Nagaon is a city and a

municipal board A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Nagaon district Nagaon district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Assam. At the time of the 2011 census it was the most populous district in Assam, before Hojai district was split from it in 2016. History Bordowa was the birthplace of the ...

in the Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

. It is situated east of

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 ...

. With a population of 1,16,355 as per 2011 census it is an AMRUT City and 4th biggest city of Assam.

History

Nagaon (historically also known as Nowgong) has a rich history dating back to ancient times. The region was part of the ancient kingdom of Kamarupa and later came under the rule of various dynasties including the Kacharis and the Ahoms. This division was organised on both banks of the Kalang river by Momai Tamuli Borbarua in 1611 during the reign of

Pratap Singha Susenghphaa or Pratap Singha ( – 1641), was the 17th and one of the most prominent kings of the Ahom kingdom. As he was advanced in years when he became king, he is also called the ''burha Raja'' (Old king). His reign saw an expansion of the ...

. Its settlement was completed during the reign of

Gadadhar Singha Swargadeo Gadadhar Singha (1681– February 1696), also known by Tai name Supatphaa, born Gadapani, was the twenty-ninth king of Ahom kingdom, who reigned from 1681 to 1696. He established the rule of Tungkhungia royal house of Ahom kings, whose ...

. Nagaon was under the administration of the Borphukan. From Nagaon 1,310 soldiers took part in the Kachari invasion of Swargadeo

Rudra Singha Swargadeo Rudra Singha (– 27 August 1714), with Tai name Sukhrungphaa, was the 30th Ahom king, reigning from 1696 to 1714 A.D . His father Gadadhar Singha freed Assam from the Mughal disturbances and internal conspiracies, thereby Rudra Sin ...

in 1707. The area witnessed significant developments during the British colonial period. In 1833, Nagaon was established as a British administrative headquarters, becoming one of the original districts of Assam. The British administration brought several changes to the region, including the development of tea plantations and the introduction of modern education.

Geography

The Kolong River, a tributary 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 ...

, flows through Nagaon and in the process divides the city into two distinct regions: Nagaon and Haibargaon. Nagaon is bounded on the north by the

Sonitpur district 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 district is derived from a story found ...

and the Brahmaputra River. On the south, it borders the West Karbi Anglong district,

Dima Hasao Dima Hasao district (), is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of two autonomous hill districts of Assam. The district headquarters Haflong ...

and

Hojai District Hojai District is a district in Assam, India. It was formed on 15 August 2015. The headquarters of the district is situated at Sankardev Nagar, which is about 8 km away from Hojai town. Hojai District was formed from three tehsils of N ...

. On the east it is bounded by the

Karbi Anglong district Karbi Anglong district is an District, administrative unit in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Assam. It is an autonomous district administered by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) according to the provisions ...

and the

Golaghat district Golaghat district (Pron:ˌgəʊləˈgɑ:t) is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India. It attained district status in 1987. The district headquarters are located at Golaghat. The district occupies an area of ...

, while on the west it neighbours the Marigaon district. There are several

beel A beel (Bengali language, Bengali and Assamese language, Assamese: বিল) is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra ...

s, marshy areas and swamps in the district, including the regions of Marikalong, Potakalong, Haribhanga, Jongalbalahu, Samaguri Beel
Gatanga Beel
Urigadang and Nawbhanga. These wetlands are former channels of the Kolong and Kopili rivers.

Climate

Nagaon has been ranked 25th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India.

Transport

Road

There is very good availability of buses playing from Guwahati, Jorhat and Tezpur to Nagaon, There is flexibility of timings. Plenty of government and private buses travel between Guwahati and Nagaon. The district lies about 120 km east of Guwahati with an average travel time of 2 hours. Nagaon is about 190 km from Jorhat and 75 km from Tezpur. Taxies are available for hire from all major destinations to Nagaon.

Railway

There are two railway stations in Nagaon town, one at Haibargaon (Dhing gate) and another at Nagaon. The nearest railway junction is at Chaparmukh, which is around 28 km from Nagaon.

Airport

The nearest airport is

Tezpur Airport Tezpur Airport , also known as Salonibari Air Force Station, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Station serving Tezpur, Assam, India. It is located in Salonibari, situated from the city centre. The airport covers an area of 22 acre ...

