Charaideo district
Charaideo district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It was formally declared a new district of the state on 15 August 2015 by then Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi.[1] It has been carved out of Sivasagar district with Sonari as its administrative headquarter. It comes under Upper Assam division.[2][3][4]
Charaideo district | |
|---|---|
 Maidam of Ahom Kings | |
.svg.png.webp) Location in Assam | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Assam |
| Division | Upper Assam |
| Headquarters | Sonari |
| Government | |
| • Lok Sabha constituencies | Jorhat |
| • Vidhan Sabha constituencies | Mahmara, Sonari |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,069 km2 (413 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 471,418 |
| • Density | 440/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Assamese |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | AS 33 |
| Website | charaideo |
Etymology
Charaideo was established by the first Ahom king Chaolung Sukaphaa.[5] The name Charaideo originated from Tai-Ahom word Che Rai Doi or Doi Che Rai which means the shining city on the hills. The Che-Rai-Doi Assamised into Charaideo or Charai-khorong.[6][7]
History
Before the arrival of Sukaphaa the place was a place of worship for local tribes like Morans, Borahis and Chutias.[8]
The site of Charaideo was the capital of the Ahom kingdom established by the first Ahom king Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha in 1253. The Maidams (tumulus) of the Ahom kings and queens at Charaideo hillocks resemble the shape of small pyramids. The site has had some archaeological works but also has suffered from robbers.[9] There have been calls for the site to be UNESCO World Heritage listed.[10]
During the reign of Sudangphaa (1397-1407), the relatively small Ahom kingdom was attacked by Mong Kwang, a Shan state in what is today Upper Burma. A Mong Kwang army sent under General Ta-chin-Pao advanced upto Tipam but was subsequently defeated and pushed back as far as the Kham Jang territory.[11] The generals of the two armies conducted a peace treaty on the shore of the Nong Jake lake and in accordance with the Tai custom dipped their hands in the lake, fixing the boundary of the two kingdoms at Patkai hills.[11]
Demographics
The district has a population of 471,418, of which 29,723 (6.31%) live in urban areas.[13] Charaideo has a sex ratio of 955 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 7,643 (1.62%) and 11,909 (2.53%) of the population respectively.[14]
At the time of the 2011 census, 75.64% of the population spoke Assamese, 7.64% Sadri, 4.22% Bengali, 3.20% Odia, 1.92% Hindi, 1.38% Nepali. 1.80% of the population spoke 'Others' under Hindi.[15]
Notable people
- Suresh Ranjan Goduka, Assamese poet and mass communicator
Notes
- Assam gets five more districts
- Charaideo commonly known as pyramids of Assam
- reparations afoot for inauguration of Charaideo district at Sonari
- Palasbari incensed over choice of district HQ
- Gogoi, Padmeswar (1968). The Tai and the Tai kingdoms: with a fuller treatment of the Tai-Ahom kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley. Dept. of Publication, Gauhati University. pp. 264 & 265.
- Gohain, Birendra Kr (1999). Origin of the Tai and Chao Lung Hsukapha: A Historical Perspective. Omsons Publications. pp. 72 & 73.
- Bezbaruah, Ranju; Banerjee, Dipankar; Research, Indian Council of Historical (2008). North-East India: interpreting the sources of its history. Indian Council of Historical Research. p. 117. ISBN 9788173052958.
- (Dutta 1985:50)
- Dutta, Pullock; Das, Ripunjoy (2003-03-01). "Bounty hunters beat ASI to tombs". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- Das, Ripunjoy (2006-01-19). "Saving Ahom kingdom - Local youths push for Unesco tag to protect Charaideo". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- Phukan 1991, p. 891.
- "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Assam". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
- "District Census Handbook: Sivasagar" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
- "Charaideo at a glance | Charaideo District | Government Of Assam, India". charaideo.gov.in. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
- "Table C-16 Population By Mother Tongue: Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
References
- Dutta, Sristidhar (1985), The Mataks and their Kingdom, Allahabad: Chugh Publications
- Phukan, J. N. (1991). "Relations of the Ahom kings of Assam with those of Mong Mao (in Yunnan, China) and of Mong Kwang (Mogaung in Myanmar)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 52: 888–893. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44142722.
