Cooch Behar district

{{main| Etymology of Cooch Behar}}

The name Cooch Behar is derived from two words—Cooch, a corrupted form of the word Koch, the name of the Koch tribes, and the word behar is derived from vihara meaning land, Koch Behar means land of the Koches.{{cite book |last= Pal |first= Dr. Nripendra Nath |title= Itikathai Cooch Behar (A brief history of Cooch Behar) |year=2000 |publisher=Anima Prakashani |location=Kolkata | pages = 11–12}}The name Cooch Behar is a compound of two words: Cooch and Behar. Cooch is a corrupted form of Coch or Koch, the name of an ethnic group of people inhabiting largely in vast tract of land to the north-east of Bengal. Behar or more properly Vihara denotes abode or sport. Cooch Behar means, therefore, the abode or land of the Koches. Ray, B.. [http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/5164/1/22881_1961_COO.pdf CENSUS 1961 WEST BENGAL]. GOVERNMENT PRINTING, WEST BENGAL, 1961, p.20

File:Shri Sir Nripendra Narayan, Maharaja of Cooch Behar.jpg of Cooch Bihar]]

{{See also|Kamarupa Kingdom|Kamata kingdom|Koch dynasty}}

File:Gosanimari Rajpat at Gosanimari village in Coochbihar district 31.jpg archaeological site former capital of Kamata kingdom]]

Cooch Behar formed part of the Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam from the 4th to the 12th centuries. In the 12th century, the area became a part of the Kamata Kingdom, first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The Khens were an indigenous tribe, and they ruled till about 1498 CE, when they fell to Alauddin Hussain Shah, the independent Pathan Sultan of Gour. The new invaders fought with the local Bhuyan chieftains and the Ahom king Suhungmung and lost control of the region. During this time, the Koch tribe became very powerful and proclaimed itself Kamateshwar (Lord of Kamata) and established the Koch dynasty.

The first important Koch ruler was Biswa Singha, who came to power in 1515.{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ECxUOSudNGYC|last=Nath |first=D. |title=History of the Koch Kingdom, C. 1515-1615 |pages=5–6|publisher=Mittal Publications|year= 1989|isbn=8170991099}} Under his son, Nara Narayan, the Kamata Kingdom reached its zenith.{{cite web |url=http://coochbehar.gov.in/HTMfiles/royal_history.html |title=Royal History of Cooch Behar |access-date=22 October 2006}} Nara Narayan's younger brother, Shukladhwaj (Chilarai), was a noted military general who undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom. He became governor of its eastern portion.

After Chilarai's death, his son Raghudev became governor of this portion. Since Nara Narayan did not have a son, Raghudev was seen as the heir apparent. However, a late child of Nara Narayan removed Raghudev's claim to the throne. To placate him, Nara Narayan had to anoint Raghudev as a vassal chief of the portion of the kingdom east of the Sankosh river. This area came to be known as Koch Hajo. After the death of Nara Narayan in 1584, Raghudev declared independence. The kingdom ruled by the son of Nara Narayan, Lakshmi Narayan, came to be known as Cooch Behar. The division of the Kamata Kingdom into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo was permanent. Koch Behar aligned itself with the Mughal Empire and finally joined the India as a part of the West Bengal, whereas remnants of the Koch Hajo rulers aligned themselves with the Ahom kingdom and the region became a part of Assam.

As the early capital of the Koch Kingdom, Cooch Behar's location was not static and became stable only when shifted to Cooch Behar town. Maharaja Rup Narayan, on the advice of an unknown saint, transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati (now called Cooch Behar town) on the banks of the Torsa river between 1693 and 1714. The capital has always been in or near its present location since then.

In 1661 CE, Maharaja Pran Narayan planned to expand his kingdom. However, Mir Jumla, the subedar of Bengal under the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb, attacked Cooch Behar and conquered the territory, meeting almost no resistance.{{cite book |last= Pal |first=Dr. Nripendra Nath |title= Itikathai Cooch Behar (A brief history of Cooch Behar) |year=2000 |publisher=Anima Prakashani |location=Kolkata | page = 68}} The town of Cooch Behar was subsequently named Alamgirnagar.{{cite book |last=Bhattacharyya |first=PK |year=2012 |chapter=Kamata-Koch Behar |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Kamata-Koch_Behar |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh}} Maharaja Pran Narayan regained his kingdom within a few days.

Image:1907-bengal-sikkim3.jpg

{{main|Cooch Behar State}}

In 1772–1773, the king of Bhutan attacked and captured Cooch Behar. To expel the Bhutanese, the kingdom of Cooch Behar signed a defence treaty with the British East India Company on 5 April 1773. After expelling the Bhutanese, Cooch Behar became a princely kingdom under the protection of British East India company.{{cite book |last= Pal |first=Dr. Nripendra Nath |title= Itikathai Cooch Behar (A brief history of Cooch Behar) |year=2000 |publisher=Anima Prakashani |location=Kolkata | page = 73}}

