Goalpara District, Assam

Goalpara district is one of the hilly districts of Assam, situated at a distance of 134 km from Guwahati. It is an administrative district with Goalpara town as its district headquarters. Covering an area of 1,911 sq km, this district was initially formed in the year 1876 by the British Government. Bounded by Dispur, the capital of Assam on the east, Dhubri district on the west, Barpeta district on the north and the state of Meghalaya on the south, it is situated on the banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra. River Jinary, Krishnai, Dudhnoi and Jinjiram are the tributaries of the River Brahmaputra that flows through the district. Bequeath with landscape magnificence, Goalpara was the Kingdom of the Koch Rajbongshi Kings. With evergreen forest and Hulukanda Hill surrounding the district offers an enchanting view of the place.

The name of the district is believed to have been derived from the word "Gwaltippika", which means the village of milkmen. As per the chronicles of history, Goalpara was a princely state, ruled by the Koch Rajbongshi Kings. However, after the rule of Rajbongsi kings, the destination went under the reign of undivided kingdom. Presently the erstwhile Goalpara district is divided into Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara district. The district is mostly inhabited by Bengali Hindu, Koch Rajbongshis and Muslims, with Goalpariya, Bengali and Assamese as the most commonly spoken language. Besides, Koch Dimasa, Bodo, Rabha, Kalita, Hajong and Garo tribes are also found here. The district has a population of 1,008,959 as per the 2011 census with a sex ratio of 962 females for every 1000 males. The district has a majority of Muslim population, which is approximately 441,516 (53.71%), followed by Hindus 314,157, and Christians 64,662. In the year 1983, the present Goalpara district was created with two sub-divisions, namely Goalpara Sadar sub-division and North Salmara Civil sub-division which were carved out from former Goalpara district. Later in the year 1989, Bongaigaon district was created by merging civil sub-division of North Salmara and Sadar sub-division.

Since a land-lock region, Goalpara is an industrially backward district and the majority of the population is dependent on agriculture. Jute, paddy, black gram, green gram, areca nut, banana are the major crops cultivated in the region. It is one of the most backward districts of India, which was declared by the Indian Government in the year 2006 and is funded by Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). The district also features two tea gardens, namely Simlitola Tea Estate and Moijonga Tea Estate.

Goalpara district is one of the most beautiful and enchanting districts of the state of Assam, which is endowed with undulating landscape. There are several natural lakes within the district, which adds to its scenic beauty and the places to visit here are Sri Surya Pahar, Pir Majhar, Sri Tukreswari hill, Urpod beel, Paglartek Baba, Dhamar Risen beel, etc.