. The nearest international airport is

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport , or Guwahati Airport, is an international airport serving the List of cities in Assam, largest city of Assam and the capital of the state within it, Guwahati and Dispur, in India. It is the pri ...

in Guwahati.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Nagaon city had a population of 155,889 making it one of the largest cities of Assam. The population is largely of heterogeneous nature. Indigenous Assamese communities along with tribal communities like Karbi,

Tiwa (Lalung) The Tiwa people (Also known as Lalung) is a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group primarily inhabiting the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, and some parts of neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar. A st ...

are the natives of the city. Assamese is spoken by 70,039 people,

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 33,978,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

is spoken by 15,926 people and 35,946 speaks others languages.

Politics

Nagaon is part of the

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 ...

constituency of Nowgong. Rupak Sarmah of BJP is the current MLA of Nowgong (Vidhan Sabha constituency). Pradyut Bordoloi of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

is the current MP of Nowgong (Lok Sabha constituency).

Education

Modern education was first introduced in the district by

Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...

, such as Miles Bronson and Nathan Brown in the nineteenth century. Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, a major figure in

Assamese literature Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the literary works in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contempor ...

, spent the better part of his life in Nagaon, and the Assamese intellectual Gunabhiram Barua worked in Nagaon for about two decades.

Schools

The Nowgong Mission High School, established by Miles Bronson in 1846 is one of the oldest school in Assam. It also has the third oldest government school in Assam, the Nowgong Government Boys' Higher Secondary School, established in 1865. Another old school is the Dawson Higher Secondary & Multipurpose School. Prominent English Medium Schools:

* Kendriya Vidyalaya, Nagaon * Christ Jyoti School * Nowgong Mission High School * St. Ignatius Loyola English Medium High School * Delhi Public School, Nagaon * Narayana e-Techno School * St. Antony's High School * Little Flower School, Nagaon * Model English School * Nagaon English Academy * Sandipani Vidyamandir * St. Boniface High School * Riverdale School, Nagaon * St. Justin School, Bebejia School having both English and Assamese medium * Ramanujan Secondary School Other Schools of Repute: * Shankardev Shishu Niketan, Nagaon * National Academy Nagaon * Nowgong Government Boys' Higher Secondary School * Nowgong Government Girls' Higher Secondary School * Nagaon Bengali Boys' Higher Secondary School * Nagaon Bengali Girls' Higher Secondary School * Government Urban Basic School * Dawson Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School * Om Prakash Jajodia Girls' Hindi High School * Marwari Hindi high School * Nabarup Jatiya Vidyapith * Navaroop jatiya vidyapith * Haibargaon Adarsha High School

Colleges

At present, there are about 25 colleges, of which probably the most renowned are * A.D.P. College (named after Anandaram Dhekial Phookan) * Nowgong College ( Nagaon University) * Nowgong Girls' College * Nowgong Law College * College of Education, Nagaon * Khagarijan College (named after the old administrative headquarters of Nowgong District) * Nagaon G.N.D.G. Commerce College * New Gatanga Food Craft Institute, Rangagorah * Pioneer Arts College Besides these there are a number of junior colleges that have sprung up in Nagaon. As such many students from the neighboring districts also come to study in these colleges. Some of these are * Abhigyan Junior college * Alpha Beta College] * Anandaram Baruah Junior College * Bharali's Academy Junior College * Chanakya Junior College * Concept Junior College * CV Raman Junior College * Daswani Classes (Domain Academy) * Dimension Junior College * Dr. S.R.K. Junior College * Dronacharya Junior College * Geetanjali Junior College * Gurukul Global Academy, Nagaon * Gyanpith Junior College * Kalong-Kapili Vidyapith Junior College * Kalongpar Vidyapith Junior College * Kamala Kanta Barua Junior College * Madhabdev Junior College * Matrix Junior College * Nagaon Junior College * Nonoi Junior college * Ramanujan Junior College * Renaissance Junior College * Srimanta Sankardev Junior College

Assam Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital

The Assam Homeopathic College is situated in Haibargaon, Nagaon. The institute was established in the year 1968. It is the first homeopathic medical college of the entire North East India.

Nowgong Polytechnic

Nagaon is also home to Nowgong Polytechnic, one of the oldest technical education institutes in Assam. Nagaon also has an ITI at Panigaon.

