CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Cachar at praaant a south-eastern d is t r i c t o f Assail,
is situated between longitudes 92°14* E to 93?16( E and
la titu d e s 24°8* N to 2S°8' N covering an area o f 5102 square
kilom eters. I t is bounded on the north by the North Cachar
H i l l D is t r i c t of Assam, Dayantia H i l l D is t r i c t of Meghalaya;
on the east by the Manipur state; on the south by the State
of Mizoram and on the west by T rip u ra and S ylh st D is t r i c t
(Bangladesh). The North Cachar H i l l D is t r i c t in the north was
a subdivision of the Cachar D is t r ic t t i l l 1953. Karimganj now
a d i s t r i c t o f Assam was a subdivision in Cachar D i s t r i c t fron
1947 t i l l 1983. Before the annexation o f Cachar by the B ritis h
in 1830L, the North Cachar H i l l D i s t r i c t , Hojni-Oabaka areas of
Nowgong D is t r i c t of Assam and 3 i r i F ro n tie r area o f Manipur
were known as Heramba kingdom.^
The area mentioned above was named as Kachar by the
people of Sylhet from very e a rly times. According to S ir EdJard
G a it author of the A H isto ry o f Assam, the d is t r i c t o f Cachar
e ith e r might have got it s name from the Sanskrit word "Khachar"
meaning a "bordering re g io n ", or a fte r the name of the p rin cip a l
trib e Kacharis inh a biting the area.
2
But Padmanath Vidyavinode
in Mis C r it ic a l Study o f Mr. Galt*s H is to ry o f Assam observed
1. Bhattacharjea, 3 .B .; Cachar Under B ritis h Rule in N o rth East In d ia . New D e lh i, 19^7, p. 1.
2. G a it, E .A .; A H is to ry o f Assam. C a lcu tta , 1926, p . 248.
2
"••••••••••the name has been given to the d i s t r i c t by the
Bengalees o f S ylhet, because i t i s derived from Sanskrit
•Kachchha* which means f a p la in near mountain1, o r a p lace
near w a ter." Another sch olar Shri Achyut Char an Choudhury has
tr ie d to prove both h is t o r i c a ll y and e th n o lo g ica lly that the
Oimaeae were also c a lle d Kacharie from the time, the v a lle y
o f Cachar formed a part o f th eir kingdom.^ (Pr^ 3,B* Bhatta­
ch a rje e contends that ever sin ce Khaspur became the ca p ita l
o f the Heramba, the Kingdom wae c a lle d by the people o f Sylhet
as Cachar and the ru lin g Dimasa tr ib e as "K ach aris", Even the
Bengalees liv in g in Cachar were known as Kacharis* Many h is t o ­
rians agree that £arak v a lle y was always known to the Bengalees
as Cachar and the ru lin g race as K acharis. In B ritish records
the ru lin g race appeared as Kacharis even before i t s annexation
by the B ritish East India Company,*
P hysical background
Cachar con sisted o f two broad d iv is io n s — Cachar p lain s
and North Cachar H ills , Cachar p la in s was known as South Cachar.
I t con sisted o f S ilch a r and Hailakandi S u b -d iv ision s.
3. Choudhury, A .C.; S rlh a tter I t l b r i t t a . C alcutta, 1317, B .S .,
pp. 96-97.
A. According to Pandit Raj Rohan Nath in two ’ Sanads* u ritten
in two p ieces o f coarse brown paper found in the possession
o f one Bhogesuar Lalung o f Nahorgaon near Doboka in the
Nowgo ng D is t r ic t a sea l o f the King o f " Z i l l a Kacheh-ir"
dated 1734 Saka (1812 A.D.) were to be seen. Though the
Sanads bear no name o f the King Shri Nath believed that
the se a l was engraved in 1812 and the Sanads were issued
in 1814 by Tularam. — See also Bhattacharjee, 3 .B .; n 1,
pp, 14-15.
Cachar or more properly the valley of Barak '.'is an
"extension of Gangetic Bengal” from geographical, h isto ric a l
and othnic points o f view.
e
I t i s a plain region or a valley
formed by the river Barak which i s also known as burma beyond
Karinganj; the valley i s occasionally dotted with the h i lls
which are commonly known as t i l as. The plains section or the
extensive valley o f Cachar lie s to the south o f the Barail
range. I t has an average elevation o f about 75 metres and i s
intersected by two transverse h i l l s , the Rengti pahar and
T ila in , which enclose a low marshy tr a c t known as Chatla Haor
in the eastern part o f the valley.
