Goalpara district | |
|---|---|
 Shiva temple atSri Surya Pahar | |
| Nickname: Raghunath | |
 Interactive map of Goalpara district | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Assam |
| Division | Lower Assam |
| Established | 20 October 1994 |
| Headquarters | Goalpara |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Dhubri (shared withSouth Salmara-Mankachar District,Dhubri district) |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Dudhnai,Goalpara East,Goalpara West,Jaleswar |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,824 km2 (704 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,008,183 |
| • Density | 552.7/km2 (1,432/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Goalpariya |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Assamese |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 783 101 to** (** area code) |
| Telephone code | 03663 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-AS, IN-AS-GP |
| Vehicle registration | AS 18 |
| Website | goalpara |
Goalpara district is an administrativedistrict of the Indian state ofAssam.
It was a princely state ruled by theKoch kings and the then ruler of the undivided kingdom. Today the erstwhile Goalpara district is divided intoKokrajhar,Bongaigaon,Dhubri, and Goalpara district.
The name of the districtGoalpara is said to have originally derived from 'Gwaltippika' meaning 'Guwali village' or the village of the milk men means (Yadav). The history of Goalpara goes back to several centuries. The district came under British rule in 1765. Before this, the area was under the control of theKoch dynasty. In 1826 theBritish accessedAssam andGoalpara was annexed to theNorth-East Frontier in 1874, along with the creation of district headquarters atDhubri.[1]
On 1 July 1983 two districts were split from Goalpara:Dhubri andKokrajhar.[2] On 29 September 1989Bongaigaon district was created from parts of Goalpara andKokrajhar.[2]
The district headquarters are located at Goalpara. Goalpara district occupies an area of 1,824 square kilometres (704 sq mi),[3] comparatively equivalent toSouth Korea'sJeju-do.[4]
In 2006 the Indian government named Goalpara one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640).[5] It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[5]
There are fourAssam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Dudhnoi, Goalpara East, Goalpara West, and Jaleswar.[6] Dudhnoi and Goalpara West are designated forscheduled tribes.[6] Dudhnoi and Goalpara West are in theGauhati Lok Sabha constituency, whilst the other two are in theDhubri Lok Sabha constituency.[7]
Following are the present MLA's of Goalpara-
According to the2011 census Goalpara district has a population of 1,008,183,[8] roughly equal to the nation ofCyprus[9] or the US state ofMontana.[10] of which 171,657 are children between 0–6 years of age. Goalpara has a sex ratio of 964 females for every 1000 males.[8] The crude literacy rate of the district is 55.91%, while the effective literacy rate of 7+ population is 67.4%. 13.69% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 4.47% and 22.97% of the population respectively.[8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 90,482 | — |
| 1911 | 117,602 | +2.66% |
| 1921 | 149,263 | +2.41% |
| 1931 | 172,782 | +1.47% |
| 1941 | 198,407 | +1.39% |
| 1951 | 216,763 | +0.89% |
| 1961 | 297,178 | +3.21% |
| 1971 | 433,516 | +3.85% |
| 1991 | 668,138 | +2.19% |
| 2001 | 822,035 | +2.09% |
| 2011 | 1,008,183 | +2.06% |
| source:[11] | ||
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam | 57.52% | |||
| Hinduism | 34.51% | |||
| Christianity | 7.72% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.25% | |||
| Circle | Muslims | Hindus | Christians | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakhipur | 80.88% | 17.42% | 1.49% | 0.21% |
| Balijana | 56.22% | 32.27% | 11.25% | 0.26% |
| Matia | 61.43% | 32.90% | 5.41% | 0.26% |
| Dudhnoi | 6.52% | 70.34% | 22.81% | 0.33% |
| Rangjuli | 29.56% | 61.30% | 8.92% | 0.22% |
Muslim population in Goalpara district is 57.52%, while Hindu population is 34.51% and Christian Population stands at 7.72% and others include 0.25% respectively as per as census 2011 report. All the Garos are Christian.[12] Way back in 1971, Hindus were slight majority in Goalpara district with forming 50.1% of the population, while Muslims were 41.5% at that time.[13]
At the time of the 2011 census, 51.78% of the population spokeAssamese, 28.83%Bengali, 7.56%Garo, 5.16%Rabha, 3.53%Boro and 0.94%Hindi as their first language.[14]Bengali speakers are 28.8% as per as 2011 census language census report, but Goalpara district is home to a largeMiya Muslim population ofBengali origin, most of whom now identify themselves asAssamese speakers in the census.[15][16]
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Tourist spots in the district include:
Jeju-do 1,825km2
Cyprus 1,120,489 July 2011 est.
Montana 989,415
Places adjacent to Goalpara district | |
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26°26′N90°22′E / 26.433°N 90.367°E /26.433; 90.367
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