rest of Sylhet joined East Bengal. Geographically the region is surrounded by hills from all three sides except its western plain boundary with Bangladesh. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash, claims that "South Assam / Northeastern Bengal or Barak Valley is the extension of the Greater Surma/Meghna Valley of Bengal in every aspect from culture to geography".

Assam's Surma Valley (now partly in Bangladesh) had Muslim-majority population. On the eve of partition, hectic activities intensified by the Muslim League as well Congress with the former having an edge. A referendum had been proposed for Sylhet District. Abdul Matlib Mazumdar along with Basanta Kumar Das (then Home Minister of Assam) travelled throughout the valley organising the Congress and addressing meetings educating the masses about the outcome of partition on the basis of religion. On 20 February 1947 Moulvi Mazumdar inaugurated a convention – Assam Nationalist Muslim's Convention at Silchar. Thereafter another big meeting was held at Silchar on 8 June 1947. Both the meetings, which were attended by a large section of Muslims paid dividend. He was also among the few who were instrumental in retaining the Barak Valley region of Assam, especially Karimganj with India. Mazumdar was the leader of the delegation that pleaded before the Radcliffe Commission that ensured that a part of Sylhet (now in Bangladesh) join with India despite being Muslim-majority (present Karimganj district). In return of that, Moulvibazar the only Hindu-majority district of Sylhet Division was given to East Pakistan during partition.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Indian census, Barak valley had a population of 3,624,599. Male population is 1,850,038 and female population is 1,774,561. The Literacy rate is 76.27%. The population of Barak Valley is estimated to be over 4,386,089 people for upcoming 2021 census.

Languages

Languages spoken in Barak Valley (2011)

As per (2011) language census report, Bengali is the official as well as the most spoken language of the region with approximately 2,930,378 native speakers. Hindi, Manipuri, Bishnupriya and Dimasa are the next most widely spoken languages with 362,459, 126,498, 50,019 and 21,747 native speakers, respectively. Tripuri, Odia, Nepali and Marwari are also spoken by a considerable minority, while 2.43% of the total population speaks other tribal languages. Sylheti, a language that is considered to be a dialect of Bengali, or a separate language, is spoken by a large population of the Barak Valley.

According to census 2011, the major languages of Cachar district are Bengali, Hindi, Manipuri, Bhojpuri, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Dimasa, Khasi, Hmar and Odia in descending order of population. In the Hailakandi district, the major languages are Bengali, Hindi, Tripuri language, Manipuri and Bhojpuri. In the Karimganj district, the major languages are Bengali and Hindi.

Religion

Religions in Barak Valley (2011)

Barak's Religious diversity as of the 2011 census

Religion	Population
Hindus ()	1,812,141
Muslims ()	1,744,958
Christians ()	58,105
Others	9,395
Total	3,624,599

Hinduism, by a sliver, is the slight majority religion in the Barak Valley. The religious composition of the valley population is as follows: Hindus 50%, Muslims 48.1%, Christians 1.6%, and others 0.3%. Hindus are the majority in Cachar district (59.83%) with having (86.31%) Hindu in the district headquarter ; Silchar (which is also the main city of the valley). While Muslims are the majority in Hailakandi district (60.31%) and Karimganj district (56.36%), but Hailakandi town have (67.26%) Hindu majority, Karimganj town have also a Hindu Majority of (86.57%) as of 2011 census.

In Barak valley, the two districts of Karimganj and Cachar adjoining Bangladesh have noted a 30 per cent rise in Muslim population during the period between (2011–21). In 2011, the Muslim population in those bordering districts of the bordering areas was 395,659 and this has jumped up to 513,126 in 2021. Assam Police officials while conducting demographic survey have said that infiltration of Bangladeshis into Assam have created a huge demographic change in last 10 years.

Population

The below are population by district tehsils in 2011:

1. Cachar district total – 1,736,617
   1. Sonai circle – 324,315
   2. Katigora circle – 291,875
   3. Udharbond circle – 124,090
   4. Lakhipur circle – 291,872
   5. Silchar circle – 704,465
2. Hailakandi district total – 659,296
   1. Algapur circle – 121,379
   2. Hailakandi circle – 166,897
   3. Katlichara circle – 168,077
   4. Lala circle – 202,943
3. Karimganj district total – 1,228,686
   1. Badarpur circle – 164,703
   2. Karimganj circle – 278,300
   3. Nilambazar circle – 242,451
   4. Patharkandi circle – 261,368
   5. Ramkrishna Nagar circle – 281,864

Trends

Hindu and Muslim population by district tehsils

Hindus are majority in three tehsils of Cachar district namely Silchar, Lakhipur and Udharbond, while Muslims are majority in Katigora and Sonai circle according to 2011 census.

