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Karimganj district | |
|---|---|
| Sribhumi district[1] | |
.jpg)   Clockwise from top to bottom: ABSF camp in Karimganj district,Longai River nearKarimganj town,Karimganj town, Paddy field in a village of Karimganj. | |
.svg) Location in Assam | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Assam |
| Division | Barak Valley |
| Established | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Karimganj |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Karimganj (shared with Hailakandi district) |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Ratabari,Patharkandi,Karimganj North,Karimganj South,Badarpur |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,809 km2 (698 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 1,228,686 |
| • Density | 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Demographics | |
| • Literacy | 79.72% |
| • Sex ratio | 961 |
| • Official languages | Bengali andMeitei (Manipuri) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | AS10-XXXX |
| Notable Education Institutions | |
| Website | karimganj |
Karimganj district, officiallySribhumi district,[3] is one of the 35districts of theIndian state ofAssam. The district's administrative headquarters and largest town isKarimganj. Located in southern Assam, it shares borders with the Indian state ofTripura and theSylhet Division ofBangladesh. AlongsideHailakandi andCachar, it forms the Barak Valley region. Historically, the area was part ofSylhet District before thePartition of India in 1947. It was later designated as a separate district in 1983.
Rabindranath Tagore referred to the region as *Sribhumi* (শ্রীভূমি), and in November 2024, the district was officially renamed to reflect Tagore's vision.[4] Previously known as Karimganj, the district derived its name from Muhammad Karim Chowdhury, who established a market in what is nowKarimganj town, with *ganj* meaning "market."[citation needed]
In 1778, Karimganj was established as a subdivision of the undividedSylhet district, comprising 40parganas.[citation needed] The name "Karimganj" is derived from Muhammad Karim Chowdhury,[citation needed] aBengali Muslimmirashdar[note 1] who established abazaar (market) south of the confluence of the Natikhal andKushiyara River. However, due to the Natikhal drying up during autumn, the market was relocated in the 1870s to what is now the town ofKarimganj.[6][better source needed]
During thepartition of India in 1947, a plebiscite was held to determine whether the Sylhet region, including Karimganj, would remain in India or joinEast Pakistan.Abdul Matlib Mazumdar led a delegation advocating for the region to remain with India. However, due to demands from theMuslim League and support from Assam's political leaders at the time,[7] the plebiscite resulted in Sylhet's transfer to Pakistan by a narrow margin. Allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities were raised, but the results stood.[8]
Following the partition, Sylhet was incorporated intoEast Pakistan, while Karimganj was divided, with part of it remaining in India to ensure connectivity withTripura. TheKushiyara River was established as the international border between India and Pakistan. Portions of Greater Karimganj, includingBeani-Bazar,Barlekha, Shahpur, andZakiganj, became part of Pakistan.
On 21 November 2024, Karimganj district was officially renamed Sribhumi to honorRabindranath Tagore, who had described the region as the land of goddessLakshmi.[1][9]
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Karimganj district occupies an area of 1,809 square kilometres (698 sq mi),[10] comparatively equivalent toAlaska'sAfognak Island.[11] It is bordered on the north east byCachar District, east and south byHailakandi district, south byMizoram, southwest byTripura state, and on the west and northwest byBangladesh.Karimganj, the administrative headquarters and main town of the district also bears the same name, that is, Karimganj. Karimganj town is located on the northern fringe of the district adjoining Bangladesh, by the riverKushiyara.
Its distance fromGuwahati – the largest city ofAssam - is approximately 330 km by road and about 350 km by rail. Distances of other important places are :Silchar – 55 km,Shillong – 220 km,Agartala – 250 km. Flanked on two sides by the riversKushiyara and Longai, Karimganj town is located just on the Bangladesh border with the river Kushiyara flowing in between. One prominent feature of the place is a long and winding canal called Noti Khal meandering through the town. Earlier, it used to be a connecting river way between Kushiyara and Longai facilitating river communication and also balancing of water-levels between the two rivers. Now, however, this canal has been blocked at several places through embankments and landfills to pave way for road transport and construction works. Karimganj and the Barak valley has been prone to serious flooding for decades. The recent floods that did significant damage were in 1976, 1988 and 2007.[12][13][14]
The forests of Karimganj were once rich in wildlife but now vanishing due to human onslaught.[15] Rare species found are Tiger, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine, Golden Langur (Hanuman), Monkey, Fox, Asian Elephant, Giant river otter, macaw parrots, Parakeets, Hornbill, Maina, different types of local and migratory birds, Snakes, Coypubara (2nd largest rodent in world) etc., have been recorded.[16][17] The Patharia hills reserve forest of the district is the habitat of many mammals and was recommended to upgrade as 'Patharia hills wildlife sanctuary'.[15] The southern part was also recommended as 'Dhaleswari' wildlife sanctuary.[18][19]
Karimganj town is an important centre of trade and commerce in the North East India. Its river port, with elaborate infra-structures like cargo-terminal, jetty, warehouses etc., is capable of handling large volumes of cargoes carried by steamers plying throughriver ways via Bangladesh. Karimganj is also a border trade centre and import-export business worth crores of rupees is carried out through the custom trade point at Dakbangla Ghat in the town and Sutarkandi Custom Station.
