Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Etymology

Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite banks of the Bhugdoi river.

History

Jorhat was the last capital of the Ahom Kingdom, as a planned town under royal patronage. It is often spelt as "Jorehaut" during the British reign. In 1794, the Ahom King

Gaurinath Singha Suhitpangphaa reign (1780–1795), also Gaurinath Singha, was an Ahom king of the Ahom kingdom. He lost his capital Rangpur to the Moamoria rebellion and camped in the Nagaon and Guwahati region till Captain Welsh removed the rebels. Therea ...

shifted the capital from

Sivasagar Sivasagar (Pron: or ) ("the sea of Shiva"), is a city in and headquarters of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. S ...

, erstwhile Rangpur to Jorhat. Many tanks were built around the capital city by the Ahom royalty such as Rajmao Pukhuri or Borpukhuri, Buragohain Pukhuri, Bolia Gohain Pukhuri, Kotoki Pukhuri and Mitha Pukhuri. This town was a flourishing and commercial metropolis but was destroyed by a series of Burmese invasion of Assam between 1817 and the arrival of the British force in 1824 under the stewardship of

David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and ...

and Captain Richard. From the very first decade of the

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, revolutionaries like Gomdhar Konwar, Dhananjay Borgohain, Jeuram Dihingia Baruah , and Peuli Phukan emerged. The British system of administration came into vogue in the year 1839 with an established Police Thana. During the great Sepoy Mutiny, Maniram Dewan and Piyali Barua were publicly hanged here in 1858. In 1885, a narrow-gauge railway, Jorehaut Provincial Railway, became operational. In time, this contributed to the rapid growth of the tea industry.

Geography

Jorhat is located at . It has an average elevation of . The municipality covers an area of , has 19 wards with a population of about 1.53 lakhs at present, with for master plan area. The district spreads over and had a population of 870,000 according to a 1991 census. Population density at that time was . The sex ratio is 913 (913 females per 1000 males).

Demographics

Jorhat Municipal Board (covering the out growth area) had a population of 1,26,736 as of the 2011 census. The average literacy rate of Jorhat in 2011 was 91.39%. Gender-wise, male and female literacy were 93.63% and 88.99% respectively, which is one of the highest in the state. The total literates in Jorhat were 182,600 of which male and female were 96,806 and 85,794 respectively. Jorhat's sex ratio stood at 935 females per 1000 males, according to the Census 2011 Directorate. Hindus were 87.49% of the population, while Muslims were 10.50% and Christians 0.62% of the population respectively. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are 6.40% and 1.84% of the population respectively.

Languages

Assamese is the predominant language and is spoken by 70.08% of the population, while

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 ...

was spoken by 12.27%.

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 ...

(11.60%) and Bhojpuri (1.01%) are spoken by migrants from the Gangetic plains, such as traders and labourers. Other small languages in the city include Marwari, Sadri, Santali, Sora and Odia which in total are spoken by 5.04% of the population.

Culture

Jorhat has contributed in the fields of arts, culture and tradition of the contemporary Assamese society. In 1896, Jorhat Theatre was established to perform cultural activities and dramas by some renowned people of the town. The Chandrakanta Handique Bhawan, the headquarters of

Asam Sahitya Sabha The Asam Sahitya Sabha (; Literary Society of Assam) is a non Government, non profit, literary organisation of Assam. It was founded in December 1917 in Assam, India to promote the culture of Assam and Assamese literature. A branch of the organi ...

was established in 1926. Jorhat has produced creative writers, historians and journalists.

Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (14 October 1924 – 6 August 1997) was an Indian writer. He was one of the pioneers of modern Assamese literature. He was the first ever Assamese writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, which was awarded to him in t ...

, the first Assamese to win India's highest literature award, the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

, was from Jorhat.