The Barak with i t s trib u tarie s Sonai, Dhaleswari
and Katakhal runs throughout from e ast to west. The to fal
length of the Barak course within Cachar i s about 209,17 k ilo ­
meters, i t flows within 137,16 met^p to 182,88 metres wide
and navigable for native boats o f large tonnage cap acity ,56
The
Oarak and i t s trib u ta rie s dry up during winter but with tht
rains they swelljup and overflow their banks,^ Heavy floods
and
inundations are, therefore, (ar^) frequent occurrences in Cachar
which bring untold su fferin gs to the people and their crops
and c a ttle . The presence o f th is extensive water surface
5, Ib id ,, p, 2,
6, Hunter, U.U.; S t a t is t i c a l Account o f Assam. Uol, I I ,
London, 1879, p« 36b.
on the Caste
7* Pemberton, R.B.;
fl.f
B ritish India. Calcutta, 1135, pp.
4
bordered by fo r e s ts cause excessive p re c ip ita tio n * Extreme
humidity and h eaviest r a in fa ll are two c h a r a c t e r is tic s o f the
clim ate o f Cachar.
The f e r t i l i t y o f s o i l has been a point
o f a ttr a c tio n to the people from neighbouring region s from
e a rly tim es. Notwithstanding, Cachar on the eve o f B ritish
annexation had a scanty population which might have been due
to m isrule, Manipuri and Burmese invasions*
H i s t o r i c a l background
I t has already been stated that the picturesque
v a lle y o f the Barak i s a natural continuation o f the vast
Bengal p la in s and was included in the various kingdoms that
had emerged during the p r e h is to r ic and ea rly h is t o r ic a l
p eriod s lik e Gauda, Vanga and Samatata*
Q
Due to the absence
o f a rch a eolog ica l sou rce, the h isto ry o f ancient Cachar had
to be recon stitu ted on the basis o f lit e r a r y evidence o f the
Puranas which may be accepted as source o f h is to r y . During the
rule o f the Guptas^Cachar V alley, Sylhet and Chittagong area
was known as Pratvanta Desha. ^
Kamakhva Tantra. a Sanskrit
lit e r a r y work, p oin ts ou t that Cachar was integrated in the
Sapta-Khanda Kamrupa, ^
The Varaha-Purana and Vavu«-Purana
8 , A llen , B ,C.; Assam D is t r ic t G azetteer, V ol. 1 (C a ch sr),
Allahabad, 1905, pp, 13-14,
9, flazumdar, R.C,$ H istory o f Ancient Benoal. C alcu tta, p* 1.
10, Guha, U ,C .; Cacharer I t l b r l t t a . Gauhati, 1971, p* 20,
11. I b i d ., p . 1,
5
referred to Barak as Barbakra o r commonly known ae Punvotova
12
o r holy r iv e r .
The Vo o ln l-T a n tra and Kallka-Purana mention
13
about the Bhubaneswar temple,
fo r some references in the
Mahabharata. the Kacharis claim th e ir descent from Ghototkach,
son o f Bhima.
However, systematic h is to ry o f Cachar can be traced
from seventh century A.D. From seventh to tenth centuries the
region might hsve been included in the Harikela kingdom which
comprised Sylhet and the adjacent t e r r it o r ie s ,^ * In the
th irte e n th century the Barak v a lle y was ruled by the T r ip u r is ,
15
a section o f the Bodos,
In the beginning o f the sixteenth
century, we fin d an independent T rip u ra state established in
Cachar.16
The Koch p r in c ip a lity in Cachar that existed from
sixteenth to the eighteenth century A ,0 , is an example of
Medieval P o lity Formation by Hinduised t r ib a l groups. The
Koches were a Hinduised brand1
) of the Bodo fam ily o f the T ib e te 17
Burman race o f North-Cast In d ia ,
They emerged ae the ruling
12. I b i d . , p. 5.
13. I b i d . , p. 8 ,
14. Mazumdar, R .C ., n 9 , pp. 79-81, also Bhattacharjee, 3 .B .,
n 5, p . 4.
15. tn d le , S ,; The Kacharis. London, 1911, p. 14.
