Barpeta (Pron: bə(r)ˈpeɪtə / bə(r)ˈpi:tə ) is a town in Barpeta district of the state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in India and is district headquarters. The city is located north west of

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

and is one of the major cities in

Western Assam Lower Assam division is one of the 5 administrative divisions of Assam. It was formed in 1874, comprising Undivided Kamrup district of Western Assam, undivided Darrang and Nagoan districts of Central Assam and Khasi & Jaintia hills of Meghalay ...

. It is also called ''

Satra Satra Corporation was a US trading and metal processing company. It is primarily known in the United Kingdom for its Satra Motors Limited subsidiary, which was the official importer and distributor of Soviet Union cars and motorcycles in that co ...

Nagari'' (Temple town) of Assam due to the presence of various Vaishnavite Satras in the vicinity.

Geography

It is located at . It has an average elevation of 35 metres (114 feet). It is 40 km away from

Manas National Park Manas may refer to: Philosophy and mythology *Manas, the Pali and Sanskrit term for "mind"; see **Manas (early Buddhism) ** Manas-vijnana, one of the eight consciousnesses taught in Yogacara Buddhism *''Ramcharitmanas'', a retelling of the Ramaya ...

. Three rivers - Chaulkhowa, Mora Nodi (Dead River) and Nakhanda, both of which are tributaries to

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

run through the town.

History

The Barpeta was earlier known as 'Tatikuchi', where Tati stands for weaver and Kuchi means cluster of villages in native

Barpetia dialect Barpetia dialect (native: ''borpeita'') is a modern regional subdialect of Kamrupi, a dialect of the Assamese language. Named after the current Barpeta district of Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the easte ...

, i.e. the land of weavers. In ancient times, it was central part of erstwhile

ancient Kamrup Kamrup is the modern region situated between two rivers, the Manas and the Barnadi in Western Assam, with the same territorial extent as the Colonial and post-Colonial "Undivided Kamrup district". It was the capital region of two of the thr ...

, included in Kamapitha of

Kamarupa Pithas Kamarupa Pithas are ancient pithas or geographical divisions of Kamarupa. The division of the Pithas are not consistent in different sources, though the number of pithas are usually four. Since these pithas are not mentioned in the Kamarupa ins ...

, the ancient divisions of old

Kamrup region Kamrup is the modern region situated between two rivers, the Manas and the Barnadi in Western Assam, with the same territorial extent as the Colonial and post-Colonial "Undivided Kamrup district". It was the capital region of two of the th ...

. In nineteenth century, Barpeta town and adjoining areas became part of

Undivided Kamrup district Undivided Kamrup district is a former administrative district located in Western Assam from which Kamrup Rural (2003), Kamrup Metropolitan (2003), Barpeta (1983), Nalbari (1985) and Baksa (2004) districts were formed. It was announced in Janu ...

, as Barpeta subdivision. In 1983, the subdivision attained district status.

Forestry

Barpeta is the gateway to

, one of the National Parks of Assam and one of the few tiger reserves of India.

Demographics

Hindus form the majority of the town's population, followed by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Barpeta had a population of 42,649. Population of Children within age of 0-6 is 3673 which is 8.61% of total population of Barpeta. The female Sex Ratio is of 1008 against state average of 958. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Barpeta is around 994 compared to Assam state average of 962. Literacy rate of Barpeta city is 90.77% higher than state average of 72.19%. In Barpeta, Male literacy is around 94.86% while female literacy rate is 86.73% .

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 ...

is spoken by 23,827 people, Assamese is spoken by 6,193, hindi by 4242, Bodo by 884 and 7,503 people speak other languages. Most of these people are

Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

and

Assamese people The Assamese people are a socio- ethnic linguistic identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic or micro-nationalistic. This group is often associated with the Assamese language, the easternmost Indo-Aryan language, ...

, Hindi speaking people and others.

, Assamese and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

are the major languages spoken in the town.

Climate

Barpeta has subtropical climate, with chilly winters and hot humid summers. However, people here can enjoy both winter and hot. On a hot day, sometimes in this city after 35 high C to 39 High C warm.

Politics

Barpeta is part of

Barpeta (Lok Sabha constituency) Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India. Assembly segments Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments: Members of Parliament Election ...

