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| Dooars | |
|---|---|
 A tea garden in the Dooars with the Himalayas in the background | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Indomalayan realm |
| Geography | |
| Country |  India
|
| Elevation | 90–1,750 m (300–5,740 ft) |
| Rivers | Brahmaputra River, Murti river |
| Conservation | |
| Global 200 | Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands |
TheDooars orDuars (/duˈɑːrz/) are the alluvialfloodplains in eastern-northeasternIndia and southernBhutan that lie south of the outer foothills of theHimalayas and north of theBrahmaputra River basin. This region is about 30 km (19 mi) wide and stretches over about 350 km (220 mi) from theTeesta River inWest Bengal to the Dhansiri River inUdalguri district ofAssam. The region forms the gateway toBhutan.[1] It is part of theTerai-Duar savanna and grasslandsecoregion.[2]
Dooars means 'doors' inAssamese,Kamtapuri,Bengali,Maithili,Bhojpuri, andMagahi languages. There are 18 passages or gateways between the hills in Bhutan and the plains in India.[1] This region is divided by theSankosh River into Eastern and Western Dooars, consisting of an area of 880 km2 (340 sq mi).
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The Dooars belonged to theKamata Kingdom under theKoch dynasty;[1] They acted as a trade route between Assam andBhutan. Assam exports wäre muga, silk cloth, endi cloth, dried fish and rice and imports consisted of woollen cloth, gold-dust, rock salt, yaktails musk, ponies and blankets from Bhutan.[3]
In the early 17th century, the combined forces of Ahoms and Koches temporarily checked the Bhutia's transgression. During this period two important Duars on the Darrang frontier, Buriguma and Killing were underAhoms control. During theAhom–Mughal conflicts in the mid-17th century, the Bhutias attempted to extend their authority as far asGohain Kamal Ali road.
In the reign of Ahom kingJayadhwaj Singha, theDruk Desi of Bhutan requested the transfer of these Duars to Bhutan. Therefore, an agreement was drawn, and the Darrang Duars went to the hands of Bhutias on the condition of annual tribute to the Ahoms. The Darrang Duars were also surrendered to Ahoms annually for four months from June to October. These Duars were properties ofAhom government, but theDruk Desi of Bhutan took possession of them in last phase of 18th century when the Ahoms were engaged ininternal rebellions.[4]
This region was controlled by the kingdom of Bhutan whenBritish India annexed it in 1865 after theDuar War under the command of Captain Hedayat Ali. Bhutan lost almost one-fifth of its area in this war.[5]
The area was divided into two parts: Western Dooars and Eastern Dooars. The Western Dooars were under the Kingdom ofCooch Behar State from 1586 to 1949, and the Eastern Dooars under the Kingdom ofKoch Hajo. Under the Koch government, the officer-in-charge of the Duars were calledSubahdar.[6] Similar office existed under the Bhutan government, theSubah was selected by the provincial governors calledPonlops. The Ahom government managed the Duars through Duarieas.[7] The other two Dooars were the Kamrup Duars and Darrang Duars. The Eastern Dooars was merged withGoalpara district inAssam, the Kamrup Dooars was merged withKamrup district, the Darrang Dooars was merged withDarrang District and the western part was turned into a new district namedWestern Dooars. Again in the year 1869, the name was changed toJalpaiguri district.[8]
The Western Dooars are part of theDuars of northern part ofWest Bengal,India or those located to the west ofGoalpara district ofAssam. The Western Dooars came under theBritish in 1865.The region comes under theKalimpong district,Jalpaiguri district,Alipurduar district and some parts ofCooch Behar district. The Western Dooars were created in 1865. It was merged with the Jalpaiguri district in 1869.[citation needed]
The Eastern Dooars are part of the Dooars ofLower Assam. Dooars betweenSankosh River andManas River are called Eastern Dooars.[9] The five Dooars under Eastern Dooars includesBijni, Sidli, Chirang, Ripu and Guma.[9] The area came under the rule of theBritish in 1865. The region today falls under theBongaigaon district andKokrajhar,Chirang districts ofBodoland Territorial Region in Assam.[citation needed]