The Victor Jubilee Palace was based on Buckingham Palace and built in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan. In 1878, the maharaja married the daughter of Brahmo preacher Keshab Chandra Sen. This union led to a renaissance in Cooch Behar state.{{cite book |last= Pal |first=Dr. Nripendra Nath |title= Itikathai Cooch Behar (A brief history of Cooch Behar) |year=2000 |publisher=Anima Prakashani |location=Kolkata | page = 75}} Maharaja Nripendra Narayan is known as the architect of modern Cooch Behar town.{{cite web |url=http://coochbehar.gov.in/Htmfiles/history_book5.html|title=Royal History of Cooch Behar 5 |access-date=22 October 2006}}

Under an agreement between the kings of Cooch Behar and the Indian Government at the end of British rule, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred full authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India, effective 12 September 1949.{{cite web|url=http://coochbehar.gov.in/HTMfiles/brief_history.html|title=Brief Royal History of Cooch Behar 5|access-date=22 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724080258/http://www.coochbehar.gov.in/Htmfiles/brief_history.html|archive-date=24 July 2011|url-status=dead}} Eventually, Cooch Bihar became part of the state of West Bengal on 19 January 1950, with Cooch Behar town as its headquarters.

File:Cooch-behar-enclaves-schematisch.png

Cooch Behar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal. Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in the north, Dhubri and Kokrajhar district of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal.

A geopolitical curiosity was that there were 92 Bangladeshi exclaves, with a total area of 47.7 km² in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there were 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km². These were part of the high stake card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur.{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1877200-4,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419030927/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1877200-4,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 April 2011 |magazine=Time |title=A Great Divide |date=5 February 2009}}

Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves were within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves were within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave was Balapara Khagrabari which surrounded a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounded an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari, of less than one hectare (link to external map here [http://geosite.jankrogh.com/enklaver/CoochBehar_Annotated.jpg]). But all this has ended in the historic India-Bangladesh land agreement. See Indo-Bangladesh enclaves.

Cooch Behar is a flat region with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers of the district flow. Most of the highland areas are in the Sitalkuchi region and most of the low-lying lands lie in Dinhata region.

The rivers in the district of Cooch Behar generally flow from northwest to southeast. Seven rivers that cut through the district are the Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsha, Kaljani, Raidak, Sankosh (Gadadhar) and Ghargharia.

In 1976 Cooch Behar district became home to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (now Jaldapara National Park), which has an area of {{convert|217|km2|mi2|abbr=on|1}}.{{cite web|author=Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment |title=Protected areas: Sikkim |url=http://oldwww.wii.gov.in/envis/envis_pa_network/index.htm |access-date=25 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823163836/http://oldwww.wii.gov.in/envis/envis_pa_network/index.htm |archive-date=23 August 2011}} It shares the park with Alipurduar district.

{{historical populations|11=1901|12=5,65,116|13=1911|14=5,91,012|15=1921|16=5,90,599|17=1931|18=5,89,053|19=1941|20=6,38,703|21=1951|22=6,68,949|23=1961|24=10,19,806|25=1971|26=14,14,183|27=1981|28=17,71,643|29=1991|30=21,71,145|31=2001|32=24,79,155|33=2011|34=28,19,086|percentages=pagr|footnote=source:[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901]|align=center}}

According to the 2011 census Cooch Behar district has a population of 2,819,086,{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=District Census Handbook: Cooch Behar |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/1332/download/4342/DH_2011_1903_PART_A_DCHB_KOCH_BIHAR.pdf |website=censusindia.gov.in |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India}} roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica.{{cite web |author=US Directorate of Intelligence |title=Country Comparison:Population |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004507/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2007 |access-date=1 October 2011 |quote=Jamaica 2,868,380 July 2011 est}} This gives it a ranking of 136th in India (out of a total of 739). The district has a population density of {{convert| 833 |PD/sqkm|PD/sqmi}}. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 13.86%. Koch Bihar has a sex ratio of 942 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.49%. 10.27% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1,414,336 (50.17%) and 18,125 (0.64%) of the population respectively. Cooch Behar is the only district in India where Scheduled Castes make up a majority of the population.{{cite web |title=Census of India : Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Population |url=https://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_Glance/scst.aspx |website=www.censusindia.gov.in |access-date=5 February 2021}}

{{bar box

|title=Religions in Cooch Behar district (2011)

|titlebar=#Fcd116

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|Hinduism|darkorange|74.05}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|25.54}}

{{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|0.41}}

}}

Hinduism is the majority religion. Islam is the minority religion, and is mainly rural. Muslims are a significant minority in Dinhata I (36.98%), Dinhata II (36.68%) and Sitalkuchi (35.31%) blocks.

