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Silchar

Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India.[1] It is second largest city of North Eastern Region after Guwahati in terms of area, population and GDP.[2] It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division.[3][4] It is located 343 kilometres (213 mi; 185 nmi) south east of Guwahati.[5] It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted the headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar.[6] It earned the moniker "Island of Peace" from Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.[7] Silchar is the site of the world's first polo club and the first competitive polo match.[8][9] In 1985, an Air India flight from Kolkata to Silchar became the world's first all-women crew flight.[10] Silchar was a tea town and Cachar club was the meeting point for tea planters.

Silchar
City
Clockwise from top: Nazirpatty, Silchar city; Silchar Airport, NIT Silchar, Goldighi Mall, Silchar railway station
Nickname: 
The Island of Peace & The City of Love
Silchar
Location in Assam
Silchar
Silchar (India)
Coordinates: 24°49′N 92°48′E / 24.82°N 92.8°E / 24.82; 92.8
Country India
StateAssam
DistrictCachar
RegionBarak Valley
No. Of Wards30
Established1838
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • BodySilchar Municipal Board
 • MayorNiharendra Narayan Tagore, BJP
 • MLADipayan Chakraborty, BJP
 • MPDr Rajdeep Roy, BJP
 • Deputy CommissionerRohan Kumar Jha, IAS
Area
 • Total26.88 km2 (10.38 sq mi)
Elevation
22 m (72 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total172,830
 • Density8,524/km2 (22,080/sq mi)
DemonymSilcharian
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
788001-788032 & 788118
Telephone code+91 (0) 3842
Vehicle registrationAS-11
Sex Ratio943 ♀️/ 1000 ♂️
ClimateCwa
Official LanguageBengali
Literacy Rate90.26%[citation needed]
Lok Sabha ConstituencySilchar
Vidhan Sabha ConstituencySilchar
Websitewww.cachar.nic.in

Etymology edit

The name Silchar comes from the two Sylheti words 'shil' and 'char', meaning 'rock' and 'shore/island' respectively.[citation needed] The city was founded in Janiganj-Sadarghat area of the town near the Barak bank which was used as a river port.[11] It is theorised that the locals started calling the area 'Shiler Chor' meaning the rocky shore, which got shortened to 'Silchar', which was in turn adopted and popularised by the British.[6]

History edit

Medieval History edit

Since Silchar was only founded after the introduction of the British in 1832, the pre-colonial history of Silchar can be approximated through the history of the region and nearby areas.

Tippera, Koch, and Dimasa rule edit

Cachar district, whose headquarters is in Silchar, was ruled by the Tippera dynasty in the 13th century.[12] The initial capital of the kingdom was in Khalangsha in Cachar, which has been identified as Rajghat village in Sonai, 18 km from Silchar.[13] The Tippera eventually moved eastwards to present day Tripura. By the 16th century, Cachar was a part of the Tripura kingdom.

The Tippera kings continued their rule in Barak Valley till mid-16th century, when commander Chilarai of the Koch dynasty defeated the king of Tripura in 1562 in Longai.[13] Longai became the boundary between the Tripura and Koch kingdoms. Bir Chilarai, also known as Shukladhwaja, was the younger brother of the Koch king Naranarayan.[14] Gosai Kamal, also known as Kamal Narayan, was another brother of Naranarayan. He was made the governor of Barak Valley and ruled the area from Khaspur, 20 km away from Silchar.[12]

Even after the collapse of the Koch kingdom elsewhere, the Koch continued ruling Cachar from Khaspur.[15] The area was ruled by seven more Koch kings after Gosai Kamal: Udita Singha, Dhir Singha, Mehendra Singha, Ranjit Singha, Nara Singha and Bhim Singha.[16] Bhim Singha, the last Koch Raja of Khaspur, only had a daughter called Kanchani who was married off to Prince Laksmichandra of the Kachari Dimasa kingdom of Maibang in 1745.[15] Maibang is in present-day hill district of Dima Hasao, adjacent to Cachar. Laksmichandra was made the governor of a part of the kingdom which is still named after him - Lakhipur, situated 25 km away from Silchar. Laksmichandra became the Raja after Bhim Singha's death and eventually the two kingdoms were merged and present day Cachar came under Dimasa rule.[13] Under the Dimasa kings, Cachar witnessed attacks from the Mughals, the Jaintias, the Manipuri kings, the Burmese, and the Ahoms.[13][17]

Bengali presence in the Kachari Kingdom edit

While the hill areas of the Kachari kingdom i.e. Dima Hasao, had a Dimasa stronghold, the plain areas i.e. present day Cachar had Bengalis constituting the majority.[15] While Bengalis had been inhabiting Cachar before the Koch rule, the Dimasa kings encouraged increased migration of Bengalis from nearby areas as priests, cultivators, and ministers at court.[13] Eventually, the formal conversion of Dimasa kings into Hinduism was carried out under Bengali Brahmins when Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Govinda Chandra performed the Hiranyagarbha ceremony in 1790.[18]

The kings in turn were great patrons of Bengali literature; Bengali was the court language of the Kachari kings, translation of Sanskrit texts into Bengali was carried out, and the kings themselves composed prose and poetry in Bengali.[19] In fact some of the only surviving written examples of the Bengali tradition in later 18th and early 19th century Cachar are the 27 letters written by Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Gobinda Chandra to the East India Company.[18]

Colonial History edit

Burmese Invasion and the Treaty of Badarpur edit

After taking over parts of the Brahmaputra Valley and Manipur by 1823, the Burmese made forays into Cachar as well.[20] The then Governor General of India, Lord William Amherst, saw the British occupation of Cachar as essential towards guarding the nearby British held district of Sylhet from the Burmese.[21] On 6 March 1824, Gobinda Chandra signed the Treaty of Badarpur with the British, who declared Cachar as a British protectorate and recognised Raja Gobinda Chandra as the ruler of Cachar.[12]

The Burmese army attacked Cachar in 1824 and the British declared war on them. Eventually, the two armies clashed in the Burmese stronghold of Dudpatil, 15 km from Silchar and the British were able to drive the Burmese away to Manipur in 1825.[21] The clash in Cachar was the start of the First Anglo-Burmese War, which ended with the Treaty of Yandabo, wherein the Kingdom of Ava agreed to stop attacking Cachar, amongst other areas.[20][21] Gobinda Chandra was reinstated on the throne but had to pay an annual tribute of Rs.10,000 to the British as per the Treaty of Badarpur, which adversely affected the post-Burmese occupation Cachar's economy.[17]

Gobinda Chandra was assassinated without any heir on 24 April 1830.[21] Though Gambhir Singh of Manipur, who was suspected to be behind the assassination, laid claim on Cachar, it passed onto British hands as per the Treaty of Badarpur.[21][22] Captain Thomas Fisher, an army officer took charge of Cachar on 30 June 1830 with the headquarters in Cherrapunji. On 14 August 1832 Cachar came under formal British occupation and in 1833 Silchar was made the headquarters.[23] Cachar was part of the Bengal province from 1832 to 1874, when the district was transferred to the new Assam province.[12]

Foundation of Silchar edit

There is no mention of any place called 'Silchar' before the annexation of Cachar.[6] Its constituent areas such as Tarapur, Ambikapur, Kanakpur, and Rangpur have been mentioned as villages under Gobinda Chandra, but not 'Silchar'. The earliest mention of Silchar was in 1835 in a report by R.B. Pamberton, and since then it was mentioned in British official documents.[6] Silchar was founded as the administrative headquarters of Cachar around the Janiganj-Sadarghat area of the town.[24] After shifting the district headquarters to Silchar in 1832, Captain Fisher started building Sadar Station in Janiganj.[25] Janiganj existed prior to the British as part of a taluk under the Mirasdars of Ambikapur before being taken over by Gobinda Chandra. In this respect, Captain Thomas Fisher was the founder of Silchar.[6] The Sadar Station and the District Court are still located in and around present day Janiganj.

