Cooch Behar district

• 1. Etymology And Origins

  ›

  The name Cooch Behar emerged from two distinct words that merged into a single identity. Cooch represents a corrupted form of Koch, the name of an ethnic group inhabiting vast tracts of land to the north-east of Bengal. Behar derives from vihara, meaning abode or sport. Together they signify the land of the Koches. This linguistic derivation establishes the region's deep connection to the Koch tribes who once ruled the area. The compound nature of the name reflects centuries of cultural blending and historical evolution.

• 2. Dynastic History And Kingdoms

  ›

  Cooch Behar formed part of the Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam from the 4th to the 12th centuries. In the 12th century, the area became part of the Kamata Kingdom, first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The Khens were an indigenous tribe, and they ruled till about 1498 CE when they fell to Alauddin Hussain Shah. During this time, the Koch tribe became very powerful and proclaimed itself Kamateshwar. The first important Koch ruler was Biswa Singha, who came to power in 1515. Under his son Nara Narayan, the Kamata Kingdom reached its zenith. Nara Narayan's younger brother Shukladhwaj Chilarai undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom as governor of its eastern portion. After Chilarai's death, his son Raghudev became governor of this portion. Since Nara Narayan did not have a son, Raghudev was seen as the heir apparent. However, a late child of Nara Narayan removed Raghudev's claim to the throne. To placate him, Nara Narayan had to anoint Raghudev as a vassal chief of the portion east of the Sankosh River. This area came to be known as Koch Hajo. After the death of Nara Narayan in 1584, Raghudev declared independence. The kingdom ruled by the son of Nara Narayan Lakshmi Narayan came to be known as Cooch Behar.

• 3. Colonial Encounters And British Rule

  ›

  In 1661 CE Maharaja Pran Narayan planned to expand his kingdom but Mir Jumla attacked and conquered the territory meeting almost no resistance. The town of Cooch Behar was subsequently named Alamgirnagar. Maharaja Pran Narayan regained his kingdom within a few days. In 1772, 1773 the king of Bhutan attacked and captured Cooch Behar. To expel the Bhutanese the kingdom signed a defence treaty with the British East India Company on the 5th of April 1773. After expelling the Bhutanese Cooch Behar became a princely kingdom under the protection of British East India company. The Victor Jubilee Palace was based on Buckingham Palace and built in 1887 during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan. In 1878 the maharaja married the daughter of Brahmo preacher Keshab Chandra Sen. This union led to a renaissance in Cooch Behar state. Maharaja Nripendra Narayan is known as the architect of modern Cooch Behar town.

• 4. Post Independence Integration

  ›

  Under an agreement between the kings of Cooch Behar and the Indian Government at the end of British rule, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred full authority jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India effective the 12th of September 1949. Eventually Cooch Bihar became part of the state of West Bengal on the 19th of January 1950 with Cooch Behar town as its headquarters. The district consists of the flat plains of North Bengal and has several rivers including the Teesta Jaldhaka and Torsa. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal. It is located in the northeastern part of the state bounded by Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts in the north Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts of Assam in the east and Bangladesh in the west and south.

• 5. Geography And Enclave Complexities

  ›

  A geopolitical curiosity existed where there were 92 Bangladeshi exclaves with a total area of 47.7 km² in Cooch-Behar. Similarly there were 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh with a total area of 69.5 km². These were part of high stake card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur. Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves were within Indian exclaves and three of the Indian exclaves were within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave was Balapara Khagrabari which surrounded a Bangladeshi exclave Upanchowki Bhajni which itself surrounded an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari of less than one hectare. But all this has ended in the historic India-Bangladesh land agreement. Cooch Behar is a flat region with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers flow. Most of the highland areas are in the Sitalkuchi region and most of the low-lying lands lie in Dinhata region. Seven rivers that cut through the district are the Teesta Jaldhaka Torsha Kaljani Raidak Sankosh Gadadhar and Ghargharia.

• 6. Demographic And Social Structure

  ›

  According to the 2011 census Cooch Behar district has a population of 2,819,086 roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica. This gives it a ranking of 136th in India out of a total of 739 districts. The district has a population density of 540 per square kilometer. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001, 2011 was 13.86%. Koch Bihar has a sex ratio of 942 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 75.49%. 10.27% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1,414,336 (50.17%) and 18,125 (0.64%) of the population respectively. Cooch Behar is the only district in India where Scheduled Castes make up a majority of the population. Hinduism is the majority religion with 74.05% of the population following it in 2011. Islam is the minority religion mainly rural with Muslims being a significant minority in Dinhata I Dinhata II and Sitalkuchi blocks. At the time of the 2011 census 94.79% of the population spoke Bengali 1.31% Rajbongshi and 1.17% Hindi as their first language.

• 7. Political Administration And Governance

  ›

  The district of Cooch Behar comprises five sub-divisions: Cooch Behar Sadar Dinhata Mathabhanga Tufanganj and Mekhliganj. As per order of the 2008 Delimitation Commission the district is divided into 9 assembly constituencies. Mekliganj Mathabhanga Cooch Behar Uttar Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates. Mekhliganj constituency is part of Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha constituency which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Mathabhanga Cooch Behar Uttar Cooch Behar Dakshin Sitalkuchi Sitai Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars Lok Sabha constituency which also contains six assembly segments from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts. Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication status tag on the 2nd of January 2024 valid until the 11th of March 2034. It became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice to earn the GI tag.