Wikis
| Cooch Behar | |||
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| Coordinates | 26°12′N 89°00′E / 26.2°N 89°E | ||
| Country |  India |
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| State | West Bengal | ||
| Headquarters | Cooch Behar | ||
| Population | 2,478,280 | ||
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) | ||
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Codes
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| ISO 3166-2 | WB_COB | ||
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Footnotes
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Cooch Behar district (Bengali: কোচবিহার জেলা, Rajbongshi/Kamatapuri : কোচবিহার) is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the district's namesake town. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Narayan dynasty.
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Over time, Cooch Behar has been transformed from a kingdom to a state and from a state to the present status of a district. Before 28 August 1949, Cooch Behar was a Princely state ruled by the king of Cooch Behar, who had been a feudatory ruler under the British Government. By an agreement dated 28 August, 1949 the king of Cooch Behar ceded full and extensive authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India. The transfer of administration of the state to the Government of India came into force on 12 September 1949. Eventually, Cooch Behar was transferred and merged with the province of West Bengal on 19 January 1950 and from that date Cooch Behar emerged as a new District in the administrative map of West Bengal.
The name "Cooch-Behar" is derived from the name of the Koch Rajbongshi tribe that is indigenous to this area. The word "Behar" is the Sanskrit word "Bihar" (to travel) which means the land through which the "Koch Rajbongshi" Kings used to travel or roam about ("Bihar").
The greatest Koch Rajbongshi King that has ever ruled in the Kingdom of Kamatapur is Maharaj Naranarayan, as well as his younger brother Prince Chilaray and other descendents. Historic Kamatapur comprises the total North Bengal maximum parts of Assam, some parts of present Bangladesh and a few parts of Bhutan. The Koch-Rajbongshi community is demanding a separate state of their own comprising the parts of their old Kingdom to save their centuries-old culture from extinction.
The Narayan dynasty originated from indigenous tribal community and has ruled the area around the town of Cooch Behar since the 16th century. The state remained unaffected by the great changes that overtook its surrounding provinces in the decade following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. However, it was invaded by Bhutan in the latter half of the 18th century, which prompted a British Ambassador to Bhutan, George Bogle to enter into a formal treaty alliance with the British in 1775. In 1947, the state acceded to the dominion of India and merged with the Union of India shortly afterwards.
Cooch Behar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal. Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri in the north, state of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal.
A geopolitical curiosity is that there are 92 Bangladeshi exclaves, with a total area of 47.7 km² in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there are 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km². Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves are within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves are within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave, Balapara Khagrabari, surrounds a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounds an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari, of less than one hectare. (See link to external map here).
Being the district near the Eastern Himalayan foothills, after rains in the catchment area of each of the rivers generally attain strong current and flood the adjacent area. The turbulent water carries sand, silt, pebbles which causes many problems in productivity as well as hydrology. The soil is formed by alluvial deposits and is acidic in nature. It is friable loam to sandy loam ranging in depth from 0.15 to 1 meter. The soil has a low level of nitrogen while potassium and phosphorus levels are medium. Deficiency of zinc, calcium, magnesium and sulphur is quite high.
Cooch Behar is a flat country with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers of the district flow. Most of the highland areas are in the Sitalkuchi region and most of the low-lying lands lie in Dinhata region.
The rivers in the district of Cooch Behar generally flow from northwest to southeast. Six rivers that cut through the district are the Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsha, Kaljani, Raidak and Gadadhar.
The district of Cooch Behar has a moderate type of climate characterised by heavy rainfall during the monsoon and slight rainfall in the month of October to mid-November. The district does not have high temperatures at any time of the year. The summer season is from April to May with April being the hottest month with mean daily maximum of 32.5 °C and mean daily minimum of 20.2 °C. The winter season lasts from late November to February, with January being the coldest month with temperature ranging from 10.4 °C to 24.1 °C. The recorded temperature minimum is 3.9 °C and respective recorded maximum is 39.9 °C. The atmosphere is highly humid throughout the year, except the period from February to May, when the relative humidity is as low as 50 to 70%. The rainy season lasts from June to September. The district's average annual rainfall is 3 201 mm.