According to a theorist, Fisher's reasons for choosing Silchar as the administrative centre for Cachar included 'the strategic location of Silchar, its accessibility from Sylhet, availability of land and labour, approach routes to neighbouring hills and prospects of riverine commerce'.[6] The establishment of the Sadar Station was followed by the construction of the treasury and a kutchery. A jail and a police outpost for the Sylhet Light Infantry was constructed in Fatak Bazar, while offices and residential quarters were made in Janiganj. Parts of Janiganj were also allotted to officers and traders.[6]

John Edgars, the successor to Captain Fisher, added to the urban growth of the city. He prepared a blueprint for the planned development of Silchar, paved the roads, and supervised the construction of office buildings, residential quarters, circuit house and the Deputy Commissioner's office.[6] The latter two still survive. Under him, the jail was shifted from Fatak Bazar to its present site, and traders from nearby areas in Bengal were encouraged to settle in the town. Communication facilities were strengthened with the steamer service between Silchar and Kolkata in 1850, the establishment of the Head Post Office in 1852, and the introduction of telegraph in 1861. While Tarapur, Malugram and Itkhola were part of the older settled areas, newer localities such as Central Road, Nazirpatty, Premtola, Tulapatty, and Narshingtola emerged.[6]

Silchar under the British edit

Due to the initiatives of Captain Fisher, a medical centre was established in Silchar in 1835, which became a hospital in 1864.[6] The tea industry in Cachar was growing by 1855, which lead to Silchar's emergence as a centre of trade and commerce.[6] The town got its first English education institution in 1863 when Reverend Pyrse started the High Grammar School, which later became the Government Boys Higher Secondary School.[24] In 1864, a charitable dispensary was set up, which later became the Civil Hospital.[26] Silchar got its very first body for self governance In 1882, when a Town Committee was established under the Bengal Municipal Act, 1876.[26] Keating Library, the first library in Silchar, was established in 1876 and was renamed to Arun Chanda Granthagar after Independence.[27] The earliest newspaper in Cachar, called 'Silchar', appeared in 1883. In 1891, the town became a municipality and in 1899 the Assam-Bengal railways reached Silchar, providing easier access to the Chittagong sea port.[26][27][6] Silchar was connected to Kolkata through steamers as well.[27]

Silchar witnessed major flooding in June 1929 because of incessant rains and flooding of river Barak.[28] N. G. A. Edgley, District and Sessions Judge of Sylhet and Cachar, was present in Silchar during the floods and supervised the relief activities till 19 June when the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner returned from Shillong and Haflong, where they were stranded. Buildings in the town sustained major damages and the supply of filtered water was absent from 12 June to 5 July.[28]

By 1934, Silchar town had grown because of good connectivity through road, river, and rail.[29] The population in the town had grown by 60% since 1901 and had access to water supply. The town now had increased amenities, including 'presses, motor woks, druggist shop, oil mills, ice factory'.[29] This led to the increase in revenue rates in 1934 by the then Deputy Commissioner P.C. Chatterjee. 1935 saw the establishment of G.C. College as the Guardian College.[30] In 1937, the Cachar Branch of the Kishan Sabha was established with Dwijen Sen as first General Secretary.[29] In 1940, a conference of the Sabha was organised in Silchar to demand better conditions for farmers. The Tebhaga movement of Bengal was organised in Cachar district as well by the Sabha where the local peasants participated. In 1942, the Japanese forces dropped a bomb on Derby Tea Estate 20 km from the town and the Second World War led to the shortage of water, electricity, paper, wood, kerosene. and clothes.[6] Cycle rickshaws were introduced in Silchar the same year.

Silchar Polo Club edit

In the 1850s, the British observed exiled Manipuri princes in Silchar play Sagol Kangjei, the predecessor to modern polo which was already popular in nearby Manipur.[8] Captain Robert Stewart, then assistant deputy commissioner, participated in the game with the Manipuri players.[31] In 1859, Stewart, now the deputy commissioner, and Major General Joseph Sherer, assistant deputy commissioner, established the world's first polo club in Silchar, called the Silchar Kangjei Club.[32] It was later renamed to Silchar Polo Club and survives today as the Cachar Club, though no polo is played anymore.[31] The first competitive modern form of polo was played in Silchar as well, and the plaque for this feat still stands behind the local District Library.[33]

Post independence history edit

After the Partition of Assam and Independence of India, the town of Silchar saw a large increase of 10.5% in its population in the decade of 1941–51.[34][35] This was largely because of the in migration of Hindu refugees from the adjacent district of Sylhet went to East Pakistan.[34] The effect of the partition was felt administratively as well. The Sessions Court of Sylhet had a Circuit Court present in Silchar till Independence.[36] After that, Silchar and the rest of Cachar came under the District & Sessions Judge, Jorhat till 1955 when the District & Sessions Judge of Cachar District took over in Silchar. S. K. Dutta became the first District & Sessions Judge of Cachar District Judiciary.[37]

Apart from the refugees from East Pakistan, Silchar also saw a lot of migration from neighbouring states in Northeast due to political disturbances which added to the population growth.[6] The 1971 Bangladesh liberation war saw more in migration from then East Pakistan.

Language movement in Barak Valley edit

 
Silchar Railway Station is popularly known as Bhasa Shahid Station.

Silchar saw one of the uprisings in favor of the Bengali language. When the Assam government, under Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha, passed a circular to make Assamese mandatory, Bengalis of Barak Valley protested. On 19 May 1961, Assam police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar railway station. Eleven people (listed below) were killed.

After the popular revolt, the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley.[38][39] Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII, 1961, safeguards the use of Bengali 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.”[40]

Industries edit

  • ONGC has its base located at Srikona, near Silchar, which is known as Cachar Forward Base with ongoing operations in Tripura, Mizoram and Barak Valley.[41]
  • Cachar Paper Mill (CPM) is the only major industrial undertaking in south Assam and the adjoining states of Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura. Despite a lack of infrastructure, CPM has a continuous record of improvement in production. During the year 2006–07, the mill recorded the highest annual production of 103,155 metric tonnes, registering 103% capacity utilization, which was 100% during the previous year.[42]
  • Silchar is a cluster centre for cane and bamboo artisans.[43]

Civic administration edit

Silchar Municipal Board is responsible for the municipal governance of the town.[44] The municipal history of Silchar goes back to 1865 when the town was made a municipality under the Bengal District Town Improvement Act, 1864.[26] The municipality was composed to 8 European and 3 Indian members, in addition to the chairperson and the vice-chairperson.[6] This was later withdrawn in 1868. In January 1882, Silchar got a Town Committee under the Bengal Municipal Act, 1876. Mr. Wright, the Deputy Commissioner, was the chairperson and Babu Jagat Bandhu Nag was elected by the committee members as the vice-chairperson. Silchar had been divided into four wards - Janiganj, Ambicapur, Tarapur, and Malugram - but each ward had only 20-50 voters.[26]