Karimganj is an agricultural district. Historically, tea has been the major agricultural product of Cachar region including Karimganj.[20]
Karimganj District has one sub-division. The district has 5tehsils or development circles (Karimganj,Badarpur,Nilambazar,Patharkandi andRamkrishna Nagar), two urban areas (karimganj andPatharkandi.The Major aretown (Karimganj, Badarpur,Ramkrishna Nagar andPatharkandi), 7 community development blocks (North Karimganj, South Karimganj,Badarpur,Patharkandi, Ramkrishna Nagar, Dullavcherra and Lowairpoa), 7 police stations (Karimganj,Badarpur,Ramkrishna Nagar,Patharkandi, Ratabari,Nilambazar, and Bazarichara), 95gram panchayats, and seven anchalik panchayats.
There are fiveAssam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Ratabari, Patharkandi, Karimganj North, Karimganj South, and Badarpur.[21] Ratabari is designated forscheduled castes.[21] All five are in theKarimganj Lok Sabha constituency.[22]
The nearest airport isKumbhirgram (85 km) nearSilchar, inCachar. Karimganj town is also an important river port and has seasonal cargo and freight transport links withKolkata through river ways viaBangladesh.
Karimganj town is linked via both rail and road transport with the rest of India. Karimganj town has a railway junction, withbroad gauge lines connecting Assam withTripura pass through this station.Badarpur railway station is the biggest junction of the district.
The most popular mode of passenger transport is road. A good number of buses - mostly night services - ply between Karimganj andGuwahati daily. Direct long-distance bus services are also available toShillong,Agartala,Aizawl and so on. Communication with Silchar,Badarpur,Patharkandi and other nearby places is also mainly dependent on road transport, with services by all sorts of light and heavy vehicles available at frequent intervals.
Sutarkandi international border crossing is onBangladesh–India border on Karimganj-Beanibazar route is in Karimganj district of Assam in India.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 215,521 | — |
| 1911 | 243,399 | +1.22% |
| 1921 | 251,172 | +0.31% |
| 1931 | 266,007 | +0.58% |
| 1941 | 291,320 | +0.91% |
| 1951 | 378,324 | +2.65% |
| 1961 | 465,198 | +2.09% |
| 1971 | 582,108 | +2.27% |
| 1991 | 827,063 | +1.77% |
| 2001 | 1,007,976 | +2.00% |
| 2011 | 1,228,686 | +2.00% |
| source:[23] | ||
According to the2011 census Karimganj district has apopulation of 1,228,686,[2] roughly equal to the nation ofBahrain[24] or the US state ofNew Hampshire.[25] This gives it a ranking of 392nd in India (out of a total of640).[2] The district has a population density of 673 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,740/sq mi) .[2] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.74%.[2] Karimganj has asex ratio of 961females for every 1000 males,[2] and aliteracy rate of 79.72%. 8.93% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.85% and 0.16% of the population respectively.[2]
| Religion in Karimganj district (2011)[26] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | Percent | |||
| Islam | 56.36% | |||
| Hinduism | 42.48% | |||
| Christianity | 0.98% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.18% | |||
Religious demographics are as follows:[26]
) - 692,489
) - 521,962
) - 11,990.| Circle | Muslims (%) | Hindus (%) | Christians (%) | Others (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karimganj | 57.16 | 42.36 | 0.22 | 0.26 |
| Badarpur | 64.91 | 34.49 | 0.37 | 0.24 |
| Nilambazar | 75.30 | 24.24 | 0.35 | 0.12 |
| Patharkandi | 45.74 | 51.55 | 2.49 | 0.23 |
| Ramkrishna Nagar | 40.28 | 58.42 | 1.21 | 0.09 |
According to2011 Indian Census, theMuslims form a slight majority in the district constituting 56.4% of the population, withHindus at 42.5% of the population, followed by 1.0% Christians. Small populations of Jain, Buddhists and Sikhs also reside in the district.[26]
Bengali andMeitei (Manipuri) are the official languages of this place.[28][29]
According to the 2011 census, 86.84% of the district spokeBengali, 5.70%Hindi, 2.00%Bishnupriya and 1.65%Bhojpuri as their first language.[27]Bengali is the official language in Karimganj along with the other two districts of Barak valley which includes, Hailakandi and Cachar.[30] Although Bengali is the official language, the most common spoken language isSylheti, often considered as a dialect of Bengali.[31][32] It is also spoken in other districts of the Barak Valley.[33]
Notable minority languages includeBishnupriya andMeitei,Dimasa, andKokborok. There are also a small tribal communities likeHrangkhol,Kuki,Khasi, andSakachep.
{{cite book}}:|last1= has generic name (help)Afognak 1,809km2
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Bahrain 1,214,705 July 2011 est.
New Hampshire 1,316,470
Along the linguistic continuum of eastern Indic languages, Sylheti occupies an ambiguous position, where it is considered a distinct language by many and also as a dialect of Bengali or Bangla by some others
Places adjacent to Karimganj district | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
24°52′00″N92°21′00″E / 24.8667°N 92.3500°E /24.8667; 92.3500
