BARPETA, Assam

Main Attraction: 'Kaah' Industry

Kaah Industry means Bell metal industry. Bell metal is an alloy made of 78 % Copper and 22 % Tin. Various types of utensils made from it are used for domestic and religious purposes from this alloy in Barpeta district especially in Sarthebari area. About 40 percent of the people in village area of Sarthebari are engaged in this cottage industry. The craftsmen who are engaged in this industry are referred as Kahar .

Brief History

In ancient times, Barpeta was part of Kamapitha division of Kamarupa. Medieval invaders continue to call Western Assam as Kamrup. In colonial and post-colonial times, it became part of Kamrup district till 1983, when new district of Barpeta was carved out. The word Barpeta derives from "Bar" meaning big and "Peta" meaning pond. Thus Barpeta means "land of big ponds", as in pre-modern times Barpeta was full of large ponds. A nearby town is Sarupeta, the word which exactly means opposite to the former.

Barpeta town is a pristine and holy place of the district. Barpeta district was a sub-division of Kamrup district till June; 1983.The history of Barpeta is inseparable from the history of Kamrup. Barpeta was a part of ancient kingdom of Kamrupa and was ruled by a chain of non-Aryan princes a thousand years before Christ. Thereafter, no history was known about the district for many centuries. The Copper plates of the 11th century after Christ depict that Narak was displaced by Salastambha, a Mech or foreign conqueror and after Salastambha, some other kings ruled Pragjyoshtishpur. The last king was Indra Pala and after him the history of the Pala king remained in dark.

After Pala dynasty, the dynasty of the Koch started with the king Viswa Singh who founded a magnificant city in Cooch-Behar.The king visited Nilachal where he was shown a mound said to contain a deity. His prayers were accepted at once and he accordingly had the mound explored when the ruins of an old temple was discovered.

A new temple was immediately constructed there. He was succeeded by his son, Malla Deva in 1534 A.D. He assumed the name of Nara Narayan. Barnagar, a place of Barpeta district was the capital of the Koch kings.Here Nara Narayan met Shrimanta Sankardeva and his renowned disciple Madhab Dev and subsequently accepted Vaishnavism when Sankardeva was invited by the monarch to Koch- Bihar. It was during king Naranarayan’s regime at Barnagar the great saint established Satra at Patbaushi to spread his Socioreligious faith. The king Nara Narayana subdued the Ahom king, the Kachari Raja and the Raja of Manipur. He slew the kings of Jaintia, Tripura and Sylhet.

The Koch kings were later on defeated by the Muslim Subedar of Bengal and Guwahati became the capital of the Muslim Governor. The Ahoms, who were earlier defeated by the Muslims and were driven out of Barpeta by Joydhwaj Singh in 1658. In 1662, the new Subedar of Bengal, Mir Jumla drove away the Ahoms from Barpeta and took the possession of Guwahati. Mohemmadan Fouzdar was posted at Guwahati. Guwahati was captured by Gadadhar Singh in 1681 A.D. after the departure of the Muslims. From this time onward Barpeta became a part of the Ahom territories.

The first king Gadadhar Singh was to annex Barpeta to the Ahom territories. He was succeeded in 1695 A.D. by Rudra Singh. The Ahoms reached the Zenith of their power during his reign. Rudra Singh died in 1714 A.D. at Guwahati. The Rudreswar temple was constructed by his son in the memory of his father. The Ahom power began to decline from the middle of the 18th century. During Lakshmi Singh’s reign from 1796 to 1780, he witnessed the Moamaria insurrection which was cruelly dealt with. He was then succeeded by Gauri Nath in 1780 and the Moamoria insurrection broke out badly in his reign. After the death of Gauri Nath in 1795, his son Kamaleswar Singh was succeeded. 

The Daflas made an inroad on the Ahom territories during the reign of Kamaleswar Singh. He was succeeded by his brother, Chandra Kanta Singh in 1809. He was deposed in 1816 and Purandar was appointed in his place. He was reinstated by the Burmese whom he has requested for help. They soon made it clear that they desired to retain their hold in Assam. Chandra Kanta fled to Goalpara due to the Burmese’s oppression and tranny. He made few attempts to recover his lost kingdom from Goalpara. In the meantime quarrel sprang up between the British and the Burmese and under the pressure of the British, the Burmese compelled to evacuate Guwahati. Under the treaty of Yandaboo, 1826 Assam finally came under the East India Company and accordingly, Barpeta district was also ceded to the Company.