Hindus are significant in two tehsils of Hailakandi namely Katlichara and Lala, while Muslims are majority in all the three tehsils, but in Katlichara Muslims form a plurality according to 2011 census.

Hindus are majority in two tehsils of Karimganj namely Patharkandi and Ramkrishna Nagar, while Muslims are majority in Nilambazar, Badarpur and Karimganj circle according to 2011 census.

Demography of district headquarters

Statehood demand

Most Bengali organisations of Barak Region have demanded a separate state for the people of Barak within the Bengali majority areas of Assam, particularly Bengali majority Barak valley, comprising the three districts Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj, as well as historical Dima Hasao of Undivided Cachar Valley and Hojai district to meet the criteria for creating a separate state for themselves by carving out from Assam's Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley post NRC. Silchar is the proposed capital of Barak state. Barak valley is the most neglected part of Assam in terms of its infrastructure development, tourism sector, educational institutions, hospitals, IT industries, G.D.P, H.D.I etc. which is still lagging behind in comparison to the Assam's mainland Brahmaputra valley which have access to all of those facilities mentioned above. On 20 January 2023, Barak Democratic Front topmost Bengali leader Mr. Pradip Dutta Roy have said, "If Centre is planning to grant separate statehood to Kamtapur, then they should also fulfilled the longstanding demand of Separate Barak state by granting the region separate statehood". In fact, the Southern most region of Assam that is Barak Valley have an overwhelming Bengali majority population of about (80.8%) as per 2011 census report.

The indigenous Dimasa Cachari people of Northeast India have been demanding a separate state called Dimaraji or "Dimaland" for several decades. It would comprise the Dimasa-inhabited areas, namely North Cachar Hills, greater parts of Cachar district, Hailakandi district, significant parts of Hojai district and Karbi Anglong district in Assam together with part of Dimapur district in Nagaland.

Festivals

Durga puja is one of the major festivals of Barak valley, as the region is home to a large population of Bengalis in Assam. Durga puja is celebrated with great fervour and enthusiasm in every part of the region be it rural or urban areas with great joy and happiness. Annually, on average 2,500 puja pandals have been organized by puja committees throughout the valley, with 300 durga puja pandals are being concentrated in Silchar alone. The festival marks the victory of good over evil.

Busu Dima' is an annual cultural festival celebrated by the Dimasa Kachari tribe of North Cachar Hills and Cachar of Barak valley. It is the biggest harvesting agricultural festival. It is celebrated after the completion of grain harvest in different villages of the valley and hills. The festival is usually organized in the month of January.

Baidima is a tradition festival of Indigenous Dimasa Cachari tribe of North Cachar Hills and Cachar. It is being celebrated in the month of January just after Busu Dima festival. The traditional dance continued for a week. On that day, along with dance they also sing songs. In haflong, locals organized cultural events, public meetings, rally and various programs related to this festival.

Charak puja (Pohela Boishakh) the Bengali new year, is one of the most important and major festivals of the valley celebrated by the ethnic Bengalis, irrespective of their religious affiliation and social status. This festival marks the beginning of Bengali new year and is being celebrated 15 April every year.

Eid

Eid is also a major festival of the region as the Muslims constitute half of valley's population. Just like Durga puja, every year lakhs of Muslims celebrated eid with great joy and happiness throughout the valley specially in Muslim-majority Karimganj and Hailakandi district.

