Kokrajhar () is a town in the

Bodoland Territorial Region The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) is an Autonomous administrative divisions of India, autonomous division in Assam, India, and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Assam, proposed state in Northeast India. It is made up of five ...

, an

autonomous territory An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree o ...

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 ...

, one of the North Eastern states of India.

History

Under the Kingdom of Bhutan

From the early 17th century to the present day, the Kokrajhar district was under the control of the

Kingdom of Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, until the

Duar War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutanese War) was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864 to 1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British India commiss ...

s in 1865, when the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

removed the Bhutanese influence and later the areas were merged into the

undivided Goalpara district The Undivided Goalpara district is an erstwhile district of Assam, India, first constituted by the British rulers of Colonial Assam. Establishment Historical background The region was part of Kamarupa in the first millennium, subsequently a part o ...

of the Indian Union in 1949.

Geography

Kokrajhar is located at . It has an average elevation of 38 metres (124 feet).

Climate

Demographics

Indian census, Kokrajhar had a population of 31,152. Males constitute 52% of the population and females constitute 48% of the population. Kokrajhar has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 71%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 74%. In Kokrajhar, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. The district has 3 sub divisions Kokrajhar,

Gossaigaon Gossaigaon is one of the fastest-developing towns and the hometown of the state's youngest Raimona National Park in the Bodoland region of Assam, India. This is a sub-divisional headquarter of Kokrajhar district. It shares its boundaries with t ...

and Parbotjhora.

Language

Bengali is the most spoken language at 18,130 speakers, followed by Bodo at 8,549, Assamese is spoken by 2,752 people and Hindi at 4,024.

Transportation

Rupsi Airport Rupsi Airport is a domestic airport serving the cities of Dhubri and Kokrajhar, Assam, India. It is located at Rupsi, north from the Dhubri city centre.

is situated west from Kokrajhar town. Kokrajhar is served by the government owned

Assam State Transport Corporation Assam State Road Transport Corporation or ASRTC is a state government owned road transport corporation of Assam, India which provides bus services within Assam and adjoining states. Assam State Transport was started as a state government depart ...

, Bodoland Transport Services and many private bus operators. The Kokrajhar railway station lies on the

New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section The New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section of the Barauni–Guwahati line connects New Jalpaiguri in the Indian state of West Bengal and New Bongaigaon in Assam. History During British rule, all links from the northern part of Bengal and As ...

Barauni–Guwahati line The Barauni–Guwahati railway line connects Barauni, Saharsa, Purnia and Katihar in the Indian state of Bihar and Bongaigaon, Kamakhya and in Assam via Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar in West Bengal. It is a linkage of prime ...

under the

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across N ...

with services to important cities of the country like

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest 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 seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

etc. Important trains like

Rajdhani Express The Rajdhani Express () is a series of passenger train services in India operated by Indian Railways connecting the national capital New Delhi with the capitals or the largest cities of various states. ''Rajdhani'', derived from the Sanskrit m ...

Kamrup Express Kamrup Express is a daily Express train which connects Kolkata, the capital of the state of West Bengal with Dibrugarh, a major tea manufacturing town in upper Assam. The name Kamrup is derived from the Kamrup district, one of the List of dist ...

Brahmaputra Mail The 15657 / 15658 Brahmaputra Mail is a daily train that connects Old Delhi with Kamakhya in Assam. Introduced in 1972 after the construction of the rail section of the Farakka Barrage, the train originally ran as the Tinsukia Mail between De ...

North East Express The 12505 / 12506 North East Superfast Express is a Daily Superfast Express train of Indian Railways that runs between Kamakhya Junction in Guwahati, Assam and Anand Vihar Terminal near New Delhi, connecting northeastern India to New Delhi. ...

, Vivek Express,

Garib Rath Express The Garib Rath (lit. Poor Chariot) trains are a series of No frills, no-frills trains operated by Indian Railways to provide air-conditioned train travel at a cheaper rate compared to regular trains. Garib Rath Express trains primarily operate ...

Avadh Assam Express The 15909 / 15910 ''Avadh Assam Express'' is an express train operated by Northeast Frontier Railway that runs between Dibrugarh railway station of Dibrugarh, Assam and Lalgarh Junction of Bikaner, Rajasthan in India. The train is often d ...

etc. have their stoppage at Kokrajhar railway station.

Education

The town has many schools and colleges with English being the sole medium of instruction in higher education. All the colleges under the jurisdiction of

Bodoland Territorial Council The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is an autonomous council for the Bodoland Territorial Region established under 6th Schedule of The Constitution of India according to the Memorandum of Settlement between Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force ...

is affiliated under

Bodoland University Bodoland University also known as BU, established in 2009, is a public state collegiate university located in Kokrajhar, Assam, India. It is the first university in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) along with the Lower Assam region (excep ...

since 2017.

Secondary schools

* Don Bosco School, Kokrajhar * U. N. Academy, Kokrajhar * D N Himatsingka High School

Universities and colleges

* Bodoland University, Kokrajhar * Kokrajhar Government College * Commerce College, Kokrajhar * Science College, Kokrajhar * Bineswar Brahma Engineering College, Kokrajhar *

Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar The Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar (CITK) is a public technical university established in 2006 and owned by the Government of India. It is located in Kokrajhar, Assam, India. The institute is spread across in Kokrajhar and offers B ...

Kokrajhar Medical College and Hospital Kokrajhar Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) is a government-run medical college cum hospital located in Rangalikhata, Kokrajhar, Assam.The College started functioning in 2023 with approval from the National Medical Commission. It is only the gov ...

Politics

Kokrajhar consists of three assembly constituencies: Kokrajhar East, Kokrajhar West and

, which all are part of Kokrajhar (Lok Sabha constituency). Joyanta Basumatary from

United People's Party, Liberal The United People's Party Liberal ( UPPL) is a regional party of Assam. The party has its headquarters in Kokrajhar Town. The party has significant support in Bodoland Territorial Region. History The UPPL was formed on 5 August 2015 and the ...

is the current member of

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from

Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India. The seat is reserved for scheduled tribes. Assembly segments Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assemb ...

Notable personalities

Halicharan Narzary Halicharan Narzary (born 10 May 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. Club career Youth career He was born in Kokrajhar, BTR, Assam to a Bodo family. Narzary first started ...

, national footballer * Hagrama Mohilary, ex chief of BTC and chairperson of

Bodoland People's Front The Bodoland People's Front (BPF) is a state political party in Assam, India. The party is headquartered in Kokrajhar Town and previously was in ruling government in the autonomous region of Bodoland. It along with UPPL is the two main regi ...

Durga Boro Durga Boro (born 28 January 1987) is an Indian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), striker. Career Early career Born in the small village of Gendrabil, in the Kokrajhar district of Assam ...

, footballer *

Bineshwar Brahma Bineshwar Brahma (28 February 1948 – 19 August 2000 ) was the president of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha ('Bodo Literary Union') in Assam, India. He was born in a small village of Bhatarmari in Kokrajhar. He was the son of Late Taramoni Brahma an ...

, politician, poet, teacher * Apurna Narzary, national footballer

References

Sources

* {{Cite book , last1=Phuntsho , first1=Karma , title=The History of Bhutan , date=2013 , publisher=Penguin Books , isbn=9781908323583 Cities and towns in Kokrajhar district Bodoland