The Town Committee had limited powers to impose taxes, which constrained its funds and municipal activities. Yet it carried out some important activities: road construction, creating tanks and cleaning older ones, making public latrines, removable of 'objectional' houses such as distillery and slaughter houses out the town, and draining of swamps to prevent diseases.[26] In 1891, on recommendation of the Deputy Commissioner to the Assam Government, Silchar was turned into a municipality.[26] The first Municipal elections in Silchar were held in February 1900 but only 14.6% of the town was eligible to vote. 12 members were elected, who joined 2 ex-officio members and 6 nominated members to form the municipality. Of these 20 members, 16 were Indians and 4 were Europeans.[26]

From 1882 to 1912, the Deputy commissioners were the chairpersons of the municipality. The chairpersons began to be elected from 1913 onwards. Kamini Kumar Chanda and Mahesh Chandra Dutta were the first elected chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Silchar municipality.[6] The municipality took decisions like construction and repair of roads, buying medicines and taking public health preventive steps, sanitation, and setting prices to guard again inflation. As the pro-Independence sentiments grew, the municipality started to participate as well; reception plans for the Viceroy Chelmsford's visit to Silchar in 1919 were cancelled because of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, a resolution was passed after the death of Chittaranjan Das in 1925, and members of the municipality proposed a hartal to protest against the Simon Commission's visit to India in 1928.[6] In 1930, the then chairperson Dhirendra Kumar Gupta and member Satindra Mohan Deb were arrested because of their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement. The municipality took out a resolution in July 1947 against including Cachar within Pakistan and sent a member to Kolkata to submit a memorandum in front of the Boundary Commission.[6]

By 1952, when the first post Independence municipal elections took place, Madhurban was added to the ward list and the town now had 5 wards in total. This period also saw the municipality giving over the control of the fire brigade to the state government, and donation of land to establish educational institutes.

The area under the Silchar Municipal Board was 10 km2 in 1971 and 15.75 km2 in 1971.[35]

Till 1975, the municipality had elected members, but from 1975 to 1979, a government Executive Officer was in charge.[35] 1975 to 1984 saw an elected body preside over the municipal board, but from 1984, it has been run by state government appointees.

Geography edit

Silchar is located in the southernmost part of Assam.[45][46] It is located between longitudes 92º24’ E and 93º15’ E and latitudes 24º22’N and 25º8’N East and is 35 meters above mean sea level. The city is located in an alluvial flat plain with swamps, streams, and isolated small hills (locally known as tilla) marking its landscape. Apart from Barak river, the other major river is Ghagra river.[11]

Silchar is in Zone V on the Seismic Zonation Map and has witnessed major earthquakes.[47] The earthquake in January 1869 was of magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale and caused heavy damage. Other significant earthquakes include those in 1947 (magnitude 7.7), 1957 (7.0) and 1984 (6.0).[48]

Demographics edit

According to 2011 India census, Silchar municipal area has a population of 172,830.[49] The sex ratio of Silchar is 989 females per 1,000 males, which is above the national ratio of 940 females per 1,000 males.[50] Silchar municipal area has an average literacy rate of 82.33%, higher than the national average of 74.04%, with male literacy at 84.15% and female literacy at 80.49%.[51][52]

Religion edit

Religion in Silchar City (2011)

  Hinduism (86.31%)
  Islam (12.17%)
  Jainism (0.79%)
  Christianity (0.59%)
  Sikhism (0.04%)
  Buddhism (0.02%)
  Not stated (0.08%)

Hinduism is the majority religion in Silchar city with around 154,381 followers. Islam is the second most popular religion in Silchar with approximately 21,759 followers. Jainism is practiced by 1,408 people, Christianity by 1,052 people, Sikhism by 77 people and Buddhism by 39 people in Silchar city. Around 145 people did not state their religion.[53]

Languages edit

Languages spoken in Silchar city (2011)[54]

  Bengali (91.77%)
  Hindi (5.36%)
  Manipuri (2.05%)
  Others (0.1%)

According to 2011 census, Silchar city having a population of 172,830 persons, of which Bengali is spoken by 158,606 people, Hindi is spoken by 9,263 people, Manipuri is spoken by 3,543 people, Bishnupriya Manipuri is spoken by 1,244 people, while Others constitute 0.1% of the city's population according to 2011 census.[54]

Climate edit

Silchar has a borderline tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) slightly too hot in the “winter” or “cool” season to qualify as a humid subtropical climate (Cwa). During this "cool" season the weather is generally warm and dry with cool to mild mornings; however, the “wet” season begins early as the monsoon moves into the region during April, with the result that for seven months of the year Silchar has very hot and humid weather with heavy thunderstorms almost every afternoon until the middle of October, when there is usually a brief period of hot and relatively dry weather before the “cool” season sets in during November.[citation needed]

Climate data for Silchar (1981–2010, extremes 1901–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 31.0
(87.8)
35.0
(95.0)
37.8
(100.0)
39.4
(102.9)
39.4
(102.9)
37.9
(100.2)
39.8
(103.6)
39.0
(102.2)
38.3
(100.9)
36.7
(98.1)
35.0
(95.0)
31.7
(89.1)
39.8
(103.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 25.3
(77.5)
27.6
(81.7)
30.4
(86.7)
31.0
(87.8)
31.6
(88.9)
32.1
(89.8)
32.2
(90.0)
32.7
(90.9)
32.3
(90.1)
31.6
(88.9)
29.6
(85.3)
26.7
(80.1)
30.3
(86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 19.0
(66.2)
20.8
(69.4)
24.6
(76.3)
26.7
(80.1)
27.7
(81.9)
28.5
(83.3)
28.9
(84.0)
29.2
(84.6)
29.0
(84.2)
27.5
(81.5)
24.4
(75.9)
20.6
(69.1)
25.6
(78.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 12.2
(54.0)
14.2
(57.6)
17.9
(64.2)
21.1
(70.0)
23.1
(73.6)
24.9
(76.8)
25.3
(77.5)
25.4
(77.7)
25.0
(77.0)
23.0
(73.4)
18.6
(65.5)
13.9
(57.0)
20.4
(68.7)
Record low °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)
5.0
(41.0)
8.3
(46.9)
13.2
(55.8)
15.6
(60.1)
19.3
(66.7)
19.0
(66.2)
19.4
(66.9)
16.8
(62.2)
15.6
(60.1)
10.6
(51.1)
6.1
(43.0)
5.0
(41.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 10.8
(0.43)
54.7
(2.15)
195.5
(7.70)
331.3
(13.04)
407.2
(16.03)
530.9
(20.90)
509.2
(20.05)
433.4
(17.06)
401.1
(15.79)
183.7
(7.23)
34.0
(1.34)
14.3
(0.56)
3,106.2
(122.29)
Average rainy days 1.0 3.0 8.2 13.5 16.0 20.5 22.1 18.8 16.4 7.5 2.0 0.9 129.8
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 66 60 60 71 75 82 82 80 80 79 74 71 73
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[55][56][57]
Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1981–2010)[58]