Social issues

Bengali Language Movement in Barak Valley

Over 80 percent of Assam's Barak Valley are Bengali people and speak Bengali language. On 24 October, a bill was passed by Assam's late Chief Minister Mr. Bimala Prasad Chaliha in the Assam Legislative Assembly making Assamese as the only sole official language of the state. On 5 February 1961, the Cachar Gana Sangram Parishad was formed to protest against the imposition of Assamese in the Bengali-speaking Barak Valley. Rathindranath Sen was chief person of the organisation. People soon started protesting in Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. On 24 April, the Parishad flagged off a fortnight-long Padayatra in the Barak Valley to raise awareness among the masses, which ended after 200 miles reaching to Silchar on 2 May. On 18 May, the Assam police arrested three prominent leaders of the movement, namely Nalinikanta Das, Rathindranath Sen and Bidhubhushan Chowdhury, the editor of weekly Yugashakti. On 19 May, the dawn to dusk hartal started. Picketing started in the sub-divisional towns of Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. A Bedford truck carrying nine arrested activists from Katigorah was fired and the truck driver and the policemen escorting the arrested fled the spot. Soon after that the paramilitary forces, guarding the railway station, started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. They fired 17 rounds into the crowd. Twelve persons received bullet wounds and were carried to hospitals. Nine of them died that day. Two more persons died later. One person, Krishna Kanta Biswas survived for another 24 hours with a bullet wound in chest. Ullaskar Dutta send nine bouquets for nine martyrs. On 20 May, the people of Silchar took out a procession with the bodies of the martyrs in protest of the killings. After the incident and more protests, the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the Barak region by Assam government. Soon after that a circular of Section 5 of Assam Language Act XVIII, 1961, was enacted to safeguards the use of Bengali language 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."

Language controversy

On 18 October 2021, a state government hoarding which was written in Assamese language has been found smeared with black ink in Barak valley's administrative capital Silchar's Petrol Pump area. It was found that two Bengali organizations namely: Barak Democratic Yuba Front and All Bengali Students Youth Organisation have been involved in that activity and have accused that the government of Assam has been trying to impose their Assamese language on us (referring to Bengali-majority Barak Valley) through Assamese hoarding as a starting and have said that "We strictly stands against it (i.e imposition)". The smearing of the government hoarding has led to condemnation from people and various regional organisations of the Brahmaputra Valley, where Assamese organizations such as All Assam Students Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad have severely reacted, deeply saddened and protested against it. In retaliation, several Bengali hoardings in Assamese-dominated Brahmaputra Valley have also meet the same fate. The political 'language wars' and strife between the ethnic Assamese and Bengalis have led to several 'martyrs' on both sides of the administrative divisions. On 19 May 1961, 11 Bengali Protestors at Silchar railway station were killed for protesting against forceful imposition of Assamese language in Barak Valley region. Similarly, during Assam Movement of (1979-1985) or popularly known as the Assam Agitation which aims at detaining and deporting Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the state saw as many as 855 Assamese people gave up their lives to protect the Linguistic, ethnic and cultural identity of Assam.

Immigration of Bengali refugees in Cachar Valley

In 1947 during Partition of Bengal period, it has been found that from 15 August 1947 to April 1950, the Bengali Hindu refugees population in Cachar increased to 200,000 and but after Liaquat–Nehru Pact it came down to 93,177 in 1951. According to 1961 census, the number of East Bengali refugees living in Cachar alone is found to be 156,307 which is way higher than the previous census. No new Hindu immigration happened in the post 1971 period in Barak valley. Bengali Hindus who landed up in Barak valley from Bangladesh in the post 1971 census have moved out of the region before the 1991 census. The number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Barak Valley has varied estimates. According to the Assam government, 1.3–1.5 lakh such people residing in the Barak Valley are eligible for citizenship if the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 becomes a law. There were reverse im-migration vice-versa trends as well. The Muslim percentage of the Cachar Valley have decreased from 42.48% to 38.49% during (1941-1951) period. On the eve of Partition of Bengal and Sylhet Referendum, most of Bengali Muslim employees hailing from Barak Valley opted for Pakistan's Sylhet and migrated there as refugees. Similarly, Bengali Hindu employees hailing from Sylhet opted for Cachar Valley and majority of them settled in the Cachar plains thereafter. Also during partition, most of the Sylhet-origin Muslim businessmen living in Cachar and Karimganj have exchanged their business, houses and residences with Hindu businessmen of Sylhet migrating to Cachar and Karimganj.

