Dooars
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2013) |
| Dooars | |
|---|---|
 A tea garden in the Dooars with the Himalayas in the background | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Indomalayan realm |
| Geography | |
| Country |  India
|
| Elevation | 90–1,750 m (300–5,740 ft) |
| Rivers | Brahmaputra River, Murti river |
| Conservation | |
| Global 200 | Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands |
TheDooarsorDuars(/duˈɑːrz/) are the alluvialfloodplainsin eastern-northeasternIndiaand southernBhutanthat lie south of the outer foothills of theHimalayasand north of theBrahmaputra Riverbasin. This region is about 30 km (19 mi) wide and stretches over about 350 km (220 mi) from theTeesta RiverinWest Bengalto the Dhansiri River inUdalguri districtofAssam.The region forms the gateway toBhutan.[1]It is part of theTerai-Duar savanna and grasslandsecoregion.[2]
Dooarsmeans 'doors' inAssamese,Kamtapuri,Bengali,Maithili,Bhojpuri,andMagahilanguages. There are 18 passages or gateways between the hills in Bhutan and the plains in India.[1]This region is divided by theSankosh Riverinto Eastern and Western Dooars, consisting of an area of 880 km2(340 sq mi).
History
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2023) |
The Dooars belonged to theKamata Kingdomunder theKoch dynasty;[1]They acted as a trade route between Assam andBhutan.Assam exports Muga, silk cloth, endi cloth, dried fish and rice and imports consisted of woollen cloth, gold-dust, rock salt, yaktails musk, ponies and blankets from Bhutan.[3]
In the early 17th-century, the combined forces of Ahoms and Koches temporarily checked the Bhutia's transgression. During this period two important Duars on the Darrang frontier, Buriguma and Killing were underAhomscontrol. During theAhom–Mughal conflictsin the mid 17th century, the Bhutias attempted to extend their authority as far asGohain Kamal Ali.
In the reign of Ahom kingJayadhwaj Singha,theDruk Desiof Bhutan requested the transfer of these Duars to Bhutan. Therefore, an agreement was drawn, and the Darrang Duars went to the hands of Bhutias on the condition of annual tribute to Ahom side. The Darrang Duars were also surrendered to Ahoms annually for four months from June to October. These Duars were properties ofAhom government,but theDruk Desiof Bhutan took possession of them in last phase of 18th-century when the Ahoms were engaged ininternal revolutionsof the state.[4]
This region was controlled by the kingdom of Bhutan whenBritish Indiaannexed it in 1865 after theDuar Warunder the command of Captain Hedayat Ali. Bhutan lost almost one-fifth of its area in this war.[5]
The area was divided into two parts: Western Dooars and Eastern Dooars. The Western Dooars were under the Kingdom ofCooch Behar Statefrom 1586 to 1949, and the Eastern Dooars under the Kingdom ofKoch Hajo.Under the Koch government, the officer-in-charge of the Duars were calledSubahdar.[6]Similar office existed under the Bhutan government, theSubahwas selected by the provincial governors calledPonlops.The Ahom government managed the Duars through Duarieas.[7]The other two Dooars were the Kamrup Duars and Darrang Duars. The Eastern Dooars was merged withGoalpara districtinAssam,the Kamrup Dooars was merged withKamrup district,the Darrang Dooars was merged withDarrang Districtand the western part was turned into a new district namedWestern Dooars.Again in the year 1869, the name was changed toJalpaiguri district.[8]
Western Dooars
[edit]The Western Dooars are part of theDuarsof northern part ofWest Bengal,Indiaor those located to the west ofGoalpara districtofAssam.The Western Dooars came under theBritishin 1865.The region comes under theKalimpong district,Jalpaiguri district,Alipurduar districtand some parts ofCooch Behar district.The Western Dooars were created in 1865. It was merged with the Jalpaiguri district in 1869.[citation needed]
Eastern Dooars
[edit]The Eastern Dooars are part of the Dooars ofLower Assam.Dooars betweenSankosh RiverandManas Riverare called Eastern Dooars.[9]The five Dooars under Eastern Dooars includesBijni,Sidli, Chirang, Ripu and Guma.[9]The area came under the rule of theBritishin 1865. The region today falls under theBongaigaon districtandKokrajhar,Chirang districtsofBodoland Territorial Regionin Assam.[citation needed]
Kamrup Dooars
[edit]The Kamrup Dooars are part of the Dooars of Lower Assam. Dooars betweenManas RiverandBornadi Riverare called Kamrup Dooars.[9]The five Dooars under Kamrup Dooars includeBijni,Chapakhamar, Chapaguri, Banska and Gurkola.[9]Under the Bhutan government, the Kamrup Duars was under aPenlopor Provincial Governor under whom was theJongpenor Subah.[10] Kamrup Dooars were annexed by the BritishEast India Companyin 1841.[6]Today, the area falls under theNalbari district,Kamrup districtandBaksa districtof Bodoland Territorial Region.[citation needed]
Darrang Dooars
[edit]The Darrang Dooars are part of the Dooars of Lower Assam. Dooars betweenBornadi Riverand Dhansiri River are called Darrang Dooars.[9]The three Dooars under Darrang Dooars include Killing, Buriguma and Koriapar.[9]The Koriapar Dooar was held by the chiefs of theMonpa peoplewho were subordinate to the ruler ofTawang,who in turn were a tributary to theTibetan governmentatLhasa.[9]The Killing, Buriguma were annexed by the East India Company in 1841 and Koriapar Dooars in 1844.[9]The region today falls under theUdalguriandSonitpur districtsof Assam.[citation needed]