Educational Institutes edit

Silchar is home to the main campus of Assam University, a central university that imparts education in both the general and the professional streams. The university, which came into existence in 1994, has 17 schools and 35 post graduate departments. It has 56 colleges affiliated to it.[59][60] All the colleges in Silchar city are affiliated to the Assam University. Apart from the university, Silchar also has multiple colleges; G.C. College established in 1935, Cachar College, A.K.Chanda Law College, Teacher's Training College established in 1960, Women's College in 1963, Silchar Medical College in 1968, National Institute of Technology (Regional Engineering College) in 1969, and Radha Madhab College in 1971.[30]

Technical institutions edit

 
National Institute of Technology Silchar
  • Triguna Sen School of Technology, Assam University, Silchar[61]
  • Silchar Polytechnic[62]
  • National Institute For Automotive Inspection Maintenance & Training (NIAIMT)[63]

Colleges edit

Medical college edit

  • Silchar Medical College and Hospital, established in 1968, serves the southern region of Assam. There is an Institute of Pharmacy attached to it.[65]
  • Government Dental College, Silchar
  • S. M. Dev Civil Hospital, Silchar - S. M. Dev Civil Hospital, located in Silchar, has a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1900.
  • Cachar Cancer Hospital, Silchar - Cachar Cancer Hospital & Research Centre was established and is administered by the Cachar Cancer Hospital Society, a non-profit NGO registered under the Societies Registration Act.

Law colleges edit

Air transport edit

Silchar Airport (IXS) is located at Kumbhirgram, about 22 km from Silchar. It was built during World war II and the current ATC services are provided by Indian Air Force.[67] Silchar has been selected as one of the towns for the construction of 51 low-cost airports across the country.[68] Silchar Airport is the 2nd busiest airport (70 civilian flights/week) in Assam and 4th busiest in North east after Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal and handles approximately 200,000 PAX yearly.[67]

In December 1985, Air India operated the first all-woman crew flight in the world from Kolkata to Silchar which was commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on a Fokker F-27 Friendship aircraft.[69]

Politics edit

Silchar is part of the Silchar (Lok Sabha constituency) and Silchar (Vidhan Sabha constituency). The current member of Parliament from Silchar is Dr. Rajdeep Roy of the BJP and current MLA is Dipayan Chakraborty of the BJP.[70]

Notable people edit

See also edit

References edit

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  2. ^ Desk, Sentinel Digital (20 October 2021). "Silchar, the Second Largest City of Assam: Know All About the City - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com.
  3. ^ . hbvdassam.gov.in. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Silchar". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Silchar Tourism: Places To Visit, Attractions, Villages/Tehsils in Silchar". www.delhimetrotimes.in. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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  7. ^ "APCC member for nomination of Gaurav Gogoi from Barak Valley". The Sentinel, Assam. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b Bahl, Ananya (5 January 2019). "Two millennia after the first Manipuri polo match, a women's team is ushering in a quiet revolution". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Barak Valley: Assam's appendix". The Statesman. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Air India Operates All-Women Crew Flightte From Kolkata". NDTV.com. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Disaster Management Plan" (PDF). Assam State Disaster Management Authority. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d Choudhury, Mohammad Nizamuddin (31 December 2011). "Influence of Persian culture in Assam: a case study of the Barak Valley". University. hdl:10603/114444. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e Bhattacharjee, Jayanta Bhusan. "Cachar under British Rule in North East India" (PDF). North-Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  14. ^ "History Book of Cooch Behar". coochbehar.nic.in. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b c Sen, Kalpana. "History of Religions in Barak Valley from 7th to 18th century CE". Shodhganga. hdl:10603/92851. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Kingdoms of South Asia - Indian Kingdoms of Assam". www.historyfiles.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b Choudhury, Joya. "Economic Contents of Decline of the Dimasa State (1773-1830)" (PDF). North-Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  18. ^ a b Bhattacharjee, Shatarupa. "Cachar under Raja Govinda Chandra 1813-1830". Shodhganga. hdl:10603/98695. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  19. ^ Dey, Tanima. "Making of Bengali Literary Culture in the 18th Century: The Case of Cachar and Tripura" (PDF). Journal of North East India Studies. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
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External links edit

