Dima Hasao district (), is an administrative district in the state of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of two autonomous hill districts of Assam. The district headquarters Haflong is the only

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

in the state.

Etymology

"Dima Hasao" means "Dimasa Hills" in the Dimasa language.

History

Dimasa kingdom

From , Dima Hasao was part of the

Dimasa Kingdom The Dimasa Kingdom also known as Kachari kingdom was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others ( Kamata, Chutiya) that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom we ...

(or Kachar kingdom), with its capital at

Maibang Maibang (IPA: mai-bang ''mai means rice and bang means much defining a land of prosperity) is a town and a town area committee in Dima Hasao district in the Indian state of Assam. Maibang is also one of the three sub-divisions of Dima Hasao D ...

and

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city and municipality in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2024 , the municipality had a population of 172,000. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along ...

. As per Ahom

Buranji Buranjis (Ahom language: ''ancient writings'') are a class of historical chronicles and manuscripts associated with the Ahom kingdom. There were written initially in the Ahom Language and later in the Assamese language as well. The Buranjis ar ...

, the kingdom stretched from the Kopili river in present-day

Nagaon district Nagaon district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Assam. At the time of the 2011 census it was the most populous district in Assam, before Hojai district was split from it in 2016. History Bordowa was the birthplace of the ...

to the

Dhansiri river The Dhansiri is an Indian river of Golaghat District of Assam and the Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland. It originates from ''Laisang peak'' of Nagaland. It flows through a distance of from south to north before joining ...

in present-day

Golaghat district Golaghat district (Pron:ˌgəʊləˈgɑ:t) is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India. It attained district status in 1987. The district headquarters are located at Golaghat. The district occupies an area of ...

. This included parts of Cachar and North Cachar (Dima Hasao), the districts of Hojai, Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong of

and Dimapur district, in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

In the colonial period, Khaspur in present-day Cachar district was the administrative centre. However an internal schism led to the division of the old Kachar Kingdom into two parts. The last Dimasa king, Govinda Chandra Hasnusa, assigned Kashi Chandra the hilly tract of Kachar (i.e. the area between Mahur river and the

Naga Hills The Naga Hills, reaching a height of around , lie prominently on the border of India and Myanmar. They are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain ranges inside the States and territories of India, Indian states of Naga ...

in the south, the Doyang river on the west, the Dhansiri River on the east and Jamuna river in the north.) for administrative purposes. Soon the latter declared his independence over the hilly portion. That led to the treacherous murder of Kashi Chandra by Raja Govinda Chandra Hasnusa. Incensed, the son of Kashi Chandra, Tularam Senapati, incessantly created political turbulence, asserting his sovereignty over hilly portion of Kachar Kingdom. Finally, with British assistance, Tularam succeeded in carving out his own territory from Kachar Kingdom. David Scott, agent to the British Raj in 1829 made an arrangement to recognise Tularam as the ruler of hilly tract of Kachar. In 1850, Tularam died and the frequent Angami raids and a grave incident at Semkhor village paved the ground to extend British influence over Tularam's territory. In 1852, his territory was annexed and made part of the Nowgong district of British Assam as a subdivision, with Asalu as its headquarter.

British administration

In 1866, this sub-division was abolished and apportioned into three parts among the

Cachar Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the ...

, Naga Hills district, and Nowgong district. The present area of the Dima Hasao district was included in the old Cachar district. In 1880, this portion was constituted into a sub-division with headquarters at Gunjung under Cachar district. This headquarters was shifted to Haflong in 1895. Since then, Haflong continued to be the headquarters till 1951.

Since Indian independence

On 17 November 1951, United Mikir and North Cachar Hills District was created with area occupying present-day Dima Hasao district,

Karbi Anglong Karbi may refer to: Places * Karbi, Armenia * Karbi Anglong Plateau, an extension of the Indian Plate in Assam, India * Karbi Anglong district, a district of Assam, north-eastern India Other uses * Karbi people, an ethnic group of North-e ...

and West Karbi Anglong district. On 2 February 1970, the government declared an independent administrative district, viz. North Cachar Hills District with the geographical boundary of present-day Dimapur Hasao district. On 30 March 2010, the district was further renamed to Dima Hasao district.

Geography

The district headquarters are located at Haflong. Dima Hasao district occupies an area of , It is the second-largest district of

after

. Dima Hasao District is surrounded by

Karbi Anglong district Karbi Anglong district is an District, administrative unit in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Assam. It is an autonomous district administered by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) according to the provisions ...

and Nagaland on the northeast,

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

on the east,

Hojai Hojai is a town and a municipal board in Hojai district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is located on the banks of the two tributaries of Brahmaputra, namely Kapili and Jamuna. Etymology The term Hojai means Pr ...

District to the north, West Karbi Anglong district on the northwest,

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

on the west and

Cachar district Cachar district is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao district, Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar ...

in the south.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, Dima Hasao had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 214,102, giving it a ranking of 588th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...