. Indian president

Fakaruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the ...

was an MLA from Jania LAC and MP from the Barpeta constituency. Syed Abdur Rouf, A.F Golam Osmani and other prominent persons represented Barpeta in the constitutional assembly. Standing MLA of Jania LAC

Abdul Khaleque (Assamese politician) Abdul Khaleque (born 1 February 1971) is an Indian politician, journalist and writer belonging to Indian National Congress from Assam who is serving as the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha representing Barpeta constituency since 2019. Previou ...

has been elected to the

Loksabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-th ...

in 2019. There 7 nos of Assembly Constituency in the district. Those are Jania, Baghbar, Sorbhog, Sarukhetri, Bhabanipur, Chenga and Barpeta .

Transport

The nearest railway station, airport and port is

Barpeta Road Barpeta Road or Athiyabari as known earlier is a town and Commercial City of Assam a municipal board in Barpeta district in the state of Assam, India. Geography The town is 165 feet (50 meters) above the sea level. Demography Barpeta Road i ...

, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and

Dhubri Dhubri (Pron: ˈdhubri) is an old town and headquarter of Dhubri district in Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra river, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Bo ...

respectively. Barpeta town is connected to National Highway 31 through

Howly Howly (IPA:ˈhaʊlɪ) is a town and a municipality in Barpeta district in the Indian state of Assam. Places To Visit In Howly town Howly Rass Mela Howly Rass Mela is the biggest Festival in Assam. Millions of people come to see the festival ...

, and National Highway 427 via Hajo-Doulashal connects it to Guwahati.

Education

Barpeta has very good educational environment. The town has produced so many noble figures of Assam. Few of them are

Ambikagiri Raichoudhury Ambikagiri Raichoudhury (1885–1967) was an Assamese poet, lyricist, singer, powerful prose writer, news worker, magazine editor, patriotic, social-worker and the leading freedom fighter of India's freedom struggle. He is known as Assam Kesa ...

, Banikanta Kakati,

Mahendra Mohan Choudhry Mahendra Mohan Choudhury (12 April 1908 – 27 December 1982) was a freedom fighter and politician from Nagaon, Undivided Kamrup district (now Barpeta district) of Western Assam. He was Chief Minister of Assam from 1970 to 1972. He also s ...

and Purushottam Das. Some of the well known higher educational institutions of Barpeta are Barpeta Vidyapith Higher Secondary School, Kendriya Vidyalaya Barpeta, Madhab Choudhury College and Barpeta Girls' College. It also has the fifth medical college of Assam, the

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMCH) is the fifth medical college of Assam based in Barpeta. The college has been named after former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. The classes were formally inaugurated in August ...

Notable people

, poet and nationalist * Banikanta Kakati, linguist *

Chandra Bharati Chandra Bharati (1525-1578) was a 16th-century poet, litterateur and proficient of Sanskrit grammar from Barpeta, Kamrup. The inscription on a stone slab on the hill in Rajaduar, abutting on the Brahmaputra, claims that the hill was the abode ...

, poet * Colonel Guruprasad Das, inventor of vacuum brakes for trains *

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the ...

, fifth

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

Kalpana Patowary Kalpana Patowary is an Indian playback and folk singer from Assam. She sings in 30 languages and has many folk and popular songs to her credit, while Bhojpuri music has been her most dedicated foray. In his book, Cinema Bhojpuri, Avijit Ghosh l ...

, singer *

, fourth chief minister of Assam *

Rameshwar Pathak Rameshwar Pathak (1 March 1938 – 3 December 2010) was an acclaimed Kamrupi Lokgeet singer from Kamrup, Assam, India. He also worked as a teacher in Arya Vidyapeeth Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School, Guwahati from 1963 to 1996. Early ...

Kamrupi Lokgeet Kamrupi Lokgeet is popular form of folk music that expresses thoughts and emotion of the Kamrupi people. The songs are derived from Ancient Kamrup. The language of Kamrupi lokgeet are different dialects and ancestral forms of Assamese, including ...

singer

References

External links

Official District Website

Barpeta's Job Site Voice Of Barpeta
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Barpeta district ar:باربتا bpy:বড়পেটা new:बर्र्या