  •   Silchar travel guide from Wikivoyage
  • Britannica article on Silchar

silchar, city, headquarters, cachar, district, state, assam, india, second, largest, city, north, eastern, region, after, guwahati, terms, area, population, also, administrative, capital, barak, valley, division, located, kilometres, south, east, guwahati, fou. Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam India 1 It is second largest city of North Eastern Region after Guwahati in terms of area population and GDP 2 It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division 3 4 It is located 343 kilometres 213 mi 185 nmi south east of Guwahati 5 It was founded by Captain Thomas Fisher in 1832 when he shifted the headquarters of Cachar to Janiganj in Silchar 6 It earned the moniker Island of Peace from Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India 7 Silchar is the site of the world s first polo club and the first competitive polo match 8 9 In 1985 an Air India flight from Kolkata to Silchar became the world s first all women crew flight 10 Silchar was a tea town and Cachar club was the meeting point for tea planters SilcharCityClockwise from top Nazirpatty Silchar city Silchar Airport NIT Silchar Goldighi Mall Silchar railway stationNickname The Island of Peace amp The City of LoveSilcharLocation in AssamShow map of AssamSilcharSilchar India Show map of IndiaCoordinates 24 49 N 92 48 E 24 82 N 92 8 E 24 82 92 8Country IndiaStateAssamDistrictCacharRegionBarak ValleyNo Of Wards30Established1838Government TypeMunicipality BodySilchar Municipal Board MayorNiharendra Narayan Tagore BJP MLADipayan Chakraborty BJP MPDr Rajdeep Roy BJP Deputy CommissionerRohan Kumar Jha IASArea Total26 88 km2 10 38 sq mi Elevation22 m 72 ft Population 2011 Total172 830 Density8 524 km2 22 080 sq mi DemonymSilcharianTime zoneUTC 5 30 IST PIN788001 788032 amp 788118Telephone code 91 0 3842Vehicle registrationAS 11Sex Ratio943 1000 ClimateCwaOfficial LanguageBengaliLiteracy Rate90 26 citation needed Lok Sabha ConstituencySilcharVidhan Sabha ConstituencySilcharWebsitewww wbr cachar wbr nic wbr in Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Medieval History 2 1 1 Tippera Koch and Dimasa rule 2 1 2 Bengali presence in the Kachari Kingdom 2 2 Colonial History 2 2 1 Burmese Invasion and the Treaty of Badarpur 2 2 2 Foundation of Silchar 2 2 3 Silchar under the British 2 2 4 Silchar Polo Club 2 3 Post independence history 2 3 1 Language movement in Barak Valley 3 Industries 4 Civic administration 5 Geography 6 Demographics 6 1 Religion 6 2 Languages 7 Climate 8 Educational Institutes 8 1 Technical institutions 8 2 Colleges 8 3 Medical college 8 4 Law colleges 9 Air transport 10 Politics 11 Notable people 12 See also 13 References 14 External linksEtymology editThe name Silchar comes from the two Sylheti words shil and char meaning rock and shore island respectively citation needed The city was founded in Janiganj Sadarghat area of the town near the Barak bank which was used as a river port 11 It is theorised that the locals started calling the area Shiler Chor meaning the rocky shore which got shortened to Silchar which was in turn adopted and popularised by the British 6 History editMedieval History edit Since Silchar was only founded after the introduction of the British in 1832 the pre colonial history of Silchar can be approximated through the history of the region and nearby areas Tippera Koch and Dimasa rule edit Cachar district whose headquarters is in Silchar was ruled by the Tippera dynasty in the 13th century 12 The initial capital of the kingdom was in Khalangsha in Cachar which has been identified as Rajghat village in Sonai 18 km from Silchar 13 The Tippera eventually moved eastwards to present day Tripura By the 16th century Cachar was a part of the Tripura kingdom The Tippera kings continued their rule in Barak Valley till mid 16th century when commander Chilarai of the Koch dynasty defeated the king of Tripura in 1562 in Longai 13 Longai became the boundary between the Tripura and Koch kingdoms Bir Chilarai also known as Shukladhwaja was the younger brother of the Koch king Naranarayan 14 Gosai Kamal also known as Kamal Narayan was another brother of Naranarayan He was made the governor of Barak Valley and ruled the area from Khaspur 20 km away from Silchar 12 Even after the collapse of the Koch kingdom elsewhere the Koch continued ruling Cachar from Khaspur 15 The area was ruled by seven more Koch kings after Gosai Kamal Udita Singha Dhir Singha Mehendra Singha Ranjit Singha Nara Singha and Bhim Singha 16 Bhim Singha the last Koch Raja of Khaspur only had a daughter called Kanchani who was married off to Prince Laksmichandra of the Kachari Dimasa kingdom of Maibang in 1745 15 Maibang is in present day hill district of Dima Hasao adjacent to Cachar Laksmichandra was made the governor of a part of the kingdom which is still named after him Lakhipur situated 25 km away from Silchar Laksmichandra became the Raja after Bhim Singha s death and eventually the two kingdoms were merged and present day Cachar came under Dimasa rule 13 Under the Dimasa kings Cachar witnessed attacks from the Mughals the Jaintias the Manipuri kings the Burmese and the Ahoms 13 17 Bengali presence in the Kachari Kingdom edit While the hill areas of the Kachari kingdom i e Dima Hasao had a Dimasa stronghold the plain areas i e present day Cachar had Bengalis constituting the majority 15 While Bengalis had been inhabiting Cachar before the Koch rule the Dimasa kings encouraged increased migration of Bengalis from nearby areas as priests cultivators and ministers at court 13 Eventually the formal conversion of Dimasa kings into Hinduism was carried out under Bengali Brahmins when Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Govinda Chandra performed the Hiranyagarbha ceremony in 1790 18 The kings in turn were great patrons of Bengali literature Bengali was the court language of the Kachari kings translation of Sanskrit texts into Bengali was carried out and the kings themselves composed prose and poetry in Bengali 19 In fact some of the only surviving written examples of the Bengali tradition in later 18th and early 19th century Cachar are the 27 letters written by Raja Krishna Chandra and Raja Gobinda Chandra to the East India Company 18 Colonial History edit Burmese Invasion and the Treaty of Badarpur edit After taking over parts of the Brahmaputra Valley and Manipur by 1823 the Burmese made forays into Cachar as well 20 The then Governor General of India Lord William Amherst saw the British occupation of Cachar as essential towards guarding the nearby British held district of Sylhet from the Burmese 21 On 6 March 1824 Gobinda Chandra signed the Treaty of Badarpur with the British who declared Cachar as a British protectorate and recognised Raja Gobinda Chandra as the ruler of Cachar 12 The Burmese army attacked Cachar in 1824 and the British declared war on them Eventually the two armies clashed in the Burmese stronghold of Dudpatil 15 km from Silchar and the British were able to drive the Burmese away to Manipur in 1825 21 The clash in Cachar was the start of the First Anglo Burmese War which ended with the Treaty of Yandabo wherein the Kingdom of Ava agreed to stop attacking Cachar amongst other areas 20 21 Gobinda Chandra was reinstated on the throne but had to pay an annual tribute of Rs 10 000 to the British as per the Treaty of Badarpur which adversely affected the post Burmese occupation Cachar s economy 17 Gobinda Chandra was assassinated without any heir on 24 April 1830 21 Though Gambhir Singh of Manipur who was suspected to be behind the assassination laid claim on Cachar it passed onto British hands as per the Treaty of Badarpur 21 22 Captain Thomas Fisher an army officer took charge of Cachar on 30 June 1830 with the headquarters in Cherrapunji On 14 August 1832 Cachar came under formal British occupation and in 1833 Silchar was made the headquarters 23 Cachar was part of the Bengal province from 1832 to 1874 when the district was transferred to the new Assam province 12 Foundation of Silchar edit There is no mention of any place called Silchar before the annexation of Cachar 6 Its constituent areas such as Tarapur Ambikapur Kanakpur and Rangpur have been mentioned as villages under Gobinda Chandra but not Silchar The earliest mention of Silchar was in 1835 in a report by R B Pamberton and since then it was mentioned in British official documents 6 Silchar was founded as the administrative headquarters of Cachar around the Janiganj Sadarghat area of the town 24 After shifting the district headquarters to Silchar in 1832 Captain Fisher started building Sadar Station in Janiganj 25 Janiganj existed prior to the British as part of a taluk under the Mirasdars of Ambikapur before being taken over by Gobinda Chandra In this respect Captain Thomas Fisher was the founder of Silchar 6 The Sadar