In March 2020, Wasbir Hussain, the editor in chief of North East Live and member of clause 6 committee while defining who is an Assamese have stated that the original inhabitants of Barak valley are a part of greater Assamese society and he further said that illegal immigrants and migrants are of different bracket. Regarding Indigenousity, Those Bengali-speaking Hindus/Muslims of Barak Valley (comprising districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj) who bears surnames like Choudhury, Mazumdar/Mazumder, Laskar/Lashkar, Barlaskar, Barobhuiya, Mazarbhuiya, Talukdar and Hazari and other regular titles mostly brought and given by Kachari kings are Native. The Barak Valley region is often described as a division filled with Bangladeshis. It lost its "Bangladeshi tag" after the final NRC draft results were published on 31 July 2018. Mr. Paul, a resident of Cachar district, said that the latest NRC draft had put an end to the controversy regarding the citizenship of the residents of the Valley. He further said: “It was often claimed that they are all or the majority of people of the valley are from Bangladesh. NRC draft results have shown that nearly 90% of Barak residents are Indian citizens. The Barak Valley had a population of about 37 lakh, as per last 2011 Census. NRC draft have dropped four lakh of the 37 lakh residents, majority of whom are Bengali people. As per NRC results, about 8% of the residents of Cachar, 11.82% of Karimganj and 14.2% of Hailakandi didn’t feature their names on the latest final draft list. As a whole, about 11% residents of Barak could not make their name appears on the list. The Assam Indigenous People Protection Committee has protested the exclusion of indigenous people in the final NRC list, which was published on 31 August 2019 in Assam's Barak Valley region. According to the Committee, nearly 1.5 lakh people belong to the Dimasa, Koch Rajbongshi, Meiteis, Manipuri-Muslim (Pangals), Bishnupriya Manipuri, Cachari-speaking Muslim, tea tribes, Rongmei Naga, Kuki, Khasi, Gorkha, Hmar, Das Pattni, Nath Jogi and Namasudra Bangali communities were left out of the final NRC list. The Committee further stated that, "All the Indigenous people of Barak Valley support the government stand of Implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord". One of the early attempts to define the native people of Assam is found in the 1951 Census of Assam. It's clearly stated that “An Indigenous person of Assam means a person belonging to the State of Assam and speaking the Assamese language or any tribal languages- (Dimasa, Rabha, Koch Rajbongshi, Bodo, Mishing, Karbi etc.) of Assam, or in the case of Cachar Valley, the language of the region (Bangla)".

Barak-Mizoram dispute

Mizoram used to be a district of Assam as Lushai hills before being carved out as a separate union territory and later, becoming another separate state in 1987 by States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Because of the history, the district's borders did not really matter for local Mizos for a long time. Mizoram shares a border with the districts Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj which comes under Barak valley region of Assam.

Over time, the two states started having different perceptions about where the demarcation should be. While Mizoram wants it to be along an Inner Line Permit notified in 1875 to protect indigenous tribals from outside influence, which Mizos feel is part of their historical homeland, Barak valley region of Assam wants it to be demarcated according to district boundaries drawn up much later. Conflicting territorial claims have persisted for long between Assam's Barak and Mizoram, which share a 164.6 km inter-state border. There were several clashes between the local people of the Mizoram and Barak regarding land disputes in the border areas on regular basis. The root of the dispute is a 1,318 km ( 509 square miles) area of hills and forests that Mizoram claims as its own. This is on the basis of an 1875 British law. But Assam insists this area is part of their as its "constitutional boundary". On 17 November 2022, Mizoram Home Minister have apologized for the clashes that have occurred in Barak-Mizoram border in which six police personnel and one civilian were killed in Lailapur.

Communalism

Barak valley has witnessed many major communinal riots in 1968, 1990, 2017 and 2019 in Karimganj, Hailakandi, Silchar and again in Hailakandi.

Lists of riots involving communalism in Barak valley region:

Karimganj 1968 riot

In the 1968 Karimganj riots, a cow belonging to a Muslim wandered into a Hindu house. When a Hindu boy tried to chase the cow, some Muslims beat him up. Soon after that clashes erupted between the two communities. The ensuing riot claimed 82 lives.

Hailakandi 1990 riot

In October 1990, a wounded cow was found near a common land, which led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Police records reveal that the Hindus of Hailakandi had demanded that parcel of land to construct a Kali temple. In fact, Sangh Parivar had earlier organised pujas to ritually purify bricks for shilayas at Ayodhya on the common land. The appearance of an injured cow hurt their sentiments and led to a riot resulting in many casualties.

