Cachar District
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Cachar district Bengali: কাছাড় জেলা Sylheti: কাছাড় জেলা |
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Bird's eye view of Silchar.
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 Cachar district's location in Assam |
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| Country | India |
| State | Assam |
| Administrative Division | Hills and Barak Valley |
| Headquarters | Silchar |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,786 km2 (1,462 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,736,391 |
| • Density | 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-AS-CA |
| Official language | Bengali (Bangla) |
| Website | http://cachar.gov.in/ |
Cachar (Pron: kəˈʧɑ: or kæˈʧɑ:) (Bengali: কাছাড় জেলা) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India.
The name "Cachar" has derived from the Dimasa word kachari. The district headquarters are located at Silchar. The name Cachar traces its origin to the Kachari kingdom (called Dimasa Kingdom in medieval times). There are 3 towns in Cachar district namely Silchar, Lakhipur and Sonai.
Cachar was a part of the greater Dimasa Kachari Kingdom which also included the adjoining Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.The Last King of Cachar was
Raja Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu. During his period Khaspur was the Capital of Cachar(Kachar). Cachar was another native kingdom that fell victim to the imperialist design of the British. The Kingdom of Cachar was being ruled by two rulers having clearly defined areas of control. In the plains (southern portion of Cachar) Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu was the ruling prince. Immediately after his assassination by Gambhir Singh, the British annexed it to their dominion in India (1832). Tularam was the ruling chief of the hilly tract (northern portion of Cachar or Dima Hasao). His territories were annexed after he died in 1854. Thus entire Cachar came under the British occupation.While south Cachar was annexed under Robertson, the hilly tract of Cachar came under British occupation when Jenkins was the Commissioner of Assam.
The history of the district includes the active participation and support of its people in the Indian freedom movement. Many leaders, such as Kamini Kumar Chanda, his son Arun Kumar Chandaand Abdul Matlib Mazumdar etc. led the people of the district to fight for the cause. While Chanda was instrumental in garnering support of the Bengali Hindus, Mazumdar was one of the prominent Muslim leaders of Eastern India to oppose the partition of India on communal lines. Mazumdar, along with Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, (who later became the 5th President of India) became the most prominent Muslim opponents to the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan, especially in the eastern part of the country. To counter the rising popularity of Muslim League, he successfully organised the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind movement in Assam. Jamiat was an ally of the Congress having a mass following among the nationalist Muslims. In the very crucial 1946 General Elections, conducted just on the eve of India’s independence, he wrested the Muslim majority Hailakandi seat from the hold of the Muslim League. That victory virtually sealed the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim League to include southern Assam, including Cachar, in Pakistan.
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