The district comprises five subdivisions: Cooch Behar Sadar, Dinhata, Mathabhanga, Mekhliganj and Tufanganj. Cooch Behar Sadar consists of Cooch Behar municipality and two community development blocs: Cooch Behar–I and Cooch Behar–II. Dinhata subdivision consists of Dinhata municipality and three community development blocs: Dinhata–I, Dinhata–II and Sitai. Mathabhanga subdivision consists of Mathabhanga municipality and three community development blocs: Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga–I and Mathabhanga–II. Mekhliganj subdivision consists of Mekhliganj municipality and Haldibari municipality and two community development blocs: Mekhliganj and Haldibari. Tufanganj subdivision consists of Tufanganj municipality and two community development blocs: Tufanganj–I and Tufanganj–II.[1] Cooch Behar is the district headquarters. There are 11 police stations, 12 development blocks, 6 municipalities and 128 gram panchayats in this district.[2]
Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocs which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns.[3] In total there are 10 urban units: 6 municipalities and 4 census towns. Cooch Behar, Kharimala Khagrabari and Guriahati are part of a urban agglomeration. Dinhata and Bhangri Pratham Khanda also form an urban agglomeration together.
The district is divided into 9 assembly constituencies:[4]
Mekliganj, Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga and Tufanganj constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency is part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar North, Cooch Behar West, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district.
As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 9 assembly constituencies:[5]
Mekliganj, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency will remain part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which will also contain six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies will continue to form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency), which will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Tufanganj constituency will remain a part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which will also contain six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district.
The flora here includes among others palms, bamboos, creepers, ferns, orchids, aquatic plants, fungi, timber, grass, vegetable and fruit trees.
In absence of large forest area in the district, except at Patlakhawa, not many species of animal are found though there are many wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and animal reserves in the neighboring Jalpaiguri district and Alipurduar subdivision of Jalpaiguri which are not very far from the district.
The agricultural area of Cooch Behar is 2530.63 square kilometers. The dominant agricultural products of Cooch Behar district are jute and tobacco. Paddy rice is also grown before and after the rainy season. Common plantation crops are arecanut, coconut and black pepper. Vegetable, mustard plant, and potato cultivation are increasing. In order to support agriculture, special programs have been taken for the production of sunflowers, maize and groundnuts. Revolutionary methods are being used in Boro paddy and potato cultivation. But due to nonadoption of modern technology, a large number of farmers still depend on traditional technology. Only 33% of the potentially cultivable land is developed for irrigation. In Kharif, the area of production of vegetables and other crops is much less. The ovine breed in the region originates from Tibet and was brought to the plains of West Bengal by traders. The trade between Tibetan traders and traders from the plains of Bengal took place from the region. The sheep along with other items of trade were transported to a place known as Bhot Patti (situated in Maynaguri Block of Jalpaiguri District). The major trading occurred at a place known as Rangpur, situated now in Bangladesh. The goods were exchanged and the sheep were also taken to plains of Bengal by the returning traders, the animals were given to the farmers of Sunderban region for rearing and bringing them back to their health. The sheep were used for their meat by the Europeans during the colonial era. They preferred mutton over Chevon so sheep meat was in great demand. A single consignment of the sheep were transported to Australia in the late 18th century when the Australian colony was being settled. The consignment was shipped from the port of Fulta near Kolkata. However, the sheep were not preferred by the settlers as their size was small and wool quality too was inferior. The breed Booroola Merino of Australia are the descendents of the same sheep.
Apart from these other tourist spots are:
Educational Facilities
Primary Schools - 1805
High Schools - 120
Higher Secondary Schools - 61
High Madrasa - 5
Senior Madrasa - 2
Junior High School - 60
Junior High Madrasa - 16
Kendriya vidyalaya - 1
Engineering / Technical Schools - 2
Professional & Technical Schools - 16
General College - 9
Blind School - 1
Libraries - 110
Cooch Behar is having an Agricultural University named Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya at Pundibari about 15 km from Cooch Behar Town. Apart from those Government schools there are a few privately aided schools mostly ICSE, ISC and CBSE boards.
