Goalpara district
District of Assam
Shiva temple at Sri Surya Pahar
Shiva temple at Sri Surya Pahar
Nickname: 
Raghunath
Location in Assam
Location in Assam
Country India
StateAssam
DivisionLower Assam
HeadquartersGoalpara
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituenciesDhubri (shared with South Salmara-Mankachar District, Dhubri district)
 • Vidhan Sabha constituenciesDudhnai, Goalpara East, Goalpara West, Jaleswar
Area
 • Total1,824 km2 (704 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total1,008,183
 • Density550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
DemonymGoalpariya
Languages
 • OfficialAssamese
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
783 101 to** (** area code)
Telephone code03663
ISO 3166 codeIN-AS, IN-AS-GP
Vehicle registrationAS 18
Websitegoalpara.assam.gov.in

Goalpara district is an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam.

History

It was a princely state ruled by the Koch kings and the then ruler of the undivided kingdom. Today the erstwhile Goalpara district is divided into Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara district.

The name of the district Goalpara is said to have originally derived from 'Gwaltippika' meaning 'Guwali village' or the village of the milk men means (Yadav). The history of Goalpara goes back to several centuries. The district came under British rule in 1765. Before this, the area was under the control of the Koch dynasty. In 1826 the British accessed Assam and Goalpara was annexed to the North-East Frontier in 1874, along with the creation of district headquarters at Dhubri.[1]

On 1 July 1983 two districts were split from Goalpara: Dhubri and Kokrajhar.[2] On 29 September 1989 Bongaigaon district was created from parts of Goalpara and Kokrajhar.[2]

Geography

The district headquarters are located at Goalpara. Goalpara district occupies an area of 1,824 square kilometres (704 sq mi),[3] comparatively equivalent to South Korea's Jeju-do.[4]

Economy

In 2006 the Indian government named Goalpara one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[5] It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[5]

Political divisions

There are four Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Dudhnoi, Goalpara East, Goalpara West, and Jaleswar.[6] Dudhnoi is designated for scheduled tribes.[6] Dudhnoi is in the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency, whilst the other three are in the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.[7]

Following are the present MLA's of Goalpara-

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Goalpara district has a population of 1,008,183,[8] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus[9] or the US state of Montana.[10] of which 171,657 are children between 0–6 years of age. Goalpara has a sex ratio of 964 females for every 1000 males.[8] The crude literacy rate of the district is 55.91%, while the effective literacy rate of 7+ population is 67.4%. 13.69% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 4.47% and 22.97% of the population respectively.[8]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
190190,482—    
1911117,602+2.66%
1921149,263+2.41%
1931172,782+1.47%
1941198,407+1.39%
1951216,763+0.89%
1961297,178+3.21%
1971433,516+3.85%
1991668,138+2.19%
2001822,035+2.09%
20111,008,183+2.06%
source:[11]

Religions

Religions in Goalpara district (2011)[12]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 57.52%
Hinduism
 
 34.51%
Christianity
 
 7.72%
Other or not stated
 
 0.25%
Population of circles by religion
Circle Muslims Hindus Christians Others
Lakhipur 80.88% 17.42% 1.49% 0.21%
Balijana 56.22% 32.27% 11.25% 0.26%
Matia 61.43% 32.90% 5.41% 0.26%
Dudhnoi 6.52% 70.34% 22.81% 0.33%
Rangjuli 29.56% 61.30% 8.92% 0.22%

Muslim population in Goalpara district is 57.52%, while Hindu population is 34.51% and Christian Population stands at 7.72% and others include 0.25% respectively as per as census 2011 report. All the Garos are Christian.[12] Way back in 1971, Hindus were slight majority in Goalpara district with forming 50.1% of the population, while Muslims were 41.5% at that time.[13]

Languages

Languages of Goalpara district (2011)[14]

  Assamese (51.78%)
  Bengali (28.83%)
  Garo (7.56%)
  Rabha (5.16%)
  Bodo (3.53%)
  Hindi (0.94%)
  Others (2.20%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 51.78% of the population spoke Assamese, 28.83% Bengali, 7.56% Garo, 5.16% Rabha, 3.53% Boro and 0.94% Hindi as their first language.[14] Bengali speakers are 28.8% as per as 2011 census language census report, but Goalpara district is home to a large Miya Muslim population of Bengali origin, most of whom now identify themselves as Assamese speakers in the census.[15][16]

Tourism

Tourist spots in the district include:

  • Sri Surya Pahar, a significant but relatively unknown archaeological site in Assam, a hill which showcases the remains of cultural heritage of three important religions of India, Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.[17]
  • Dadan Hill has a Shiva Temple on its top. The temple was established by a general of the army of King Bana of Sonitpur named Dadan.
  • Pir Majhar is situated in Goalpara town, a tomb of a saint named Hazarat Sayed Abul Kasem Kharasani. He is a saint who was respected by Hindus and Muslims alike.
  • Pir Majhar is situated in Katarihara, Golapara, a tomb of a Muslim saint named Al Bakdadi.
  • Hulukanda hill is located at the center of Goalpara.
  • Sri Tukreswari hill
  • Paglartek Baba at Barbhita
  • Urpod beel of Agia
  • Dhamar Risen beel of Lakhipur, Goalpara are some other attractions of the district.
  • Hulukanda Hill, near Bramhaputra river in the town used to be the center of salt trading during British rule. Daniel Raush used to stay there.

References

  1. ↑ "A brief history of Goalpara District". 11 September 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 Law, Gwillim (25 September 2011). "Districts of India". Statoids. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Srivastava, Dayawanti, ed. (2010). "States and Union Territories: Assam: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. p. 1116. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.
  4. ↑ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 18 February 1998. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Jeju-do 1,825km2
  5. 1 2 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Revenue & Election District wise break - up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "List of Assembly Constituencies showing their Parliamentary Constituencies wise break - up" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Assam website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "District Census Handbook: Goalpara" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  9. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Cyprus 1,120,489 July 2011 est.
  10. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Montana 989,415
  11. ↑ Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  12. 1 2 "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Assam". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  13. ↑ International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications https://www.ijsrp.org › ijsrp-...PDF The Change of Religion and Language Composition in the State of Assam ...
  14. 1 2 "Table C-16 Population By Mother Tongue: Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  15. ↑ Saikia, Arunabh (2 April 2021). "A new generation of 'Miya' Muslims in Assam may vote for Congress-AIUDF – but only out of compulsion". Scroll. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  16. ↑ X, Samrat (8 January 2018). "National Register of Citizens: Identity issue haunts Assam, again". Newslaundry. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  17. ↑ Malakar, Bhaskar. "Goalpara District : Home". goalpara.gov.in. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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