Sonitpur

Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur.

Etymology

The name of the is derived from a mythological story found in Hindu epics. The Sanskrit word ''Śōṇita'' means blood. The etymology of Tezpur, the headquarter of this district is also based on the mythological story.

History

Sonitpur district was once part of the kingdom of Kamarupa. A plate dated to the 11th century CE, during the reign of the Pala dynasty, records a land grant to a Brahmin. Descriptions in the plate indicate the region was ruled by a relatively powerful monarch with a well-organized administration. It was occupied by the Baro-Bhuyan feudal lords in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the eastern part of the district, up to the Kameng river, was conquered by the Ahoms. In 1523, they deported a large number of Chutia families to a place on the east bank of the Kameng. In 1532, they defeated a Mughal army sent against them at the banks of the Kameng.

Starting in the 16th century, under the reign of Nara Narayan, the Koch kingdom expanded to a great extent. Several years after the Ahom victory at the Kameng, Nara Narayan sacked the Ahom capital at Gargaon and forced the Ahoms to pay tribute. Its eastern conquests were completed by Raghudev, the nephew of the king and heir as Nara Narayan had no son. However eventually one of Nara Nayaran's queens gave birth to a child, Lakshmi Narayan. Raghudev rebelled, supported by the Ahoms, but was eventually defeated. In response Nara Narayan gave Koch territory east of the Sankosh river to Raghudev and the rest to Lakshmi Narayan. Raghudev's kingdom became known as Koch Hajo, and quickly fell under Ahom hegemony, while the western Koch Bihar kingdom fell under Mughal influence. Koch Hajo's boundary with the Ahoms was at the Kameng river, also known as the Bareli, which flowed through the middle of what is now Sonitpur district.

Soon war broke out between Raghudev and Lakshmi Narayan. Lakshmi Narayan was defeated and appealed to the Mughals for help. The Mughals sent a large force and defeated Raghudev, although Sonitpur was on the eastern boundary and so was not conquered. Raghudev's brother Bali Narayan then fled to his Ahom overlords for help, and when the Mughals demanded his return, the Ahoms refused. This led to several wars between the Ahoms and Mughals, most of which were in lower Assam. In 1615, a Mughal army advanced as far as the Kameng, but was soon defeated on both land and water. In 1637, the Mughals defeated and killed Bali Narayan and in the treaty that followed, the entirety of Sonitpur came into Ahom possession. During the chaos that followed the death of Shah Jahan in 1658, the Ahoms tried to push their boundary to the Sankosh river but were pushed back by Mir Jumla, who captured Gargaon. On their advance, the Mughals took a fort near Silghat while the Ahoms evacuated the Chandara fort near Tezpur. However the rains that set in during their retreat, as well as the dieases, took a huge toll on the Mughal army, and the Ahoms soon took back Guwahati and kept it.

The rajas of Darrang quickly became reduced in territory to a small area around Mangaldoi. In 1792, the Moamoria rebellion broke out, and fighting soon ensured the entirety of Ahom territory fell into anarchy. Several outside kingdoms, including Manipur, attempted to send help but could not do much. The Moamorias raised a Ahom prince to kingship, and in 1786 conquered Rangpur, the Ahom capital. The Ahom raja Gaurinath Singh was forced to flee. While the Ahoms were beset by the Moamoria rebellion, the Darrang raja and a descendant of Bali Narayan, Krishna Narayan, tried to reassert their independence with the help of Bengali mercenaries. However in 1792, a British force sent to help the Ahom kings managed to take back Guwahati and defeated Krishna Narayan. In 1794, they retook Rangpur. However much of the kingdom was still only under weak Ahom control, and subject to constant raids from the surrounding hill-tribes like the Nyishis. In 1818, the Burmese invaded to restore their preferred monarch on the throne, and forced out the Ahom king and took over his land. The Burmese occupation of Assam resulted in massive death and destruction. In 1826, the British declared war on Myanmar and defeated them in the first Anglo-Burmese War. In the subsequent Treaty of Yandabo, the territory came under British control.

Darrang, including present-day Sonitpur district, became a separate district in 1833, and the capital was shifted to Tezpur in 1835. The British introduced tea plantation to the district, and imported large numbers of labourers from the tribal belt of Chota Nagpur to the Sonitpur area.

Administration

* Headquarters: Tezpur
* Number of Revenue Circles/Tehsils
* Number of Mouza: 26
* Number of Community Development(C.D.) Blocks: 17
* Number of Police Stations: 11
* No. of Anchalik Panchayats: 7
* Name of Gaon Panchayats: 158
* Number of Villages: 1615 (including 19 under BTAD)
* Number of Towns: 6
* Names of Towns: Tezpur, Dhekiajuli, Rangapara & Jamugurihat
* Number of Municipality Board: 2
* Number of Town Committees: 4
* Number of Police District: 1 (Sonitpur Police District)

Geography

Sonitpur district lies on the plains between the foothills of the Himalayas and the valley of the Brahmaputra which forms its southern border. Sonitpur district had the second largest area of districts in Assam, after Karbi Anglong district, at , comparable in size to the island of Guadalcanal. Other than the Brahmaputra, the major rivers in the district are its right tributaries and include the Jiabharali, Gabharu, Borgang and Buroi.

National protected area

Sonitpur District is home to several wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. In 1998, Sonitpur district became home to Nameri National Park in the north, which has an area of . It is also home to Orang National Park, which it shares with Darrang district. Orang National Park was established in 1999 and has an area of .

Sonitpur is home to two wildlife sanctuaries: Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also home to the registered forests (RF) of Behali RF (140 km²), Naduar RF (69 km²), and Charduar RF (260 km²).

Climate

Sonitpur District falls in the Sub-Tropical Rainforest climate region, (Af ) in Koppen's climate classification and enjoys Hot & Wet type of climate. Summers are hot and humid; with an average temperature of 27 °C. Rainfall is heavy above 3,000 mm (9 ft) in wet months January to June which is both a boon and a bane for the people. A boon, for it, provides natural irrigation to the fields; and a bane, as it causes the rivers to overflow their banks and cause floods. All months have average precipitation of at least 60 mm and the average temperature of the cold month is above 18 °C. As anyone can expect, Tropical rainforest is the vegetation in and around the city.

Flora and fauna

The forests of Sonitpur district are semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests and bamboo forests, with hydrophytes in the wetlands. Species include: ''Aegle marmelos'', '' Albizia procera'', '' Alstonia scholaris'', ''Arundo donax'', '' Bambusa balcooa'', ''Cynodon dactylon'', ''Dipterocarpus macrocarpus'', ''Duabanga grandiflora'', ''Eichhornia crassipes

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