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Languages of Cooch Behar district (2011)

|label1 = Bengali |value1 = 94.79 |color1 = orchid

|label2 = 'Other' Bengali |value2 = 2.01 |color2 = mediumpurple

|label3 = Rajbongshi |value3 = 1.31 |color3 = plum

|label4 = Hindi |value4 = 1.17 |color4 = orange

|label5 = Others |value5 = 0.72 |color5 = grey

}}

At the time of the 2011 census, 94.79% of the population spoke Bengali, 1.31% Rajbongshi and 1.17% Hindi as their first language. 2.01% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Bengali.{{Cite web |title=Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: West Bengal |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10226/download/13338/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1900.XLSX |website=www.censusindia.gov.in |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India}}

The district of Cooch Behar comprises five sub-divisions:

• Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision
• Dinhata subdivision
• Mathabhanga subdivision
• Tufanganj subdivision
• Mekhliganj subdivision

As per order of the 2008 Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district is divided into 9 assembly constituencies:{{cite web

| url = http://www.wbgov.com/e-gov/English/DELIMITATION.pdf | title = Press Note, Delimitation Commission| access-date = 16 November 2008 | work = Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal| publisher =Delimitation Commission}}

Mekliganj, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency is part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district. Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains six assembly segments from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts.

• Baramaricha Delwar Hossain (X+2) High School
• Suniti Academy

• Bhetaguri
• Dhalpal
• Maheshwar
• Sajerpar Ghoramara

Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 2 January 2024 (valid until 11 March 2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.{{cite news |title=Bengal's own Gobindabhog and Tulaipanji soon to get a distinct stand on world map |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/how-new-grading-rules-for-non-basmati-rice-varieties-can-put-gobindabhog-on-world-map-9091192/ |access-date=23 November 2024 |work=The Indian Express |date=2 January 2024 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Khush |first1=Gurdev S. |last2=Hettel |first2=Gene |last3=Rola |first3=Tess |title=Rice Genetics III: Proceedings of the Third International Rice Genetics Symposium, Manila, Philippines, 16-20 October 1995 |date=1996 |publisher=Int. Rice Res. Inst. |isbn=978-971-22-0087-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_hKLjbOuBEC&dq=Kalonunia+rice&pg=PA823 |access-date=23 November 2024 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Roychoudhury |first1=Aryadeep |title=Rice Research for Quality Improvement: Genomics and Genetic Engineering: Volume 2: Nutrient Biofortification and Herbicide and Biotic Stress Resistance in Rice |date=29 July 2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-15-5337-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RL0DwAAQBAJ&dq=Kalonunia+rice&pg=PA393 |access-date=23 November 2024 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Sarker |first1=Dilip De |last2=Saha |first2=Manas Ranjan |last3=Saha |first3=Subrata |title=Perspective of dietetic and antioxidant medicinal plants |date=1 January 2015 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-93-84878-95-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTrECQAAQBAJ&dq=Kalonunia+rice&pg=PT20 |language=en}}

State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai, making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region.{{cite web |title=Kalonunia Rice |url=https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublic/Application/Details/743 |website=Intellectual Property India |access-date=23 November 2024}} It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag.

The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.

• Abbasi family of Tufanganj
• Abbasuddin Ahmed (1901–1959), musician
• Mustafa Kamal Abbasi (1933–2015), 9th Chief Justice of Bangladesh
• Ferdausi Rahman (born 1941), singer
• Mustafa Zaman Abbasi (1936–2025), musicologist
• Nashid Kamal (born 1958), singer
• Maziruddin Ahmed (born 1898), Cooch Behar politician{{cite book|title=Who's Who in India|page=71|publisher=West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat|year=1957}}
• Tamser Ali (born 1953), MLA for Natabari
• Guha family of Dinhata
• Kamal Guha (1928–2007), Agriculture Minister of West Bengal
• Udayan Guha (born 1955), West Bengal cabinet minister
• Fazle Haque (born 1933), former state minister
• Fazal Karim Miah (born 1951), MLA for Tufanganj
• Wakil family of Dinhata (relocated to Bangladesh after partition)
• Hossain Mohammad Ershad (1930–2019), President of Bangladesh
• Saad Ershad (born 1983), businessman
• Mozammel Hossain Lalu (1942–2014), member of the Bangladesh parliament
• Ghulam Mohammad Quader (born 1948), Commerce Minister of Bangladesh
• Merina Rahman (born 1943), member of the Bangladesh parliament
• Hossain Mokbul Shahriar (born 1974), member of the Bangladesh parliament

• Indo-Bangladesh enclaves
• List of enclaves and exclaves
• List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

{{Reflist}}{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

• Moore, Lucy (2004) Maharanis: The Extraordinary Tale Of Four Indian Queens And Their Journey From Purdah To Parliament, Penguin, {{ISBN|0-670-03368-5}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://coochbehar.nic.in/ Website of the district of Cooch Behar]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080911132810/http://ncrb.nic.in/crime2005/cii-2005/Table%201.14.pdf Crime Report]
• [http://geosite.jankrogh.com/enklaver/CoochBehar_Annotated.jpg Link to external map]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Cooch Behar district

|North = Alipurduar district

|Northeast = Kokrajhar district, Assam

|East = Dhubri district, Assam

|Southeast =

|South = Bangladesh

|Southwest =

|West = Bangladesh

|Northwest = Jalpaiguri district

}}

{{Towns and Cities of Cooch Behar District}}

{{Cooch Behar topics}}

{{Districts of West Bengal}}

{{Minority Concentrated Districts in India}}

{{Proposed states and territories of India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooch Behar District}}

Category:Districts of West Bengal

Category:Minority concentrated districts in India

Category:Proposed states and union territories of India

sv:Kutch Behar