Karimganj district

Etymology

Rabindranath Tagore referred to the region as Sribhumi (শ্রীভূমি), and in November 2024, the district was officially renamed to reflect Tagore's vision. Previously known as Karimganj, the district derived its name from Muhammad Karim Chowdhury, a Bengali Muslim mirashdar who established a bazaar (market) near the confluence of the Natikhal and Kushiyara rivers.

History

Main article: Undivided Sylhet district

1700s and 1800s

In 1778, Karimganj was established as a subdivision of the undivided Sylhet district, comprising 40 parganas. The name "Karimganj" is derived from Muhammad Karim Chowdhury, a Bengali Muslim mirashdar who established a bazaar (market) south of the confluence of the Natikhal and Kushiyara River. However, due to the Natikhal drying up during autumn, the market was relocated in the 1870s to what is now the town of Karimganj.

1900s

During the partition of India in 1947, a plebiscite was held to determine whether the Sylhet region, including Karimganj, would remain in India or join East Pakistan. Abdul Matlib Mazumdar led a delegation advocating for the region to remain with India. However, due to demands from the Muslim League and support from Assam's political leaders at the time, the plebiscite resulted in Sylhet's transfer to Pakistan by a narrow margin. Allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities were raised, but the results stood.

Following the partition, Sylhet was incorporated into East Pakistan, while Karimganj was divided, with part of it remaining in India to ensure connectivity with Tripura. The Kushiyara River was established as the international border between India and Pakistan. Portions of Greater Karimganj, including Beani-Bazar, Barlekha, Shahpur, and Zakiganj, became part of Pakistan.

2000s

On 21 November 2024, Karimganj district was officially renamed Sribhumi to honour Rabindranath Tagore, who had described the region as the land of goddess Lakshmi.

Protests and Objections to Renaming

The Assam government’s decision to rename Karimganj district as Sribhumi sparked widespread protests and objections from local residents, civil society groups, and opposition parties. Critics argued that the move lacked public consultation and undermined the district’s historical and cultural identity. Nearly 300,000 people signed a memorandum submitted to the Governor opposing the renaming, calling it politically motivated.

A 12-hour bandh was observed on 3 September 2025, backed by the Congress, Left parties, and several local organisations. Clashes broke out between protesters and police during demonstrations, resulting in injuries and detentions.

In early 2025, more than 200,000 citizens signed another petition urging the government to retain the name Karimganj, describing the renaming as unilateral and harmful to the district’s heritage.

Geography

Karimganj district occupies an area of 1809 km2, comparatively equivalent to Alaska's Afognak Island. It is bordered on the northeast by Cachar District, east and south by Hailakandi District, south by Mizoram, southwest by Tripura state, and on the west and northwest by Bangladesh. Karimganj, the administrative headquarters and main town of the district, also bears the same name. Karimganj town is located on the northern fringe of the district adjoining Bangladesh by the Kushiyara River.

Its distance from Guwahati – the largest city of Assam - is approximately 330 km by road and about 350 km by rail. Distances to other important cities are as follows: Silchar – 55 km, Shillong – 220 km, Agartala – 250 km. Flanked on two sides by the Kushiyara and Longai rivers, Karimganj town is located just on the Bangladesh border, with the Kushiyara river flowing in between. One prominent feature of the place is a long and winding canal called Noti Khal, meandering through the town. Earlier, it used to be a connecting riverway between Kushiyara and Longai, facilitating river communication and also balancing water levels between the two rivers. Now, however, this canal has been blocked at several places through embankments and landfills to pave the way for road transport and construction works. Karimganj and the Barak valley have been prone to serious flooding for decades. The recent floods that caused significant damage were in 1976, 1988, and 2007.

Wildlife

The forests of Karimganj were once rich in wildlife but are now vanishing due to hunting, deforestation, and urbanization. Rare species found in the region include the Tiger, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine, Golden Langur, Monkey, Fox, Asian Elephant, Giant river otter, macaws, parrots, Parakeets, Hornbill, different types of local and migratory birds, Snakes, Capybara, etc. These animals are found mostly in the Patharia Hills reserve forest. Many have suggested it be named an official wildlife sanctuary due to its biodiversity, with another sanctuary being created in the southern part of the forest named Dhaleswari Wildlife Sanctuary.

Economy

The town of Karimganj is an important centre of trade and commerce in northeastern India. Its river port is capable of handling large volumes of cargo carried by ships coming through rivers via Bangladesh. Karimganj is also a border trade centre and import-export business worth crores of rupees carried out through the custom trade point at Dakbangla Ghat in the town and the Sutarkandi Custom Station.

Karimganj is an agricultural district. Historically, tea has been the major agricultural product of the Cachar region including Karimganj.

Administration

Divisions

Karimganj District has one sub-division. The district has 5 circles (also known as tehsils), Karimganj, Badarpur, Nilambazar, Patharkandi and Ramkrishna Nagar, two cities Karimganj and Patharkandi, 7 police stations (Karimganj, Badarpur, Ramkrishna Nagar, Patharkandi, Ratabari, Nilambazar, and Bazarichara), 95 gram panchayats.

