DHUBRI, Assam

Main Attraction: 'Char' in River Brahmaputra

One of the peculiar features of the Brahmaputra River in Assam is the presence of Chars or riverine silt islands. It is seen that as the River Brahmaputra nears the end at the Bay of Bengal it flows at a very slow pace depositing huge quantity of silts along the banks. These areas eventually become habitable over a period of time.The chars or riverine island so formed are fertile lands which provide livelihood through agriculture to the habitants. Dhubri being one of the western most districts of Assam on the bank of River Brahmaputra houses a large number of Chars. The habitants of the Char areas have contributed largely to the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the district over the years.

Brief History

Dhubri District - the gateway of western Assam in the past was a meeting place of different racial groups which mingled together and formed a unique Cultural Heritage and Historical Background. The growth of blended culture in this region, particularly in the areas of language, art and religion is due to the continuous process of assimilation of various races, castes, and creeds of local people, invaders, and migrated people. Dhubri District is bounded both by inter-state and international border i.e. West Bengal and Bangladesh in the west, Goalpara and Bogaigoan district of Assam and Garo Hills district of Meghalaya in the east, Kokrajhar district in the north, Bangladesh and state of Meghalaya in the south.

The name Dhubri comes from the tale of Chand Sadagar, where the main character of the story Netai Dhubuni used to wash her clothes on the surface of a big stone at bank of the river Brahmaputra. This particular place had a name called "Netai Dhubunir Ghat.

The Dhubri district is known to have formed a separate political entity. The legendary and historical record bear sufficient testimony to prove that this landmass formed a powerful kingdom from the past. The Hindu kingdom of Kamrupa is believed to have extended beyond Assam. The temple “Kamakhya” is the proof of the Hindu Kingdom as per ‘Kalika Puran’ and ‘Vishnu Puran’. The area extended about 100 yojana, which is equivalent to 400 miles /640 kms in the present context. According to Mr. E. A. Gait, author of the ‘History of Assam’, the old kingdom of Kamrupa embraced eastern Bengal, Assam and Bhutan. The western boundary of Kamrupa extended up to ‘Karotoya’ river (Jogini Tantra). Rangpur, Cooch Behar, Mymensingh and the Garo Hills were parts of the kingdom of Kamrupa. Narakasur then reigned supreme in the said Kingdom with capital at Pragjyotishpur now modern Guwahati. He was succeeded by his son, Bhagadutta a powerful associate of the ‘Kaurav Bahini’ of the Mahabharata era.

Practically nothing is known of the history of the district for the next two thousand years. Some foreign invaders ousted the Naraka dynasty. The Pala Kings flourished in Central Assam in about 10th and the 11th century A.D. The beginning of the 15th century exposed some grounds to study the History of Assam of which Dhubri was a part of it.

The Khen Kings

They came of a humble origin. They were the cowhard of a Brahmin who founded the capital at Kamatapur in the south Cooch Behar. The ruins still exist. As per records available Niladhwaj was succeeded by his son, Chakradhwaj who, however, handed over the sceptra to his son, Nilambar. Nilambar was a powerful king who had to surrender to Hussain Shah in 1498 A.D. The Muhammad and kings endeavoured to extend their territory but was repulsed by the Ahoms.

The Koch Kings

The kings took advantage of the chaos and anarchy that led to the downfall of Kamatapur Koch family to rise to power in Kokrajhar District. Viswa Singha was a powerful king of the Koches who succeeded building contract with the Ahoms. He was succeeded by his son Nara Narayan. The Koch rule reached its zenith during the rule of Nara Narayan. The cause of the quarrel between Nara Narayan and the Ahoms was not known. The then Ahom king, Suklenmung took bold steps by building roads and tanks which are of historical importance. Finally Chilaray in aid of the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, became successful in his enterprise to defeat the invaders.

The name of Nara Narayan was closely associated with the Kamakhya temple which was destroyed by Mohammedan. Nara Narayan inducted some Brahmins from Bengal to carry on the regular religious functions in the temple. Nara Narayan is remarkable for his Vaisnavite religious faith initiated and promoted by Shri Shri Sankardeva who propounded the doctrine of salvation by faith and prayer rather than by slaughtering animal sacrifices. He tried to persuade the Ahom King but owing to heavy and massive resentment of the Brahmins under the Ahom King, Sri Sankardeva had to take shelter and settled at Patbasuchi village of Barpeta at the patronage of Nara Narayan. Nara Narayan did everything to spread the new concept of religion far and wide. The king, Narayan, expressed his pleasure to become a disciple of Sankardeva which the later refused to honour. Sankardeva and his cohorts like Madhavdeva, Purusutttam, Ananta Kandali enjoyed the patronage of Nara Narayan in rendering religious works without any handicap whatsoever. Nara Narayan ruled there for about 50 years and breathed his last in 1584. Chilaray was the brother of Nara Narayan. Nara Narayan had no male offspring. Chilaray’s son Raghuray virtually staked his claim to the throne. Raghuray sensed the impossibility to succeed to the throne withdrew from the capital of Barnagar. Raghu Rai was compelled to stay at Barnagar. The territory, west of Sonkosh was handed over to Lakshmi Narayan who was the son of Raghuray’s uncle.

In 1593 AD, Pariksit, son of Raghuray succeeded his father. Parikshit shifted his capital to North Guwahati and built a political building near Aswaklanta. War between Parikshit and Laksmi Narayan ensued after a trail of events from the days of Raghu Rai who refused to pay tribute after the death of Nara Narayan. In the war that continued Lakshmi Narayan was defeated but Mughal Emperor, Jahangir agreed to restore Lakshmi Narayan to the throne on an understanding to pay the Emperor a sum of 4 Lakh rupees but died enroute to his territory.

Bali Narayan brother of Parikshit enjoyed the royal hegemony of the Ahoms and was installed despite Muhammedan resistance off and on. He was then renamed as Dharma Narayan. Then up to 1635 the areas could pass the days in respite. The last Muhammedan onslaught was bravely encountered and they had to court defeat. As a result the whole country came under the undisputed rule of the Ahoms. For three years Goalpara remained in the hands of the Ahom. In 1661 AD Mir Jumla gave the Ahoms a heavy blow till he occupied the capital at Gargaon. Till 1765 Goalpara remained under Muhammedans, which passed into the hands of the East India Company.

After the occupation of Assam in 1826, Goalpara was annexed to the Assam Valley division. The Head Quarter is permanently declared at Dhubri in 1879. The Gauripur Raj: Gauripur Raj occupies a place of pride and honour in determining the Socio-economic history of Dhubri district. Detailed account of the Gauripur Raj can be had in the ‘Social History of Kamarupa by Nagendranath Basu. Kabindra Patra an ancestor of the Gauripur Raj is said to have been a minister of Nara Narayan’s court who tendered assistance to subjugate many kings as an ally to the Koch kingdom.

During British Rule they acquired Zamindary. They settled at Rangamati. In the beginning they had to send 21 elephants to the collector at Rangapur in the name of East India Company as revenue. The residence of the Raj as shifted to Gauripur Raj patronized education and culture. They established many schools. Raja Prabhat Ch. Barua established a public literary with rare publications. Raja Promothesh Barua was a renown All-India figure in elephant hunting and he is still regarded as an authority on this aspect. He was the pioneer of Assamese film industry. Mrs Pratima Pandey is still a household name in the field of Goalpara Lokgeet throughout India. With the promulgation of Assam State Acquisition of Zamindars Act, 1951, the Zamindary system has been abolished once for all.