Nazira
|
Nazira নাজিৰা |
|
|---|---|
| town | |
 Nazira
 Nazira
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| Coordinates: 26°55′N 94°44′E / 26.92°N 94.73°ECoordinates: 26°55′N 94°44′E / 26.92°N 94.73°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Assam |
| District | Sivasagar |
| Government | |
| • Body | Nazira Municipality Board |
| Elevation | 132 m (433 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 12,466 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Assamese |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | AS |
Nazira (IPA: nəˈzɪərə) is a town and a municipal board in Sivasagar district in the Indian state of Assam.
Nazira is a historical town on the bank of the River Dikhow. It is around 18 km from Sivasagar city, 3 km from Simaluguri Jn. and 78 km from Jorhat Airport. It is the Sub-divisional Head Office of Nazira Sub-division.
Nazira was an important place during the regime of Ahom Kingdom. Nearby Gargaon was the capital of Ahom Kingdom over a long period. According to legends Nazira got its name from 'Now-Jeera', which in Assamese literally means resting place of boats. The historian Sarbananda Rajkumar states that 'Nazira' is a Tai(Ahom) word: Na means Land,Zi-Inclined & Ra-Much. So, Nazira means a much inclined land. He also writes that once the important places of Nazira were Ganak Village and Nazirahat.
Being in the vicinity of the Dikhow river and the capital of Ahom kingdom Gargaon, it is said that boats used to rest in this place after their long journey through the river. The Kareng Ghar a palace from the Medieval period build by King Rajeshwar Singha, a ruler of the Ahom kingdom stands as a testimony of the bygone era. During the British rule, tea plantations were started in and around Nazira like the other parts of upper Assam. The present day officer's club of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation limited(ONGCL)was in fact a tea planter's club established in 1939. Nazira was the headquarters of famous Assam Tea Company. An account of Life in and around Nazira during 1940s to 1960s by European tea planters can be found here.
J. W. Masters, the then Superintendent of Assam Company had proceeded to Assam in June 1839 and took up residence at Nazira who made Nazira as the Company's Headquarters. An old British Graveyard has been lying inside ONGC Colony Nazira Town. Here there are about 62 graves can be traced according to the list given by H. A. Antrobus. The buried include the historian William Robinson, the author of A Grammar of Assamese Language (1839) and A Descriptive Account Of Assam:With a Sketch of the Local Geography,and a Concise History of the Tea-Plant of Assam. (1841). William Robinson mastered over the Mising Language and unbelievably on Dafla language too. William Robinson wrote Notes on the Daflas and the Peculiarities of Their Language. Robinson was the first man to attempt to write a grammar on the Mising Language for institutional purpose. His A short outline of Miri (Mising) grammar was published in the March issue of Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal , in 1849. (Vol, 18, part 1, page 224).
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