Geography and climate
[edit]The Dooars region politically constitutes the northern bank of theBrahmaputra valleyin state ofAssamand the plains ofKalimpong district,the whole ofJalpaiguri districtandAlipurduar districtand the upper region ofCooch Behar districtinWest Bengal.[citation needed]
The Dooars is dotted with many towns and cities.[citation needed]The largest cities in the region stretching from theDarjeelingfoothills to theArunachal Pradeshfoothills areSiliguriandJalpaiguri,which both partly lie in theTerairegion rather the Dooars, geographically.[citation needed]Thisnorthern Bengalcities are well connected with the rest of country by road, air and railway and is the business hub of the region.[citation needed]
The other cities areKokrajhar,Bongaigaon,Goalpara,BarpetaandDhubriin Assam.Cooch Behar,Alipurduar,Dhupguri,Malbazar,Mainaguri,FalakataandBirparaare the major cities of the Dooars in West Bengal, andKishanganjin Bihar.[citation needed]
A number of endangered animals live in the forests of the Dooars likeBengal tiger,Indian rhinoceros,Indian elephant,[11]
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.5 (90.5) |
33.2 (91.8) |
38.1 (100.6) |
41.7 (107.1) |
40.8 (105.4) |
41.9 (107.4) |
40.4 (104.7) |
40.0 (104.0) |
40.1 (104.2) |
36.6 (97.9) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.6 (90.7) |
41.9 (107.4) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) |
27.9 (82.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
34.9 (94.8) |
35.3 (95.5) |
36.3 (97.3) |
36.0 (96.8) |
36.7 (98.1) |
35.8 (96.4) |
33.5 (92.3) |
30.4 (86.7) |
27.2 (81.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
24.5 (76.1) |
29.3 (84.7) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.2 (84.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.3 (79.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
27.7 (81.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) |
12.8 (55.0) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
24 (75) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.6 (76.3) |
23.5 (74.3) |
19.7 (67.5) |
15.2 (59.4) |
11.8 (53.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) |
7.2 (45.0) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
18.6 (65.5) |
22.0 (71.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.6 (74.5) |
21.9 (71.4) |
16.8 (62.2) |
11.9 (53.4) |
7.7 (45.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) |
3.5 (38.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
9.6 (49.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
20.0 (68.0) |
21.0 (69.8) |
18.4 (65.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
12.3 (54.1) |
6.4 (43.5) |
2.4 (36.3) |
1.9 (35.4) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 23 (0.9) |
24 (0.9) |
34 (1.3) |
76 (3.0) |
249 (9.8) |
628 (24.7) |
843 (33.2) |
589 (23.2) |
403 (15.9) |
121 (4.8) |
10 (0.4) |
11 (0.4) |
3,011 (118.5) |
| Average rainy days | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 132 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 69 | 65 | 54 | 63 | 79 | 88 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 70 | 68 | 75 |
| Averageultraviolet index | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Source 1: normal temperatures[12][13]Ultraviolet Index[14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Extremes(India Meteorological Department[15]), Mean maximum and Mean minimum temperatures[16] | |||||||||||||
Notes
[edit]- ^abcDebnath, S. (2010).The Dooars in Historical Transition(PDF).Shiv Mandir: N. L. Publishers.Archived(PDF)from the original on 19 February 2017.Retrieved18 February2017.
- ^Dinerstein, E., Loucks, C. (2001)."Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands".Terrestrial Ecoregions.World Wildlife Fund.
- ^(Das 1998:28)
- ^(Gogoi 2016:298)
- ^(Phuntsho 2013:453)
- ^ab(Das 1998:31)
- ^(Das 1998:32)
- ^"District Census Handbook - Jalpaiguri"(PDF).censusindia.gov.in.Archived(PDF)from the original on 8 March 2022.Retrieved18 February2022.
- ^abcdefgh(Das 1998:26)
- ^(Das 1998:59)
- ^Wildlife Times: Elephants of North BengalArchived18 July 2011 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Climate data for Siliguri".en.climate-data.org.Retrieved8 June2023.
- ^"Regional Meteorological Department, Kolkata".Retrieved7 December2020.
- ^"Average UV Index for Siliguri".Retrieved7 December2020.
- ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)"(PDF).India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M229. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 5 February 2020.Retrieved21 October2020.
- ^"Climate for Siliguri city".Retrieved3 December2020.
References
[edit]- Phuntsho, Karma (2013).The History of Bhutan.Penguin Books.ISBN9781908323583.
- Das, Smriti (1998).Assam Bhutan relations with special reference to duars from 1681 to 1949(PhD). Guwahati University.hdl:10603/67909.Archived fromthe originalon 16 March 2023.Retrieved31 March2023.
- Gogoi, Nityananda (2016).Historical Geography of Medieval Assam.EBH Publishers (India).ISBN9383252707.
External links
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