Station and the District Court are still located in and around present day Janiganj According to a theorist Fisher s reasons for choosing Silchar as the administrative centre for Cachar included the strategic location of Silchar its accessibility from Sylhet availability of land and labour approach routes to neighbouring hills and prospects of riverine commerce 6 The establishment of the Sadar Station was followed by the construction of the treasury and a kutchery A jail and a police outpost for the Sylhet Light Infantry was constructed in Fatak Bazar while offices and residential quarters were made in Janiganj Parts of Janiganj were also allotted to officers and traders 6 John Edgars the successor to Captain Fisher added to the urban growth of the city He prepared a blueprint for the planned development of Silchar paved the roads and supervised the construction of office buildings residential quarters circuit house and the Deputy Commissioner s office 6 The latter two still survive Under him the jail was shifted from Fatak Bazar to its present site and traders from nearby areas in Bengal were encouraged to settle in the town Communication facilities were strengthened with the steamer service between Silchar and Kolkata in 1850 the establishment of the Head Post Office in 1852 and the introduction of telegraph in 1861 While Tarapur Malugram and Itkhola were part of the older settled areas newer localities such as Central Road Nazirpatty Premtola Tulapatty and Narshingtola emerged 6 Silchar under the British edit Due to the initiatives of Captain Fisher a medical centre was established in Silchar in 1835 which became a hospital in 1864 6 The tea industry in Cachar was growing by 1855 which lead to Silchar s emergence as a centre of trade and commerce 6 The town got its first English education institution in 1863 when Reverend Pyrse started the High Grammar School which later became the Government Boys Higher Secondary School 24 In 1864 a charitable dispensary was set up which later became the Civil Hospital 26 Silchar got its very first body for self governance In 1882 when a Town Committee was established under the Bengal Municipal Act 1876 26 Keating Library the first library in Silchar was established in 1876 and was renamed to Arun Chanda Granthagar after Independence 27 The earliest newspaper in Cachar called Silchar appeared in 1883 In 1891 the town became a municipality and in 1899 the Assam Bengal railways reached Silchar providing easier access to the Chittagong sea port 26 27 6 Silchar was connected to Kolkata through steamers as well 27 Silchar witnessed major flooding in June 1929 because of incessant rains and flooding of river Barak 28 N G A Edgley District and Sessions Judge of Sylhet and Cachar was present in Silchar during the floods and supervised the relief activities till 19 June when the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner returned from Shillong and Haflong where they were stranded Buildings in the town sustained major damages and the supply of filtered water was absent from 12 June to 5 July 28 By 1934 Silchar town had grown because of good connectivity through road river and rail 29 The population in the town had grown by 60 since 1901 and had access to water supply The town now had increased amenities including presses motor woks druggist shop oil mills ice factory 29 This led to the increase in revenue rates in 1934 by the then Deputy Commissioner P C Chatterjee 1935 saw the establishment of G C College as the Guardian College 30 In 1937 the Cachar Branch of the Kishan Sabha was established with Dwijen Sen as first General Secretary 29 In 1940 a conference of the Sabha was organised in Silchar to demand better conditions for farmers The Tebhaga movement of Bengal was organised in Cachar district as well by the Sabha where the local peasants participated In 1942 the Japanese forces dropped a bomb on Derby Tea Estate 20 km from the town and the Second World War led to the shortage of water electricity paper wood kerosene and clothes 6 Cycle rickshaws were introduced in Silchar the same year Silchar Polo Club edit In the 1850s the British observed exiled Manipuri princes in Silchar play Sagol Kangjei the predecessor to modern polo which was already popular in nearby Manipur 8 Captain Robert Stewart then assistant deputy commissioner participated in the game with the Manipuri players 31 In 1859 Stewart now the deputy commissioner and Major General Joseph Sherer assistant deputy commissioner established the world s first polo club in Silchar called the Silchar Kangjei Club 32 It was later renamed to Silchar Polo Club and survives today as the Cachar Club though no polo is played anymore 31 The first competitive modern form of polo was played in Silchar as well and the plaque for this feat still stands behind the local District Library 33 Post independence history edit After the Partition of Assam and Independence of India the town of Silchar saw a large increase of 10 5 in its population in the decade of 1941 51 34 35 This was largely because of the in migration of Hindu refugees from the adjacent district of Sylhet went to East Pakistan 34 The effect of the partition was felt administratively as well The Sessions Court of Sylhet had a Circuit Court present in Silchar till Independence 36 After that Silchar and the rest of Cachar came under the District amp Sessions Judge Jorhat till 1955 when the District amp Sessions Judge of Cachar District took over in Silchar S K Dutta became the first District amp Sessions Judge of Cachar District Judiciary 37 Apart from the refugees from East Pakistan Silchar also saw a lot of migration from neighbouring states in Northeast due to political disturbances which added to the population growth 6 The 1971 Bangladesh liberation war saw more in migration from then East Pakistan Language movement in Barak Valley edit Main article Bengali Language Movement Barak Valley nbsp Silchar Railway Station is popularly known as Bhasa Shahid Station Silchar saw one of the uprisings in favor of the Bengali language When the Assam government under Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha passed a circular to make Assamese mandatory Bengalis of Barak Valley protested On 19 May 1961 Assam police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Silchar railway station Eleven people listed below were killed Kanailal Niyogi Chandicharan Sutradhar Hitesh Biswas Satyendra Deb Kumud Ranjan Das Sunil Sarkar Tarani Debnath Sachindra Chandra Pal Birendra Sutradhar Sukamal Purakayastha Kamala BhattacharyaAfter the popular revolt the Assam government had to withdraw the circular and Bengali was ultimately given official status in the three districts of Barak Valley 38 39 Section 5 of Assam Act XVIII 1961 safeguards the use of Bengali 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 40 Industries editONGC has its base located at Srikona near Silchar which is known as Cachar Forward Base with ongoing operations in Tripura Mizoram and Barak Valley 41 Cachar Paper Mill CPM is the only major industrial undertaking in south Assam and the adjoining states of Mizoram Meghalaya and Tripura Despite a lack of infrastructure CPM has a continuous record of improvement in production During the year 2006 07 the mill recorded the highest annual production of 103 155 metric tonnes registering 103 capacity utilization which was 100 during the previous year 42 Silchar is a cluster centre for cane and bamboo artisans 43 Civic administration editSilchar Municipal Board is responsible for the municipal governance of the town 44 The municipal history of Silchar goes back to 1865 when the town was made a municipality under the Bengal District Town Improvement Act 1864 26 The municipality was composed to 8 European and 3 Indian members in addition to the chairperson and the vice chairperson 6 This was later withdrawn in 1868 In January 1882 Silchar got a Town Committee under the Bengal Municipal Act 1876 Mr Wright the Deputy Commissioner was the chairperson and Babu Jagat Bandhu Nag was elected by the committee members as the vice chairperson Silchar had been divided into four wards Janiganj Ambicapur Tarapur and Malugram but each ward had only 20 50 voters 26 The Town Committee had limited powers to impose taxes which constrained its funds and municipal activities Yet it carried out some important activities road construction creating tanks and cleaning older ones making public latrines removable of objectional houses such as distillery and slaughter houses out the town and draining of swamps to prevent diseases 26 In 1891 on recommendation of the Deputy Commissioner to the Assam Government Silchar was turned into a municipality 26 The first Municipal elections in Silchar were held in February 1900 but only 14 6 of the town was eligible to vote 12 members were elected who joined 2 ex officio members and 6 nominated members