16. Choudhury, A .C ., n 3, p , 205.
17. Bhattacharjee, 3 .B .; "The Koch P r in c ip a lity in Cachar :
A Study o f Medieval P o lity Formation in N orth-East In d ia ",
Proceedings o f the N .E .I .H .A ., Second session, Oibrugarh,
1981, p . 104-5.
6
race o f the Koch Behar state which was founded by Biaua Singho
in the beginning o f the sixteenth centu ry. However, Sukladvaj,
aore p opularly known as C h ila r a i, led eucceeeful campaigns
against the Ahom, Oimaaa, 3ayantia and other north-eastern
sta te s. I t was during h ia campaign th a t C h ila ra i la id the foun­
dation o f a petty Koch p r in c ip a lity in the Barak V alle y by
conquest.*®
Although no trustw orthy records e x is t concerning the
period o f Kachari supremacy, i t is known that the Kachari Rajas
f i r s t ruled in the h i l l y region, now occupied by the Nagaa to
the north o f Barail range. Th e ir c a p ita l was f i r s t at Dimapur,
where ru in s o f brick b u ildings are s t i l l in existence amidst
19
dense ju n g le .
Subsequently due to the aggressions o f the
Ahoms they were compelled to remove southward to Plaibong, in
a v a lle y between two spurs o f the B a ra il range in the North
Cachar H i l l s . But th e ir c a p ita l at Haibong was exposed to the
aggressions o f the Koches under C h ila ra i in the middle o f the
sixteenth century. He was the brother and general o f the powerful
Koch monarch Naranarayana. The Koch general l e f t a colony of
people in the Cachar d is t r i c t who were known ae Dehanar
T ill
the beginning o f the seventeenth century very l i t t l e ia known
of the Kachari h is to ry but during th is period they extended
18. Ib id .
19. C a it, C .A ., n 2, p . 2A9.
20. I b i d . , p. 251.
7
th eir ru le upto the p la in s o f Cachar* Khaspur near S ilch ar
became the seat o f the Kachari c a p ita l* tv er since Khaspur
became the c ap ita l o f Heramba, the kingdom was c a lle d by the
people o f Sylhet as *Cachar* and the ru lin g Dimasa tr ib e as
Kacharis* In the 17th century the Heramba kingdom attained
p ris tin e glory*
The Kachari kings had th eir c o n flic ts with the
3ayantiaa and the Ahoma* The Raja o f Cachar had to cede a por­
tion o f h is te rrit o ry upto the r iv e r 3amuna to the Ahoms which
once formed a p art o f the Heramba Government* From the la t t e r
part o f the eighteenth century t i l l the beginning o f the nine­
teenth century, the Ahom kingdom i t s e l f uaa in trouble due to
in tern al troubles and external dangers a risin g out o f noamaria
re v o lts and Burmese invasions*
The subsequent h istory o f Cachar t i l l i t s annexation
by the B ritis h in 1832 i s a continuous rmcord o f s t r i f e and
m isrule emanating from in tern al as w e ll as external forces*
Raja Krishna Chandra ascended the throne in 1773 and due to
h is in d iffe re n c e s to the state a f f a i r s , the kingdom was s u b jected to a se rie s o f in te rn a l and external aggressions*
21
There was a heavy drain in the state resources and m ilita ry
organ isation was also on the point o f collap se* The Raja sought
help o f the B ritish Cast In dia Company and cu ltivated frie n d ly
21* Bhnttacharjee, 3*B*, n 1, p* 20.
e
relatione..w ith i t which had exposed Cachar to the c o lo n ia l
specu lation o f the B r itis h . Due to the su ccessive aggressions
o f a fa n a tic named Age Mohammad Reza and a d isp laced army
personnel named Kalyan Singh, the Raja in quest o f personal
se cu rity l e f t the kingdom tem porarily,
22
Krishna Chandra a fte r a long reign died in 1813
leaving no h eir to the throne. He was th erefore succeeded by
h is younger brother Gobinds Chandra who had "begun h ie career
in the fa ce o f a h ost o f problems, both external and in te r n a l,"
Before long he allowed h im self "to be entangled in the ueb o f
in trig u e th at had e n circ le d the throne o f Manipur", In the
beginning o f the nineteenth century, there follow ed a scramble
fo r su ccession between three Manipuri brothers Mar j i t , Chaurjit
and Gambhir, During and immediately b efore the Anglo-Burmese
War (1824-26) Cachar became the arena o f a stru ggle between
the three aforesa id Manipuri p rin ces who had been driven ou t
24
from Manipur by the Burmese,
The Manipuri invaders had dislodged Gobinda Chandra;
M arjit took possession o f the Hailakandi v a lle y and Gambhir
Singh the r e s t o f Cachar, To add to the m isfortunes o f Gobinda
Chandra one o f h is Kachari O ffic e r s Kohi Dan (Kohi Das) by
25
name se t up a p r in c ip a lity o f h is own.