The College of Fisheries

The College of Fisheries, the only college of its kind in the entire northeastern India, is located in Raha and comes under the academic management of

Assam Agricultural University Assam Agricultural University (AAU) is an agricultural education state university (India), 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 ...

Jorhat Jorhat ( /) is a major city in Upper Assam division, Upper Assam and among the fastest growing urban centres in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and ...

Nagaon Medical College and Hospital

The foundation stone of the Nagaon Medical College and Hospital was laid by the then chief minister of Assam Mr.

Tarun Gogoi Tarun Gogoi (1 April 1936 – 23 November 2020) was an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 13th Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. He was the longest serving Chief Minister of Assam. He was a member of the Indian National Con ...

in February 2016. It is located at Laokhowa Road, Mohkhuli Chariali, Diphalu, Nagaon - 782003. Nagaon Medical College and Hospital commenced its inaugural academic session on September 1, 2023, with the induction of its first batch of 100 MBBS students. This event marked the beginning of the college's educational activities following its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, 2023. The college is affiliated with Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences and operates under the approval of the National Medical Commission.

Nagaon Engineering College

The Nagaon Engineering College is currently under construction at Engineer's Street, Food Craft Road, Rangagarah Circle, New Gatanga near Nonoi Tea Estate. Situated approximately 25 kilometers from Nagaon city, the college spans an area of 35 bighas (11.56 acres). It is expected to be operational in a couple of years.Nagaon Engineering College
/ref>

Universities

1. Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya Nagaon is home to the

Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya (MSSV) is a state private university established through ''The Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya Act, 2013'' in the State of Assam, India in 2013. The university is located in Nagao ...

, which offers postgraduate and doctorate level courses. 2. Nagaon University As of 2024, Nowgong College has been declared as a university. However, official status from the University Grants Commission of India (UGC) is pending.

Notable people

Srimanta Sankardev Srimanta Sankardev (, ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of ...

, Saint * Lakshminath Bezbaroa, poet, novelist and writer *

Bhabendra Nath Saikia Bhabendra Nath Saikia (20 February 1932 – 13 August 2003) was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader ...

, National Award winning Film Director, Physicist from University of London * Jatin Bora, actor * Lakshmi Nandan Bora, novelist * Mahim Bora, writer Laksminath Bezbaruah

* Mayur Bora, writer * Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi, First Chief Minister of Assam * Hima Das, athlete * Birendra Nath Datta, academician, linguist, author * Pabitra Kumar Deka, journalist and humor writer * Rashmi Desai, actress * Diganta Hazarika, actor * Khagen Mahanta, singer *

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta Prafulla Kumar Mahanta (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian politician who was the leader of the Assam Movement, and the 11th Chief Minister of Assam from 1985 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2001 and the co-founder and former President of the ...

, Politician, Former Chief Minister of Assam * Papon, singer, musician *

Parveen Sultana Begum Parween Sultana (born 24 May 1950) is an Indian Hindustani classical singer of the Patiala Gharana. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014 by the Government of India and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by th ...

, classical singer.

Sports

The multipurpose Nurul Amin Stadium of Nagaon is named after the late sportsperson

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin (15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan from 7 December to 20 December 1971. His premiership term of only 13 days was the shortest served in Pakista ...

. It hosts the famous All India Independence Day Cup

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament every year wherein most of the teams of national repute participate. Other sports like cricket, hockey, kabaddi etc. are also played in this stadium, and sports training programs are also held here. Hima Das, who is an Indian sprinter and the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships, was born in Dhing, a town in Nagaon.

Photo gallery

Kolong1.jpg, The Kolong river flowing through Nagaon নগাঁও চহৰ.jpg, An area of Nagaon Town Haibargaon.jpg, Haibargaon, a commercial area of Nagaon Nagaon District Library.jpg, Nagaon District Library A temporary jewellery shop on a footpath of Nagaon.jpg, A temporary jewellery shop on a footpath of Nagaon A Weekly Market of Nagaon, Assam.jpg, A typical weekly market in a village of Nagaon District Paddy cultivation in Nagaon.jpg, Local people busy in paddy field of Nagaon

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Nagaon district Year of establishment missing