Media

The daily newspapers which have Jorhat editions include '' Dainik Janambhumi'', '' Amar Asom'', '' Dainik Agradoot'' and '' Asomiya Khabar'' in Assamese, the '' Purbanchal Prohori'' in Hindi and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' in English. '' The Eastern Clarion'' was the first English daily published in the city, but it was ceased. Apart from the dailies, weekly newspapers including ''Saptahik Janambhumi'' are also published in Jorhat. ''City Guide of Jorhat'' was the first yellow pages, published in July 1987. The first online yellow pages of ''Jorhatmycity'

was initiated in January 2013. Jorhat has a radio broadcast station of

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

(AIR) located in the outskirts of the city at Garmur.

District Court

The District & Sessions Judge Upper

District Jorhat was created on 15 November 1948 and has been made permanent w.e.f the 1 April 1953. The first roll of honor of District & Sessions Judge of Assam Valley, Upper Assam Districts, Jorhat District was Mr. S.K Das, MA, BL. Presently, the territorial jurisdiction of the

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

is extended over 2(two) sub-divisions namely Majuli Sub-Division and Titabar Sub-Division. Altogether, the District & Sessions Judge and the Chief Judicial Magistrate comprise 15 courts manned by Judicial Officers of various grades. The District & Sessions Judge together with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Complex, Jorhat is situated in the heart of the city. The Present District & Sessions Judge as the head of the establishment is Shri Mridul Kumar Kalita. The present Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jorhat, the head of all the Criminal Courts is Sri Vijay Kumar Singh.

Transport

Air

Jorhat Airport (JRH), commonly known as Rowriah Airport, is located at Rowriah, which is within the city itself, approximately from the city centre. The airport has daily flights connectivity operated by

IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

and

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 ...

. It is controlled by the Airports Authority of India.

Rail

The first rail connectivity of Jorhat began in the British era. In 1885, Jorehaut Provincial Railway, a narrow-gauge railway services became operational and it contributed to the growth of the tea industry in Upper Assam. Jorhat is served by Jorhat Town railway station which lies on the Furkating-Jorhat-Mariani branch line of Tinsukia railway division. Mariani Junction railway station, the major railway junction of the district is about from Jorhat. It falls in the Lumding-Dibrugarh section and is well connected to all the large cities of the country by long-distance express trains.

Road

The Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) of Jorhat is at Kotokipukhuri, Tarajan. It provides connectivity to elsewhere in the state and the Northeast with regular buses from ASTC and private operators. Auto-rickshaws, local cabs and

rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...

s are the main mode of public transport within the city.

Waterways

The daily ferry services connect the Nimati ghat with Kamalabari in

Majuli Mājuli or Majuli () is a river island in the Brahmaputra River, Assam and in 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India. It had an area of at the beginning of the 20th century, but having lost significantly to erosion it c ...

. The ''Neamati multimodal waterways terminal'' on

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. I ...

National Waterway 2 National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is a section of the Brahmaputra River having a length of 891 km between the Bangladesh border near Dhubri and Sadiya in Assam. History It was declared as National Waterway No. 2 on 1 September 1988. Developmen ...

in Jorhat district is part of the

Bharatmala The Bharatmala Pariyojna ( 'India garland project') is an ecosystem of road development which includes development of tunnels, bridges, elevated corridors, flyovers, overpass, interchanges, bypasses, ring roads etc. to provide shortest, jam f ...

and Sagarmala projects.Bharatmala presentation
/ref> There are 19 National Waterways for the Northeast connectivity.

Education and research institutions

Research institutes

* Central Eri & Muga Research Training Institute, Ladoigarh, under Central Silk Board * Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute, Jorhat * Institute of Biotechnology & Geotectonics Studies (INBIGS), ONGC Complex, Cinnamara, Jorhat - 785008 * North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat (N.E.I.S.T.) (formerly R.R.L., Jorhat) under CSIR, Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India *

Rain Forest Research Institute Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI) is a research institute situated in Jorhat in Assam. It works under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of In ...