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हि:कूचबिहार जिला
KUCH BEHAR, or CoocH Behar, a native state of India, in Bengal, consisting of a submontane tract, not far from Darjeeling, entirely surrounded by British territory. Area, 1307 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 566,974; estimated revenue, X140,000. The state forms a level plain of triangular shape, intersected by numerous rivers. The greater portion is fertile and well cultivated, but tracts of jungle are to be seen in the north-east corner, which abuts upon Assam. The soil is uniform in character throughout, consisting of a light, friable loam, varying in depth from 6 in. to 3 ft., superimposed upon a deep bed of sand. The whole is detritus, washed down by torrents from the neighbouring Himalayas. The rivers all pass through the state from north to south, to join the main stream of the Brahmaputra. Some half-dozen are navigable for small trading boats throughout the year, and are nowhere fordable; and there are about twenty minor streams which become navigable only during the rainy season. The streams have a tendency to cut new channels for themselves after every annual flood, and they communicate with one another by cross-country watercourses. Rice is grown on three-fourths of the cultivated area. Jute and tobacco are also largely grown for export. The only special industries are the weaving of a strong silk obtained from worms fed on the castor-oil plant, and of a coarse jute cloth used for screens and bedding. The external trade is chiefly in the hands of Marwari immigrants from Rajputana. Among other improvements a railway has been constructed, with the assistance of a loan from the British government. The earthquake of the 12th of June 1897 caused damage to public buildings, roads, &c., in the state to the estimated amount of 100,000.
The Koch or Rajbansi, from which the name of the state is derived, are a widely spread tribe, evidently of aboriginal descent, found throughout all northern Bengal, from Purnea district to the Assam valley. They are akin to the Indo-Chinese races of the north-east frontier; but they have now become largely hinduized, especially in their own home, where the appellation "Koch" has come to be used as a term of reproach. Their total number in all India was returned in 1901 as nearly 2 2 millions.
As in the case of many other small native states, the royal family of Kuch Behar lays claim to a divine origin in order to conceal an impure aboriginal descent. The greatest monarch of the dynasty was Nar Narayan, the son of Visu Singh, who began to reign about 1550. He conquered the whole of Kamrup, built temples in Assam, of which ruins still exist bearing inscriptions with his name, and extended his power southwards over what is now part of the British districts of Rangpur and Purnea. His son, Lakshmi Narayan, who succeeded him in Kuch Behar, became tributary to the Mogul Empire. In 1772 a competitor for the throne, having been driven out of the country by his rivals, applied for assistance to Warren Hastings. A detachment of sepoys was accordingly marched into the state; the Bhutias, whose interference had led to this intervention, were expelled, and forced to sue for peace through the mediation of the lama of Tibet. By the treaty made on this occasion, April 1 773, the raja acknowledged subjection to the Company, and made over to it one-half of his annual revenues. In 1863, on the death of the raja, leaving a son and heir only ten months old, a British commissioner was appointed to undertake the direct management of affairs during the minority of the prince, and many important reforms were successfully introduced. The maharaja Sir Nripendra Narayan, G.C.I.E., born in 1862, was educated under British guardianship at Patna and Calcutta, and became hon. lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Bengal Cavalry. In 1897-98 $e served in the Tirah campaign on the staff of General Yeatman-Biggs, and received the distinction of a C.B. He was present at the Jubilee in 1887, the Diamond Jubilee of 1897, and King Edward's Coronation in 1902, and became a well-known figure in London society. In 1878 he married a daughter of Keshub Chunder Sen, the Brahmo leader. His eldest son was educated in England.
The town of Kuch Behar is situated on the river Tursa, and has a railway station. Pop. (1901), 10,458. It contains a college affiliated to the Calcutta University.
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