Silchar 2013 riot

In 2013, rumours of beef being found in a temple in Silchar sparked Hindu Muslim clashes in which at least 30 people were injured.

Silchar 2015 riot

In 2015, there was tension yet again when the head of a slaughtered cow was found in a temple in Silchar. On the same year, allegations of "love jihad" – a term used by Hindutva groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to marry women from other religions solely to convert them to Islam – sparked violent clashes in the city area.

Silchar 2017 riot

On 7 June 2017, Clashes broke out between two communities in the Silchar city of Assam's Cachar district on Tuesday evening. The incident took place in the Janigunj area of Silchar. According to police 11 civilians and eight police officials were injured in large scale stone pelting. However, there were no casualties in the incident.

Hailakandi 2019 riot

Local reports said that the tension started when motorbikes owned by Muslim devotees were vandalised while they were praying inside a mosque. The motorbike owners lodged a first information report and demanded that the police take action against the accused and said that they will offer prayers on the road if action was not taken. Mohneesh Mishra, Hailakandi's police chief, told Scroll.in that the clashes began when a group of Muslim men assembled on a public road in the town and said they will offer prayers on the street. "The Hindu community tried to stop them and that led to an argument and soon after that it turned into riot," said Mishra, while adding that heavy security had been deployed in the area. At least 14 people were injured out of which 3 were police Constables and also 1 was killed in a communal clash in Hailakandi district in Assam which have occurred on 10 July 2019.

Hailakandi 2021 riot

Tension began at Hailakandi's Serispore Tea Garden area after an e-rickshaw driver who happened to be a Muslim and his passengers (who were all Hindus) entered into an argument. After this confrontation, people from two separate groups gathered at the site and started attacking each other. Soon after that, a curfew was imposed. As per as A.H Laskar a police of Hailakandi police station, both parties were throwing stones at each other.

Economy

Tea is the important economic activity and Barak Valley have also its proportional share of tea garden in comparison to Brahmaputra valley to sustains its economy from time to time. There are plenty of oil and natural gas under the surface of Barak valley as well to run the economy as a separate state. Various oil refineries are also set up in various locations of Barak valley to meet the required economic demand. Jute is an important crop grown in this region. The per capita income of Cachar is Rs. 19,551, for Hailakandi it stands at Rs. 19,055 and for Karimganj it is Rs. 20,093 respectively. Barak Region as a whole have a per capita income of Rs. 58,699 which is lower than in most of Assam.

Poverty

Barak valley region is the poorest part of Assam in terms of Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index rank. More than half of the region's population lives in absolute poverty. According to a survey, 51% of the population of Hailakandi district, 42.4% of the population of Cachar district and 46% of the population of Karimganj district are multi-dimensionally poor and don't have proper access to safe drinking water, food, electricity, housing and shelter etc.

Forest cover

There are around 104 forest Villages in Barak Valley. Among the three districts in Barak Valley, Cachar have an area of 3,786 km, out of which 2,222.34 km area is covered with forest, Hailakandi district have a total area of 1,327 km, out of which 774.34 km is covered with forest, Karimganj district have a total area of 1,809 km, out of which 851.43 km area is covered with forest.

List of districts in Barak valley

There are three districts in the Barak Valley.

1. Karimganj having an area of 1,809 km and is the second largest district of the valley.
2. Hailakandi having an area of 1,327 km is third largest district of the valley.
3. Cachar having an area of 3,786 km. It is the largest district of the valley.

The total area of the valley is 6,922 km.

Historically, North Cachar Hills was once a part of Undivided Barak Valley. If that district is included, then the total area of Barak region as a whole increases up to 11,812 km, which is way bigger than the neighbouring Tripura state which have a total area of 10,491 km.

Wildlife

The Asian elephant has already vanished from most of the valley. Barail is the only wildlife sanctuary of the Barak valley region. It was initiated by noted naturalist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury, who originally hailed from this region in the early 1980s. This sanctuary was ultimately notified in 2004. There are thirteen reserve forests in the valley comprising six in Karimganj, five in Cachar, and two are in Hailakandi. The Patharia hills reserve forest of Karimganj is the habitat of many mammals and was recommended to upgrade as 'Patharia hills wildlife sanctuary'. The southern part was also recommended as 'Dhaleswari' wildlife sanctuary.