to form the municipality Of these 20 members 16 were Indians and 4 were Europeans 26 From 1882 to 1912 the Deputy commissioners were the chairpersons of the municipality The chairpersons began to be elected from 1913 onwards Kamini Kumar Chanda and Mahesh Chandra Dutta were the first elected chairperson and vice chairperson of the Silchar municipality 6 The municipality took decisions like construction and repair of roads buying medicines and taking public health preventive steps sanitation and setting prices to guard again inflation As the pro Independence sentiments grew the municipality started to participate as well reception plans for the Viceroy Chelmsford s visit to Silchar in 1919 were cancelled because of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre a resolution was passed after the death of Chittaranjan Das in 1925 and members of the municipality proposed a hartal to protest against the Simon Commission s visit to India in 1928 6 In 1930 the then chairperson Dhirendra Kumar Gupta and member Satindra Mohan Deb were arrested because of their participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement The municipality took out a resolution in July 1947 against including Cachar within Pakistan and sent a member to Kolkata to submit a memorandum in front of the Boundary Commission 6 By 1952 when the first post Independence municipal elections took place Madhurban was added to the ward list and the town now had 5 wards in total This period also saw the municipality giving over the control of the fire brigade to the state government and donation of land to establish educational institutes The area under the Silchar Municipal Board was 10 km2 in 1971 and 15 75 km2 in 1971 35 Till 1975 the municipality had elected members but from 1975 to 1979 a government Executive Officer was in charge 35 1975 to 1984 saw an elected body preside over the municipal board but from 1984 it has been run by state government appointees Geography editSilchar is located in the southernmost part of Assam 45 46 It is located between longitudes 92º24 E and 93º15 E and latitudes 24º22 N and 25º8 N East and is 35 meters above mean sea level The city is located in an alluvial flat plain with swamps streams and isolated small hills locally known as tilla marking its landscape Apart from Barak river the other major river is Ghagra river 11 Silchar is in Zone V on the Seismic Zonation Map and has witnessed major earthquakes 47 The earthquake in January 1869 was of magnitude of 7 5 on the Richter scale and caused heavy damage Other significant earthquakes include those in 1947 magnitude 7 7 1957 7 0 and 1984 6 0 48 Demographics editAccording to 2011 India census Silchar municipal area has a population of 172 830 49 The sex ratio of Silchar is 989 females per 1 000 males which is above the national ratio of 940 females per 1 000 males 50 Silchar municipal area has an average literacy rate of 82 33 higher than the national average of 74 04 with male literacy at 84 15 and female literacy at 80 49 51 52 Religion edit Religion in Silchar City 2011 Hinduism 86 31 Islam 12 17 Jainism 0 79 Christianity 0 59 Sikhism 0 04 Buddhism 0 02 Not stated 0 08 Hinduism is the majority religion in Silchar city with around 154 381 followers Islam is the second most popular religion in Silchar with approximately 21 759 followers Jainism is practiced by 1 408 people Christianity by 1 052 people Sikhism by 77 people and Buddhism by 39 people in Silchar city Around 145 people did not state their religion 53 Languages edit Languages spoken in Silchar city 2011 54 Bengali 91 77 Hindi 5 36 Manipuri 2 05 Bishnupriya Manipuri 0 72 Others 0 1 According to 2011 census Silchar city having a population of 172 830 persons of which Bengali is spoken by 158 606 people Hindi is spoken by 9 263 people Manipuri is spoken by 3 543 people Bishnupriya Manipuri is spoken by 1 244 people while Others constitute 0 1 of the city s population according to 2011 census 54 Climate editSilchar has a borderline tropical monsoon climate Koppen Am slightly too hot in the winter or cool season to qualify as a humid subtropical climate Cwa During this cool season the weather is generally warm and dry with cool to mild mornings however the wet season begins early as the monsoon moves into the region during April with the result that for seven months of the year Silchar has very hot and humid weather with heavy thunderstorms almost every afternoon until the middle of October when there is usually a brief period of hot and relatively dry weather before the cool season sets in during November citation needed Climate data for Silchar 1981 2010 extremes 1901 present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 31 0 87 8 35 0 95 0 37 8 100 0 39 4 102 9 39 4 102 9 37 9 100 2 39 8 103 6 39 0 102 2 38 3 100 9 36 7 98 1 35 0 95 0 31 7 89 1 39 8 103 6 Mean daily maximum C F 25 3 77 5 27 6 81 7 30 4 86 7 31 0 87 8 31 6 88 9 32 1 89 8 32 2 90 0 32 7 90 9 32 3 90 1 31 6 88 9 29 6 85 3 26 7 80 1 30 3 86 5 Daily mean C F 19 0 66 2 20 8 69 4 24 6 76 3 26 7 80 1 27 7 81 9 28 5 83 3 28 9 84 0 29 2 84 6 29 0 84 2 27 5 81 5 24 4 75 9 20 6 69 1 25 6 78 1 Mean daily minimum C F 12 2 54 0 14 2 57 6 17 9 64 2 21 1 70 0 23 1 73 6 24 9 76 8 25 3 77 5 25 4 77 7 25 0 77 0 23 0 73 4 18 6 65 5 13 9 57 0 20 4 68 7 Record low C F 5 6 42 1 5 0 41 0 8 3 46 9 13 2 55 8 15 6 60 1 19 3 66 7 19 0 66 2 19 4 66 9 16 8 62 2 15 6 60 1 10 6 51 1 6 1 43 0 5 0 41 0 Average rainfall mm inches 10 8 0 43 54 7 2 15 195 5 7 70 331 3 13 04 407 2 16 03 530 9 20 90 509 2 20 05 433 4 17 06 401 1 15 79 183 7 7 23 34 0 1 34 14 3 0 56 3 106 2 122 29 Average rainy days 1 0 3 0 8 2 13 5 16 0 20 5 22 1 18 8 16 4 7 5 2 0 0 9 129 8Average relative humidity at 17 30 IST 66 60 60 71 75 82 82 80 80 79 74 71 73Source 1 India Meteorological Department 55 56 57 Source 2 Tokyo Climate Center mean temperatures 1981 2010 58 Educational Institutes editSilchar is home to the main campus of Assam University a central university that imparts education in both the general and the professional streams The university which came into existence in 1994 has 17 schools and 35 post graduate departments It has 56 colleges affiliated to it 59 60 All the colleges in Silchar city are affiliated to the Assam University Apart from the university Silchar also has multiple colleges G C College established in 1935 Cachar College A K Chanda Law College Teacher s Training College established in 1960 Women s College in 1963 Silchar Medical College in 1968 National Institute of Technology Regional Engineering College in 1969 and Radha Madhab College in 1971 30 Technical institutions edit National Institute of Technology Silchar nbsp National Institute of Technology SilcharTriguna Sen School of Technology Assam University Silchar 61 Silchar Polytechnic 62 National Institute For Automotive Inspection Maintenance amp Training NIAIMT 63 Colleges edit Gurucharan College Cachar College Women s College Silchar Radhamadhab College Silchar College Lalit Jain Commerce College 64 Medical college edit Silchar Medical College and Hospital established in 1968 serves the southern region of Assam There is an Institute of Pharmacy attached to it 65 Government Dental College Silchar S M Dev Civil Hospital Silchar S M Dev Civil Hospital located in Silchar has a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1900 Cachar Cancer Hospital Silchar Cachar Cancer Hospital amp Research Centre was established and is administered by the Cachar Cancer Hospital Society a non profit NGO registered under the Societies Registration Act Law colleges edit A K Chanda Law College 66 at Tarapur Air transport editSilchar Airport IXS is located at Kumbhirgram about 22 km from Silchar It was built during World war II and the current ATC services are provided by Indian Air Force 67 Silchar has been selected as one of the towns for the construction of 51 low cost airports across the country 68 Silchar Airport is the 2nd busiest airport 70 civilian flights week in Assam and 4th busiest in North east after Guwahati Agartala and Imphal and handles approximately 200 000 PAX yearly 67 In December 1985 Air India operated the first all woman crew flight in the world from Kolkata to Silchar which was commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on a Fokker F 27 Friendship aircraft 69 Politics editSilchar is part of the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency and Silchar Vidhan Sabha constituency The current member of Parliament from Silchar is Dr Rajdeep Roy of the BJP and current MLA is Dipayan Chakraborty of the BJP 70 Notable people editArun Kumar Chanda Nihar Ranjan Laskar Nurul Huda Moinul Hoque Choudhury Ullaskar Dutta Santosh Mohan Dev Kabindra Purkayastha B B Bhattacharya Sushmita Dev Dilip Kumar Paul Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya Debojit Saha Bir Radha Sherpa Debattama Saha Rahul Singh Rajdeep GoalaSee also