). The district had a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 13.53%. Dima Hasao had a

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 931

females An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and male ...

for every 1000 males and a

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

of 78.99%.

Ethnic groups

Dima Hasao Dima Hasao district (), is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of two autonomous hill districts of Assam. The district headquarters Haflong ...

is one of the three hill districts in Assam with a tribal majority population, the others being

and West Karbi Anglong. The tribal population in Dima Hasao accounts for about 70.92% of the total population of the district according to the 2011 census, the highest percentage in the state, including Dimasa Kachari, Zeme Naga, Hmar, Kuki, Karbi, Khasi, Hrangkhol and Biate. Scheduled Castes are 2.02%. Non-tribal communities includes

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

Nepalis Nepali or Nepalese () are the permanent citizens of Nepal under Nepali nationality law. The term ''Nepali'' strictly refers to ''nationality'', meaning people holding citizenship of Nepal. Conversely, people without Nepalese citizenship but wi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-speakers and few other communities who have made the district their home. As of the 2011 census, 67.07% of the population are Hindus, 29.57% Christians and 2.04% Muslims.

Languages

At the time of the 2011 census, 35.72% of the district spoke Dimasa, 11.80%

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, 9.65% Zeme, 7.65% Hmar, 6.36% Nepali, 5.11% Kuki, 4.46% Karbi, 3.14%

, 1.93% Khasi, 1.89% Assamese.

Government and politics

Politics

Dima Hasao district is an autonomous district with Sixth Schedule status granted by the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

. The Dima Hasao District is administered by Dima Hasao Autonomous Council (DHADC). Members of the Autonomous Council (MAC) are elected by people of Dima Hasao. The Political party who has majority MACs form the ruling party. The Autonomous Council is a powerful body and almost all the department of government are under its control except the police and Law & Order is under Assam Government.

Administration

Dima Hasao comprises three subdivisions: Haflong, Maibang, and Diyungbra. The district consists of five Community Development Blocks: Jatinga Valley, Mahur; Diyung Valley, Maibang; Harangajao ITD Block, Harangajao; Diyungbra ITD Block, Diyungmukh; and New Sangbar, Sangbar.

Economy

In 2006, the Indian government named Dima Hasao one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of

). It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Energy

Kopili Hydro Electric Project is a power project near Umrangso, involving two dams on Kopili river and Umrong nalla, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of Kopili. There are two power stations as part of Kopili HEP, Khandong Stage I & II (75 MW) and Kopili Stage I & II (200 MW), with total output of 275 MW.

Tourism

Place of interest

* Jatinga village The village Jatinga is known for mysterious 'suicide of birds', between the months of September and November. Large number of tourists visit that time of the year to witness the phenomenon. *Panimur waterfall Panimur is also located in the Dima Hasao district of

. It is most famous for the Panimur Waterfall, also known as the Niagara of Northeast, which forms from the Kopili River as it flows over rocky terrain, creating a wide, cascading waterfall that is a major attraction for tourists and photographers. Additionally, the surrounding areas offer unique opportunities for eco-tourism and adventure activities, making it a favourite among explorers. *

The town of

is notable for its rock-cut temple carved out of a single black sandstone in triangular dimension. It houses the Hindu goddess Ranachandi or Mahamaya. The town was the capital of the

in the 16th century. * Umrangso Notable for its hydroelectric power project and wildlife reserves, the town of Umrangso is a destination for sightseeing, fishing, camping and trekking. It is a popular resting place of the Amur falcon, and it also host the annual Falcon Festival for the same. *Garampani The Garampani settlement, which is also known for its hot-springs, is situated 10kms from Umrangso.

Education

Average literacy rate of Dima Hasao in 2011 were 77.54% compared to 67.62% of 2001. All schools of Dima Hasao are run by the state government or private organisations. English is the primary languages of instruction in most of the schools. The schools are recognised either by the

Board of Secondary Education, Assam The Board of Secondary Education, Assam commonly known as SEBA, was the state education regulatory board under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education, Government of Assam for conducting examinations and providing assurance for the quality of ...

, the

Assam Higher Secondary Education Council The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) was a state education regulatory board under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education, Government of Assam that is responsible to regulate, supervise and develop the system of Higher Seconda ...

, or the

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

. All Dima Hasao colleges are affiliated to

Assam University Assam University is a central public university located at Silchar, Assam, India. It was founded in the year 1994 by the provisions of an act enacted by the Parliament of India. Former Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha is the Chancellor, the Gover ...

, a central university, which imparts education in both the general as well as professional streams.

College

* Haflong Government College, Haflong

Schools

* Ever Green High School, Maibang

Media

Television

Radio

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, Akashvani Haflong broadcasts from Haflong at 100.02 megahertz on FM band.

Notable place

* Haflong *

* Panimur * Umrangso

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Dima Hasao District Official Website
{{Authority control Districts of Assam 1970 establishments in Assam