Weather

Barak Valley has a temperature that varies 35° to 40 °C and also has a humid environment with rainfall varying from 100 to 200 cm. It is one of the hottest and humid region of entire North East.

Politics

Bengali-dominated Barak valley have 15 Assembly seats. As per as vote share, Maximum of the people in the valley have supported BJP in 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election followed by INC and AIUDF. It has been found that 48.7% vote share have gone in the favour of BJP, 27% to Indian National Congress and 21.9% to AIUDF in the last election. As per as seat share concerned, BJP have won 53.3% seats, 26.7% AIUDF and 20% Indian National Congress, respectively.

Constituencies

Barak Valley has two Lok Sabha seats.

• Karimganj (Lok Sabha constituency)
• Silchar (Lok Sabha constituency)

Barak Valley has fifteen Assam Legislative Assembly seats.

• Badarpur
• Algapur
• Hailakandi
• Katlicherra
• Karimganj South
• Karimganj North
• Ratabari
• Patharkandi
• Katigorah
• Dholai
• Udharbond
• Sonai
• Silchar
• Barkhola
• Lakhipur

Districts tehsils

Notable people

• Abdul Matlib Mazumdar, freedom fighter, cabinet minister in last ministry during British period and then after independence, in the first and subsequent ministries. Assam's first Agriculture, Veterinary, & Local self-government minister
• Moinul Hoque Choudhury, ex-Minister of Industries during Indira Gandhi regime, established All India Radio, National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Hindustan Paper Mill at Panchgram and Sugar Mill at Anipur
• Karnendu Bhattacharjee, ex-MP of Rajya Sabha, Indian National Congress
• Debojit Saha, singer and television host
• Radheshyam Biswas, former member of Lok Sabha, AIUDF
• Santosh Mohan Dev, former member of Lok Sabha, Indian National Congress, former Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises in the Union Cabinet
• Aminul Haque Laskar, Deputy Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party
• B. B. Bhattacharya, former Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Anwaruddin Choudhury, first Divisional Commissioner of Barak Valley when it was created as a separate division in 2015–16. Popularly known as the "Birdman of Assam" he authored 28 books on birds and mammals. He is also the first from Barak Valley to obtain a D.Sc. degree.
• Sushmita Dev Leader, All India Trinamool Congress
• Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, singer
• Rajdeep Roy, Member of Lok Sabha, Silchar
• Kripanath Mallah, Member of Lok Sabha, Karimganj
• Gautam Roy, Ex Minister, Assam
• Pritam Das, Cricketer

See also

• Sylhet division
• Kachari Kingdom
• Brahmaputra valley
• Hills and Barak Valley division

Notes

1. Languages constituting less than 1% and/or substantially lower as compared to the total population are not included

References

1. (Tunga 1995, p. 1)
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7. "An early history of Assam by Sir Edward Gait (1963 ) suggests that Cachar district might have got its name from a Sanskrit word meaning a ‘broadening region’ or from the main tribe of the region. He further argues that the Kacharis themselves could not have got their name from Cachar district, as they are known by the same name in many parts of Assam far from Cachar, and were thus known long before they settled there: the earliest known record being ‘in a letter of appointment by Raja Kirti Chandra, dated 1658 Sak (1736 CE), in which “Kacharir Niyam”, or the practices of the Kacharis, is referred to’ (Gait 1963: 299–300)." (Bhattacharya 2018)
8. (Cederlöf 2014:48)
9. (Cederlöf 2014:47)
10. "The geopolitical boundaries of the kingdoms were not cartographically defined. Heartlands and places of particular significance were more important than defending borderlines at margins... Communities were decidedly loyal to a particular royal lineage and such loyalties had territorial implications."s (Cederlöf 2014:47)
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External links

• Languages of the Barak Valley collection (Saihriem, Thadou, Hrangkhol, Ranglong, Sakachep) in the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive
• Annotated Texts of the Languages of the Barak Valley: Thadou, Saihriem, Hrangkhol, Ranglong by Dr. Pauthang Haokip