editSilchar Vidhan Sabha Barak Valley Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium Silchar railway station Silchar Airport Silchar Part X 2022 Silchar FloodsReferences edit Home cachar gov in Government Of Assam India Retrieved 28 March 2023 Desk Sentinel Digital 20 October 2021 Silchar the Second Largest City of Assam Know All About the City Sentinelassam www sentinelassam com Government of Assam Barak Valley Division hbvdassam gov in Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 Retrieved 25 June 2023 Silchar www britannica com Retrieved 28 March 2023 Silchar Tourism Places To Visit Attractions Villages Tehsils in Silchar www delhimetrotimes in Retrieved 28 March 2023 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Sultana Kismat Silchar Municipality A study of its origin and development 1882 1990 Shodhganga hdl 10603 92989 Retrieved 21 October 2020 APCC member for nomination of Gaurav Gogoi from Barak Valley The Sentinel Assam 6 June 2012 Retrieved 4 July 2012 a b Bahl Ananya 5 January 2019 Two millennia after the first Manipuri polo match a women s team is ushering in a quiet revolution The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 19 October 2020 Barak Valley Assam s appendix The Statesman 6 November 2017 Retrieved 19 October 2020 Air India Operates All Women Crew Flightte From Kolkata NDTV com Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Disaster Management Plan PDF Assam State Disaster Management Authority Retrieved 4 April 2020 a b c d Choudhury Mohammad Nizamuddin 31 December 2011 Influence of Persian culture in Assam a case study of the Barak Valley University hdl 10603 114444 Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b c d e Bhattacharjee Jayanta Bhusan Cachar under British Rule in North East India PDF North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 19 October 2020 History Book of Cooch Behar coochbehar nic in Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b c Sen Kalpana History of Religions in Barak Valley from 7th to 18th century CE Shodhganga hdl 10603 92851 Retrieved 19 October 2020 Kingdoms of South Asia Indian Kingdoms of Assam www historyfiles co uk Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Choudhury Joya Economic Contents of Decline of the Dimasa State 1773 1830 PDF North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Bhattacharjee Shatarupa Cachar under Raja Govinda Chandra 1813 1830 Shodhganga hdl 10603 98695 Retrieved 19 October 2020 Dey Tanima Making of Bengali Literary Culture in the 18th Century The Case of Cachar and Tripura PDF Journal of North East India Studies Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Myint U Thant Thant Myint U 26 March 2001 The Making of Modern Burma Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 79914 0 a b c d e Singh Leishangthem Chandramani British relations with Manipur 1824 1891 Shodhganga hdl 10603 67716 Retrieved 19 October 2020 Bhattacharjee Jayanta Bhusan The Nature of British Objection to the Trade Monopoly of the Raja of Cachar 1827 1830 PDF North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 20 October 2020 History of Cachar Cachar District Government Of Assam India cachar gov in Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Dey Ratna Silchar in the Making Site for the Muhammadan Hostel in the Govt Boys School PDF Archived PDF from the original on 9 July 2020 Retrieved 21 October 2020 Dey Ratna Origin of Silchar as the Sadar Station of Cachar PDF North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b c d e f g h Ghosh Sujit K Beginning of Silchar Municipality PDF Archived PDF from the original on 6 July 2020 Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b c Roy Monolina Nandy Contradictions and conciliation between nationalism regionalism and localism the political response of Barak Valley to the colonial rule 1874 1947 Shodhganga hdl 10603 93523 Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b Misra Monisankar 2017 When the Deluge Happened The Flood of 1929 in the Surma Barak Valley of Colonial Assam Historical Disaster Experiences Transcultural Research Heidelberg Studies on Asia and Europe in a Global Context Springer pp 379 398 doi 10 1007 978 3 319 49163 9 19 ISBN 978 3 319 49162 2 Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b c Nath Umasankar Cachar under the Deputy Commissioners 1867 1947 Shodhganga hdl 10603 92913 Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b Rymbai Brinda Bazeley A study of the development and problems of higher education in Barak valley and Karbi Anglong areas of Assam North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 21 October 2020 a b Desk Sentinel Digital 26 November 2017 Game of Polo revives British era memories Sentinelassam www sentinelassam com Retrieved 19 October 2020 Polo of Victorians www avictorian com Retrieved 19 October 2020 namami barak At Namami Barak rivals unite to recreate a bit of polo history Guwahati News The Times of India TNN 20 November 2017 Retrieved 19 October 2020 a b Chakrabarti Angana 27 September 2022 Sylhetis were separated by Partition Now Indo Bangladesh festival aims to bring them together a b c Dey N B Nayak Purusottam Silchar Municipal Board too weak to solve the problems of a growing town North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 21 October 2020 Karimganj District Judiciary karimganjjudiciary gov in Retrieved 21 October 2020 Cachar District Judiciary cacharjudiciary gov in Retrieved 21 October 2020 No alliance with BJP says AGP chief The Telegraph Calcutta 27 December 2003 Archived from the original on 14 September 2012 Retrieved 3 March 2014 Silchar rly station to be renamed soon The Times of India 9 June 2009 Retrieved 3 March 2014 Compulsory use of Bengali Language in Cachar Silchar News 24 July 2013 Retrieved 18 December 2016 ONGC ONGC Offices Retrieved 8 June 2015 Hindpaper com Mills Hindpaper in Retrieved 11 August 2022 Mishra S K Recent Trend of Village and Small Enterprise Sector Exploring and Exploiting its Opportunities in the North Eastern Region of India touching upon its Profile and Barriers North Eastern Hill University Institutional Repository Retrieved 21 October 2020 New website of Silchar Municipal Board launched The Assam Tribune Online Retrieved 9 April 2020 Location of Silchar Wikimapia Foundation Wikimapia Retrieved 3 March 2014 Silchar India Page Falling Rain Genomics Inc Retrieved 3 March 2014 District Disaster Management Authority Cachar PDF Cachar District Authority Retrieved 9 April 2020 Knowledge Management Portal PDF Assam State Disaster Management Authority Retrieved 9 April 2020 Census of India 2011 Govt of India Government of India Retrieved 16 January 2020 Census of India 2011 PDF Retrieved 16 January 2020 Census of India 2011 Retrieved 16 January 2020 Census of India 2011 PDF www census2011 co in Retrieved 16 January 2020 Silchar Religion Data census 2011 a b C 16 City Population by mother tongue Silchar Census India Retrieved 26 May 2023 Station Dibrugarh Mohanbari A Climatological Table 1981 2010 PDF Climatological Normals 1981 2010 India Meteorological Department January 2015 pp 717 718 Archived from the original PDF on 5 February 2020 Retrieved 6 February 2020 Extremes of Temperature amp Rainfall for Indian Stations Up to 2012 PDF India Meteorological Department December 2016 p M29 Archived from the original PDF on 5 February 2020 Retrieved 6 February 2020 Silchar Climatological Table 1971 2000 India Meteorological Department Retrieved 6 February 2020 Normals Data Silchar India Latitude 24 75 N Longitude 92 80 E Height 20 m Japan Meteorological Agency Archived from the original on 29 February 2020 Retrieved 29 February 2020 Assam University Homepage Assam University Retrieved 20 February 2014 Statistical Data Fact Sheet of AUS PDF Assam University Retrieved 20 February 2014 TSSOT Retrieved 8 June 2015 Home silcharpolytechnic in NIAIMT Silchar Retrieved 8 June 2015 Meeting PDF Kahilipara 30 May 2014 Archived from the original PDF on 16 August 2014 Retrieved 26 June 2023 Silchar Medical College Home Page Silchar Medical College Retrieved 20 February 2014 A K Chanda Law College Retrieved 8 June 2015 a b Silchar Airport Airports Authority Of India 4 October 2016 Retrieved 11 August 2022 51 new low cost airports to be set up PMO Daily News amp Analysis 28 June 2013 Retrieved 3 March 2014 Nandi Jayashree 8 March 2011 Capt V Roopa Flying high and back The Times of India Archived from the original on 5 November 2011 Retrieved 8 June 2015 General Elections 2019 Election Commission of India 1 June 2019 Retrieved 1 June 2019 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silchar nbsp Silchar travel guide from Wikivoyage Britannica article on Silchar Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Silchar amp oldid 1199508482, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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