Barak Valley - History

History

Cachar was ruled by the Kachari Kingdom for centuries up to 1832 when British annexed the area under British-India. The mention of this mighty Hirimba Kingdom is available in the epic 'Mahabharatha'.

However, the dominance of Mughal Empire in Karimganj and Hailakandi finally ended with the introduction of British rule in Bengal. The undivided Cachar district (which also includes presently known as Hailakandi district) was included to Assam by British Rulers in 1832. The head quarter of the district was Silchar. The British Companies established a very large number of Tea Gardens (total 157) in the area and Silchar emerged as a very important center in this part of the country. All modern facilities like Electricity and distribution of purified water to each household through pipe-line, schools and hospitals were established in early twentieth century.

In 1947 when plebiscite held in Sylhet, the district got divided into two, the eastern part of Sylhet which is known as Karimganj remained with India whereas the other part fell under Bangladesh. Geographically the region is surrounded by hills from all three sides except its western plain boundary with Bangladesh. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash says, "South Assam or Barak Valley is the extension of greater Surma/Meghna Valley of Bengal' in all the way from culture to geography.