Sources

• Bhattacharjee, J B (1994), "Pre-colonial Political Structure of Barak Valley", in Sangma, Milton S (ed.), Essays on North-east India: Presented in Memory of Professor V. Venkata Rao, New Delhi: Indus Publishing Company, pp. 61–85
• Bhattacharya, Gargee (2018). "The Dimasa Kacharis of Cachar District: An Overview". Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
• Cederlöf, Gunnel (2014). Founding an Empire on India's Northeast Frontiers 1790–1840: Climate, Commerce, Polity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-809057-1.
• Khan, Sameer Ud Dowla (21 February 2018). "Amago Bhasha: In celebration of our ethnic and linguistic diversity". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
• Lochtefeld, James G (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
• Mahanta, Sakuntala; Gope, Amalesh (2018). "Tonal polarity in Sylheti in the context of noun faithfulness". Language Sciences. 69: 80–97. doi:10.1016/j.langsci.2018.06.010. S2CID 149759441.
• Tunga, S. S. (1995). Bengali and Other Related Dialects of South Assam. Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788170995883. Retrieved 19 February 2013.

24°48′N 92°45′E / 24.800°N 92.750°E / 24.800; 92.750

v t e State of Assam
Capital: Dispur
State symbols	Song: O Mur Apunar Desh Animal: Indian rhinoceros Bird: White-winged duck Flower: Foxtail Orchids (Kopouful) Tree: Dipterocarpus retusus (Hollong)
Topics	Etymology Biodiversity Brahmaputra Valley Cuisine Culture Economy Education Institutions of higher education Physical geography Politics Tourism Assam tea Assam silk Assam Rifles Assam Regiment
History	Kamarupa Chutia Kingdom Kamata Kingdom Ahom kingdom Kachari Kingdom Colonial Assam Assam Province (1912 – 1947) Legislative Assembly (Since 1937) Assam Mail Assam Accord Golaghat Convention Assam History Timeline
Administration	Government Legislative Assembly Chief Ministers Governors High Court Human rights Commission Police Political Party
Districts and divisions	North Assam Biswanath Darrang Sonitpur Udalguri Lower Assam Baksa Barpeta Bongaigaon Chirang Dhubri Kokrajhar Kamrup Kamrup Metro Goalpara Nalbari South Salmara Mankachar Central Assam Dima Hasao Hojai Karbi Anglong Karbi Anglong (West) Morigaon Nagaon Upper Assam Charaideo Dibrugarh Dhemaji Golaghat Jorhat Lakhimpur Majuli Sivasagar Tinsukia Barak Valley Cachar Hailakandi Karimganj
Geography	Upper-Assam (East Assam) Lower-Assam (West Assam) Barak Valley (South Assam) Brahmaputra River Majuli Mora Dhansiri River Dhansiri Dihing Diphlu Halflong (The Hill station of Assam)
Culture	Assamese language Assamese alphabet Jolpan Traditional crafts Bihu Folk dances of Assam Bagurumba Bihu dance Ekasarana Dharma Borgeet Satra Sattriya Dance Saraai Gamosa Textiles and dresses (Muga and Eri)
Arts, literature, music and cinema	Cinema Assamese literature Assamese poetry List of poets List of Assamese writers Pen Names List of Assamese Periodicals The Arunodoi (Orunodoi - 1846) The Hemkosh The Assam Tribune Assam Rhetorical Congress Buranji Kirtan Ghoxa Dasham Naam Ghosa Saptakanda Ramayana Jonaki Music of Assam Goalpariya Lokgeet Tokari Geet Dihanaam Hiranaam Dhol Gogona Pepa Cinema Joymati, first Assamese motion picture Guwahati Theatre Festival
People	History Assamese people Ahom Brahmin Kalita Koch Chutia Tribes of Assam Bodo Deori Dimasa Karbi Mising List of people from Assam
Notable surnames	Barua (and its variations) Bhuiyan Borah Bharali Borbarua Borgohain Borpatrogohain Borphukan Burhagohain Chakraborty Choudhury (and its variations) Das Deka Dutta Gayen Gogoi Gohain Goswami Hazarika Kalita Majumdar Saikia Sarma Chutia Sutradhar
Urban areas	Barpeta Bongaigaon Dhubri Dibrugarh Diphu Goalpara Golaghat Guwahati Jorhat Karimganj Nagaon North Lakhimpur Sivasagar Silchar Tezpur Tinsukia
Fairs and Festivals Hindu Temples History

• Bengali-speaking countries and territories
• Regions of Assam
• Valleys of India
• Landforms of Assam
• Assam Bengal