About Our District

The name “Cachar” has derived from the Dimasa word kachari. The district headquarters are located at Silchar. The name Cachar traces its origin to the Kachari kingdom (called Dimasa Kingdom in medieval times). There are 3 towns in Cachar district namely Silchar, Lakhipur and Sonai.

Cachar was a part of the greater Dimasa Kachari Kingdom which also included the adjoining Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.The Last King of Cachar was

Raja Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu. During his period Khaspur was the Capital of Cachar(Kachar). Cachar was another native kingdom that fell victim to the imperialist design of the British. The Kingdom of Cachar was being ruled by two rulers having clearly defined areas of control. In the plains (southern portion of Cachar) Govindrachandradwajanarayana Hasnu was the ruling prince. Immediately after his assassination by Gambhir Singh, the British annexed it to their dominion in India (1832). Tularam was the ruling chief of the hilly tract (northern portion of Cachar or Dima Hasao). His territories were annexed after he died in 1854. Thus entire Cachar came under the British occupation.While south Cachar was annexed under Robertson, the hilly tract of Cachar came under British occupation when Jenkins was the Commissioner of Assam. 

Geography

Cachar district occupies an area of 3,786 square kilometers (1,462 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to South Georgia. The Barak is the main river of the district and apart from that there are numerous small rivers which flow from Dima Hasao district, Manipur or Mizoram. The district is mostly made up of plains, but there are a number of hills spread across the district. Cachar receives an average annual rainfall of more than 3,000 mm. The climate is Tropical wet with hot and wet summers and cool winters.

Economy

The district headquarters, Silchar, is one of the most important business centers of Assam.

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

Divisions

The district has two sub-divisions: Silchar and Lakhipur. There are seven Assembly constituencies in this district, viz. Silchar, Sonai, Dholai, Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola and Katigorah. Dholai is designated for scheduled castes. The seven constituencies make up the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency

Transport

Silchar Airport

Silchar is one of the 6 cities of Assam to have an airport which is located at Kumbhirgram. The district is served by regular flights from Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, Jet Airways and North East Shuttles. The district is connected by broad gauge railroads to Lumding in Assam and by road to the rest of the country. Regular bus and train services are also there with other cities of North-East India