(R.F.R.I.), Jorhat under I.C.F.R.E., Min. of Environment & Forests, Govt.of India * Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Tea Research Association (T.R.A.) Tocklai under Tea Research Association, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India * College of Sericulture, under

Assam Agriculture University Assam Agricultural University (AAU) is an agricultural education state university which was established on 1 April 1969 in Jorhat in the state of Assam, India. The jurisdiction of the university extends to the entire State of Assam with regard ...

Universities

* Assam Agricultural University (A.A.U.), under Government of Assam * Assam Women's University, under Government of Assam * Kaziranga University

Technical institutes

* HRH The Prince of Wales Institute of Engineering and Technology * Jorhat Engineering College, Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Assam *

Jorhat Institute of Science & Technology Jorhat Institute of Science & Technology, formerly Jorhat Science College is an engineering college established in 1971 by the government of Assam. It is located in Sotai, on the outskirts of Jorhat city. It is the first science college of Up ...

, formerly Science College, Jorhat, Government of Assam * Kaziranga University, Mohbondha, Jorhat * North East Institute of Management Science, (opposite the N.E.I.S.T.), Jorhat

Design institute

* National Institute of Design, Jorhat

Medical institutes

* Jorhat Medical College and Hospital under the State Government of Assam * Medical Institute Jorhat, under the Government of Assam. * Dr. J.K. Saikia Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Jorhat

Training institute

*Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Jorhat

Colleges

* Bahona College *

CKB Commerce College CKB Commerce College or Chandra Kamal Bezboruah Commerce College is a government-aided educational institution in Jorhat, in the Indian state of Assam. The college was established under founder principal Madhab Chandra Chakrabarty and promoted ...

* D.C.B. Girls College * Jagannath Barooah College * Jorhat College *

(formerly Jorhat Science College). * Jorhat Kendriya Mahavidyalaya * Jorhat Law College, M.G. Road, Jorhat * Kakojan College, Kakojan * Dr. Nobin Bordoloi College, Dhekiajuli *Cinnamara College, Cinnamara

Junior Colleges

* Luit Valley Academy * NKEM Science Academy Junior College

Schools

Balya Bhavan, Jorhat Balya Bhavan is a prominent Assamese medium school in Jorhat in the state of Assam, India. This co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system ...

Carmel Convent School Carmel Convent School is a group of Catholic schools in India. It has branches in Delhi, Giridih, Gorakhpur, Bhopal, Bangalore, Rourkela, Khopoli, Faridabad, Jorhat, Chandigarh, Gwalior, Kolkata, Durgapur, Madhupur, Dhanbad, Mancherial, Luckn ...

, Cinnamara * Delhi Public School, Jorhat, Sarucharai Gharfalia * Dipankar Vidyapith *

Don Bosco High School, Baghchung Don Bosco High School, Baghchung is a Catholic school in Jorhat, Assam, India. Location Don Bosco High School, Baghchung, is located about ~5.5 km from Jorhat Town on Jorhat - Titabor road (SH32). Academics Don Bosco High School, Baghc ...

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Jorhat Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Jorhat is CBSE affiliated school of Jorhat district of Assam under Shillong region of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS). One of 557 JNV's known for its academics, spread all over India by Government of India. It is locat ...

* Jonaki Sangha Vidyalay, Jorhat * Jorhat Govt. Boys' H.S and M.P. School * Sankardev Seminary High School * Shemford Futuristic School, Choladhara * Spring Dale High Schoolhttp://www.dongme.ning.com * St. Mary's High School, Jorhat, Rowriah * Kendriya Vidyalaya (Indian Air Force Station), Jorhat-785005 * Kendriya Vidyalaya, NEIST (RRL), Jorhat-785006 * Kendriya Vidyalaya, (ONGC), Cinnamara

Sports

Established in 1950, the multi-purpose

Jorhat Stadium Jorhat Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Jorhat, Assam. This is the oldest stadium of Assam with the capacity of 12,000 spectators. It has earthen galleries which were designed by late Abani Mohan Choudhury. The stadium is venue for ...

is the oldest stadium of Assam. It has hosted many Ranji Trophy matches. The historic football tournament ATPA Shield held every year in this venue since 1955. Professional football club Jorhat Town Club uses the stadium as their home ground. Apart from

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and football, facilities of other sports like

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

are also available near the stadium.