The Kamrup Dooars are part of the Dooars of Lower Assam. Dooars betweenManas River andBornadi River are called Kamrup Dooars.[9] The five Dooars under Kamrup Dooars includeBijni, Chapakhamar, Chapaguri, Banska and Gurkola.[9] Under the Bhutan government, the Kamrup Duars was under aPenlop or Provincial Governor under whom was theJongpen or Subah.[10]Kamrup Dooars were annexed by the BritishEast India Company in 1841.[6] Today, the area falls under theNalbari district,Kamrup district andBaksa district of Bodoland Territorial Region.[citation needed]
The Darrang Dooars are part of the Dooars of Lower Assam. Dooars betweenBornadi River and Dhansiri River are called Darrang Dooars.[9] The three Dooars under Darrang Dooars include Killing, Buriguma and Koriapar.[9] The Koriapar Dooar was held by the chiefs of theMonpa people who were subordinate to the ruler ofTawang, who in turn were a tributary to theTibetan government atLhasa.[9] The Killing, Buriguma were annexed by the East India Company in 1841 and Koriapar Dooars in 1844.[9] The region today falls under theUdalguri andSonitpur districts of Assam.[citation needed]
The Dooars region politically constitutes the northern bank of theBrahmaputra Valley in state ofAssam and the plains ofKalimpong district, the whole ofJalpaiguri district andAlipurduar district and the upper region ofCooch Behar district inWest Bengal.[citation needed]
The Dooars is dotted with many towns and cities.[citation needed] The largest cities in the region stretching from theDarjeeling foothills to theArunachal Pradesh foothills areSiliguri andJalpaiguri, which both partly lie in theTerai region rather the Dooars, geographically.[citation needed] Thisnorthern Bengal cities are well connected with the rest of country by road, air and railway and is the business hub of the region.[citation needed]
The other cities areKokrajhar,Bongaigaon,Goalpara,Barpeta andDhubri in Assam.Cooch Behar,Alipurduar,Dhupguri,Malbazar,Mainaguri,Falakata andBirpara are the major cities of the Dooars in West Bengal, andKishanganj in Bihar.[citation needed]
A number of endangered animals live in the forests of the Dooars likeBengal tiger,Indian rhinoceros,Indian elephant,[11]
Climate data for Siliguri (Bagdogra Airport), (1991-2020), extremes 1951–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.5 (90.5) | 33.2 (91.8) | 38.1 (100.6) | 41.7 (107.1) | 40.8 (105.4) | 41.9 (107.4) | 40.4 (104.7) | 40.0 (104.0) | 40.1 (104.2) | 36.6 (97.9) | 33.8 (92.8) | 32.6 (90.7) | 41.9 (107.4) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) | 27.9 (82.2) | 32.8 (91.0) | 34.9 (94.8) | 35.3 (95.5) | 36.3 (97.3) | 36.0 (96.8) | 36.7 (98.1) | 35.8 (96.4) | 33.5 (92.3) | 30.4 (86.7) | 27.2 (81.0) | 37.0 (98.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) | 24.5 (76.1) | 29.3 (84.7) | 30.8 (87.4) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.2 (84.6) | 28.5 (83.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 27.7 (81.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22.1 (71.8) | 24.0 (75.2) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.5 (74.3) | 19.7 (67.5) | 15.2 (59.4) | 11.8 (53.2) | 18.7 (65.7) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) | 7.2 (45.0) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.5 (61.7) | 18.6 (65.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 21.9 (71.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 11.9 (53.4) | 7.7 (45.9) | 6.5 (43.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) | 3.5 (38.3) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.6 (49.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 20.0 (68.0) | 21.0 (69.8) | 18.4 (65.1) | 19.8 (67.6) | 12.3 (54.1) | 6.4 (43.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | 1.9 (35.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 23 (0.9) | 24 (0.9) | 34 (1.3) | 76 (3.0) | 249 (9.8) | 628 (24.7) | 843 (33.2) | 589 (23.2) | 403 (15.9) | 121 (4.8) | 10 (0.4) | 11 (0.4) | 3,011 (118.5) |
| Average rainy days | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 132 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 69 | 65 | 54 | 63 | 79 | 88 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 70 | 68 | 75 |
| Averageultraviolet index | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Source 1: normal temperatures[12][13]Ultraviolet Index[14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Extremes(India Meteorological Department[15]), Mean maximum and Mean minimum temperatures[16] | |||||||||||||
The film "The Dooars World",[17] narrated byDia Mirza, shows the wildlife and human-animal relationship in the Dooars.