Politics

There are five Assam Legislative Assembly constituencies in this district: Ratabari, Patharkandi, Karimganj North, Karimganj South, and Badarpur, with Ratabari being designated for scheduled castes. All five are in the Karimganj Lok Sabha constituency.

Transport

The nearest airport is Kumbhirgram (85 km) near Silchar, in Cachar. Karimganj town is also an important river port and has seasonal cargo and freight transport links with Kolkata through river ways via Bangladesh.

Railway

Karimganj town is linked via both rail and road transport with the rest of India. Karimganj town has a railway junction, with broad gauge lines connecting Assam with Tripura pass through this station. Badarpur railway station is the biggest junction of the district.

Road

The most popular mode of passenger transport is road. A good number of buses - mostly night services - ply between Karimganj and Guwahati daily. Direct long-distance bus services are also available to Shillong, Agartala, and Aizawl. Communication with Silchar, Badarpur, Patharkandi and other nearby places is also mainly dependent on road transport, with services by all sorts of light and heavy vehicles available at frequent intervals.

Sutarkandi international border crossing

The district is home to the Sutarkandi International border crossing, which is on Bangladesh–India border on Karimganj-Beanibazar route.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Karimganj district has a population of 1,228,686, roughly equal to the nation of Bahrain{{cite web | author = US Directorate of Intelligence | title = Country Comparison:Population | url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004507/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 13 June 2007 | access-date = 1 October 2011 | quote = Bahrain 1,214,705 July 2011 est. |access-date=30 September 2011 |quote=New Hampshire 1,316,470 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118011236/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |archive-date=18 November 2011 }} This gives it a ranking of 392nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 673 PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 20.74%. Karimganj has a sex ratio of 961 females for every 1,000 males, and a literacy rate of 79.72%. 8.93% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.85% and 0.16% of the population respectively.

Religion

Religious demographics are as follows:

• Muslims ([[File:Star and Crescent.svg|18px]]) - 692,489
• Hindus ([[File:Om.svg|15px]]) - 521,962
• Christians ([[File:ChristianitySymbol.svg|17px]]) - 11,990.

According to 2011 Indian Census, the Muslims form majority in the district constituting 56.4% of the population, with Hindus at 42.5% of the population, followed by 1.0% Christians. Small populations of Jain, Buddhists and Sikhs also reside in the district.

Language

Bengali and Meitei (Manipuri) are the official languages of Karimganj district.

According to the 2011 census, 86.84% of the district spoke Bengali, 5.70% Hindi, 2.00% Bishnupriya and 1.65% Bhojpuri as their first language. Bengali is the official language in Karimganj along with the other two districts of Barak valley which includes, Hailakandi and Cachar. Although Bengali is the official language, the most common spoken language is Sylheti, often considered as a dialect of Bengali. It is also spoken in other districts of the Barak Valley.

Notable minority languages include Bishnupriya and Meitei, Dimasa, and Kokborok. There are also small tribal communities like Hrangkhol, Kuki, Khasi, and Sakachep.

Notable people

• Jamal Uddin Ahmed - former MLA of Badarpur (2001-2006, 2011-2021)
• Siddique Ahmed - MLA of Karimganj South
• Syed Mujtaba Ali - author, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist
• Syed Murtaza Ali - author, and historian
• Radheshyam Biswas - former MP for Karimganj
• Abdul Munim Choudhury - former MLA of Karimganj South
• Achyut Charan Choudhury - historian
• Khaled Choudhury - theatre personality
• Najib Ali Choudhury - Islamic scholar and founder of Assam's first madrasa (Madinatul Uloom Bagbari)
• Dwarka Nath Das - former MP for Karimganj
• Mission Ranjan Das - former MLA of Karimganj North (1991–1996, 1999–2006), Rajya Sabha MP (2024- )
• Nepal Chandra Das - former MP for Karimganj
• Gurusaday Dutt - civil servant, folklorist, and writer
• Ketaki Prasad Dutta - former president of the District Sports Association, Karimganj
• Shukhendu Shekhar Dutta - former MLA of Patharkandi
• Zohurul Hoque - translator of the Qur'an into Bengali, Assamese and English
• Adam Khaki - 14th-century Sufi missionary
• Aziz Ahmed Khan - former MLA of Karimganj South
• Bijoy Malakar - MLA of Ratabari
• Kripanath Mallah - MP of Karimganj, former Deputy Speaker in the Assam Legislative Assembly
• Sambhu Sing Mallah - former MLA of Ratabari
• Abu Saleh Najmuddin - former MLA of Badarpur (1991–1996, 1996–2001), and former Minister of Assam.
• Krishnendu Paul - present MLA of Patharkandi
• Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha - MLA of Karimganj North
• Ramapayare Rabidas - former MLA of Ratabari
• Kartik Sena Sinha - former MLA of Patharkandi
• Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya - former MP for Karimganj
• Sananta Tanty - poet
• Madhusudhan Tiwari - former MLA of Patharkandi (1991–1996)

Notes

References

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