Politics

Jorhat is part of

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

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

's Topon Kumar Gogoi the current Member of Parliament serving the 17th

Lok Sabha 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-p ...

from Jorhat, Assam. While

Hitendra Nath Goswami Hitendra Nath Goswami is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly from 30 January 2017 to 20 May 2021. Goswami is a member of Assam Legislative Assembly from Jorhat constituency. He w ...

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

is the incumbent MLA from Jorhat assembly constituency.

Notable people

* Krishna Kanta Handique, Sanskrit scholar,

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

and philanthropist * Amulya Barua, Assamese poet * Ananda Chandra Barua, Assamese poet, dramatist, former president of Asam Sahitya Sabha * Ananda Chandra Dutta, Botanist *

, The first

-winning Assamese writer * Ganesh Gogoi, Assamese poet * Hiren Bhattacharyya, Assamese poet * Hemendra Prasad Barooah, Tea planter and industrialist * Tarun Gogoi, former Chief Minister of Assam. * Jadav Payeng, The "Forest Man of India" * Jagannath Barooah, Scholar, tea planter, philanthropist *

Jitendra Nath Goswami Jitendranath Goswami (born 18 November 1950) is an Indian scientist from Jorhat, Assam. He was the Chief Scientist of Chandrayaan-1, and was also the developer of this project. He served as a director of Physical Research Laboratory situated a ...

, Chief scientist of Chandrayaan -1 * Ranjit Barthakur, Businessman and chairman of

Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...

* Anuradha Sharma Pujari, Assamese journalist and author *

Zubeen Garg Zubeen Garg (born Zubeen Borthakur; 18 November 1972) is an Indian singer, music director, composer, lyricist, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, script writer and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assa ...

, Assamese and Bollywood singer *

Joi Barua Joi Barua ( as, জয় বৰুৱা) is an Indian singer and music composer. Born in Digboi, Assam, he started his career by singing advertising jingles and later did playback singing for Hindi, Assamese and Telugu films. He is also the l ...

, Assamese and Bollywood singer *

Bijoy Krishna Handique Bijoy Krishna Handique (12 October 1934 – 26 July 2015) was an Indian politician who was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Jorhat constituency of Assam and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) politica ...

, Former Union Minister *

, Former Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly, MLA of Jorhat *

Akhil Gogoi Akhil Gogoi is an Indian peasant leader, RTI activist and MLA from Sibsagar, Assam. Over the years he has been leading many anti-graft movements in the state. Gogoi came to national attention after he was awarded the Shanmugam Manjunath Integr ...

, Prominent social activist, MLA from Sivasagar *

Prastuti Parashar Prastuti Parashar (Porasor) is an actress from Assam, India. She has acted in a number of Assamese movies and stage dramas. Early life and education Prastuti Parashar was born at Malow Ali in Jorhat, Assam. Her father Bijoy Chandra Sarma was ...

, Assamese film actress *

Jayanta Nath Jayanta Nath (born 20 May 1964) is an Indian singer, composer, music director, film director from Jorhat, Assam. His contributions are mostly in Assamese music, Assamese film industry and Mobile theatre of Assam. He has composed more than five ...

, Singer, Composer, Music Director * Anwara Taimur, First Woman Chief Minister of Assam * Pitambar Deva Goswami, Spiritual leader, Prominent social worker * Bijoya Chakravarty, Former Lok Sabha MP from Guwahati (Born in Jorhat) * Gaurav Gogoi, Lok Sabha MP from Kaliabor * Wasbir Hussain, Journalist

References

External links

*
Jorhat NIC

{{Authority control Former capital cities in India Cities and towns in Jorhat district