Bongaigaon () is an industrial town in the Indian 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 ...

. Its urban area spans across Bongaigaon and

Chirang district Chirang District is an administrative Districts of Assam, district in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam state in the North-East India, North-East of India. Etymology The word "Chirang" has derived from Garo language, Garo word – "chi" ...

. It also acts as the district headquarters of Bongaigaon district and commercial and industrial hub of the west part of the state of Assam. The New Bongaigaon Junction railway station is the 12th largest railway station in

Northeast Frontier Railway zone The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and e ...

which is one of the major railway zones in India.

Etymology

According to lore, the name 'Bongaigaon' derives from the words 'bon' (wild) and 'gai' (cow). In the distant past, wild cows were often a menace to villagers in this area, due to which the district got its name.

History

Bijni Kingdom

The area was ruled by

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s hailing from the Koch belonging to Indo-Mongoloid ethnic group of peoples from the 16th century to the end of princely states in 1956.

Administrative changes under British rule

The original Goalpara district was first created in 1822 by David Scott, an employee of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and the first Commissioner of newly created North east Rangpur district headquarters at Rangpur town (now in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). The newly created Goalpara district was connected with North-east

Rangpur district Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

for administration. The area, formerly part of the Bijni Kingdom, which included the undivided

Garo Hills The Garo Hills (IPA: ˈgɑ:ro:) are part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Meghalaya state of India. They are inhabited by the Garo people. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecor ...

district constituted the Undivided Goalpara district area in 1822. In 1866, Garo Hills was separated from the Goalpara district area, and in the same year a new district named "Greater Koch Behar" was created and the remaining portion of Goalpara district was withdrawn from Rangpur and tagged with Koch Behar. In 1874 a new province, the Assam Valley Province, was created by the British government, and Goalpara district area was withdrawn from Koch Behar and tagged with Assam Province, which continues until today. The original Goalpara district is now split into five districts: Goalpara, Dhubri,

Kokrajhar Kokrajhar () is a town in the Bodoland Territorial Region, an Autonomous administrative divisions of India, autonomous territory in Assam, one of the Northeast India, North Eastern states of India. History Under the Kingdom of Bhutan From the ...

, Bongaigoan, and Chirang.

Creation of Bongaigaon and modern era

On 14 March 1989, bombs from separatist tribal militants exploded in Bongaigaon, killing 17 and wounding at least 48. The government of Assam decided in 1989 to create a new district of Bongaigaon, carving out some areas of the Goalpara and Kokrajhar Districts with its headquarters located at Bongaigaon. On 29 September 1989, the creation of Bongaigaon District was declared by the Government of Assam with its headquarters at Bongaigaon. In June 2022, heavy floods in Assam affected the residents of Bongaigaon.

Administration

The Bongaigaon Town Committee was first constituted in the year 1961 and was upgraded to a Municipal Board in the year 1977. Presently the Municipal Area consists of 25 wards covering an area of 14.31 sq m. Bongaigaon is part of Barpeta (Lok Sabha constituency). Diptimayee Choudhury is the current M.L.A. of the Bongaigaon constituency.

Geography

Bongaigaon is located at . It has an average altitude of 62.6 metres. The town is situated 200 km west of the State Capital and has an important place in the communication network of Assam and wider northeast India. The New Bongaigaon railway station is a major hub connecting Assam with the rest of India. This town is also very well connected by road through the National Highways 31 B and 31C. This connectivity and the strategic location of the town in the region has made it an important center in trade and commerce in Western Assam, serving a vast hinterland. It is one of the biggest industrial towns in Lower Assam. The district is part of the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...

's basin.

Climate

Bongaigaon has a borderline monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cwa'') marginally too cool to be a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(''Aw''). During the "cool" season from November to February, afternoons are warm to very warm and mornings are cool. In the "hot" season of March and April, the weather becomes hot and thunderstorm rainfalls increase in frequency to prelude the oppressive

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season from June to September where heavy rainfall occurs every afternoon.