The former got him
22,
23,
24,
25,
Bhattacharjee, 3 .B ,, n 1, pp, 21-22,
I b i d ,, p , 25,
I b id . — ^>.7
G ait, C .A ., n 2, p . 25T.
9
capturtfd and put to death, whereupon h ia son Tularam in the
wake o f the Burmese invasion join ed the invaders to avenge
h is fa th e r’ s murder* Tularam'e success against the Raja
deprived the la tt e r o f h is northern h il ls *
Meanwhile, the Burmese advanced from Manipur towards
Cachar and Assam and the B ritish declared war against the
Burmese* By the Treaty o f Badarpur (1824) signed with Gobinda
Chandra, Cachar became a p rotected trib u ta ry sta te and after
the conclu sion o f the Anglo-Burmese War Govinda Chandra was
rein sta ted in h is throne in 1826* In 1829 ^Mrjb David S c o tt,
Agent to the Governor-General, North-Cast F ron tier, induced
Gobinda Chandra to concede to Tularam the h i l l y p ortion o f h is
te r r ito r y *
2fi
The Raja, however, was n ot destined to ru le for
27
long and he was assassinated in A p r il, 1830*
Due to the absence o f any le g a l h eir to the vacant
throne, the B ritish Cast India Company which had i t s covetous
eyes on Cachar annexed i t by means o f a proclamation in August
1832 to i t s dominion, r e sto rin g the Paroana o f Dharampur to
tower Assam and d ivid in g the remaining p ortion in to North and
South Cachar.
Tularam was allowed to re ta in p ossession o f
the h i l l y areas that had been assigned to him by the la te Raja.
Thus Cachar u ltim ately succumbed to the im p e r ia lis tic designs
o f the B ritish Company*
26. I b i d ., p . 304*
27* Ib id * , p . 305*
28* Ibid*
10
T h e Suprem e G ov ern m en t a f t e r
a p p o in te d in
C a c h a r 'e a n n e x a t io n
1833 L i e u t e n a n t T , F i s h e r a s S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f
C a ch a r w it h h e a d q u a r t e r s a t D u d p a t i l * He w as t o e x e r c i s e
pow ers o f
a M a g is tr a te , C o l le c t o r
and a C i v i l Oudge u n d er t h e
s u p e r v i s i o n o f t h e A g e n t t o t h e G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l* O v er
above t h e s e , he uaa t o e x e r c i s e p o l i t i c a l
h ill
th e
and
a u th o r it y o v e r
t r i b e s o n t h e C a ch a r f r o n t i e r o n b e h a l f o f
th e
t h e G overn m en t
of
In d ia *
T he S u p e r i n t e n d e n t u a s f i r s t u n d e r t h e C o m m issio n e r
of
A ssam , b u t a f t e r u a r d s p l a c e d u n d e r t h e s u p e r v i s i o n o f
th e
C o m m is s io n e r o f D a c c a *
2 9 * B e n g a l P o l i t i c a l C o n s u l t a t i o n s , 30 May 1 8 3 3 , No* 1 0 0 ,
B h a t ta c h a r je e , 3 . B . , n 1 , p . 7 2 .
* Thom as F is h e r ( 1 7 7 2 - 1 8 3 6 ) w as t h e s o n o f T . F i s h e r s t a r t e d
h i s c a r e e r a s a c l e r k o f th e L a s t I n d i a Company i n 1786*
Hs u a s a p p o in t e d S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f S u r v e y , S y l h e t w h ich
p o s i t i o n h e h e l d t i l l 1830 when h e w a s mads " i n - c h a r g e o f
C a ch a r a f f a i r s ' 1*
( S e e B u c k la n d , C . t . j D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d ia n B io g r a p h y ,
1937, p , 1 4 6 ).
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