Sivasagar district

Coordinates: 26°59′03.90″N 94°37′53.07″E / 26.9844167°N 94.6314083°E / 26.9844167; 94.6314083
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Sivasagar.
Sivasagar district
District
From top, left to right:
Sibsagar
Area
 • Total1,599 km2 (617 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total679,632
 • Density430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Literacy81.36%
 • Sex ratio951 per 1000 male
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highwaysNH-37
Websitesivasagar.assam.gov.in

Sivasagar district (Pron: /ˈsɪvəˌsʌɡər/ or /ˈʃɪvəˌsʌɡər/), formerly known as Sibsagar, is one of the 34 districts of Assam state in Northeast India. Sivasagar city is the administrative headquarters of this district. This historic place is also known for its rich biodiversity.[1] The districts covers an area of 2668 square kilometers (of the total area of 78438 square kilometers of Assam). The district comprises two sub-divisions – Sivasagar and Nazira. The district of Sivasagar lies between 26.45°N and 27.15°N latitudes and 94.25°E and 95.25°E longitudes. The district is bounded by the Brahmaputra River to the north, Nagaland to the south, the Charaideo district to the east and the Jhanji River to the west. The Sivasagar district has acquired its distinct identity due to the co-existence of different races, tribes, languages and cultures.

History

The Sivasagar was established by Ahoms. Before the arrival of Ahoms, the area under the district was inhabited by the indigenous Tibeto-Burman tribes like Borahis and Morans.[2]

Before the British period, the center of administration of Assam was around Sivasagar were the famous

Sukapha, the first Ahom king, constructed his capital at Charaideo in 1253. Sivasagar was earlier known as Rangpur and Rangpur was earlier known as Meteka.[3] The original name of Sivasagar district was Sibpur. On February 24, 1826, the treaty of Yandaboo consolidated the British occupation of Assam. This treaty of Yandaboo brought an end to the roughly six hundred year long Ahom rule in Assam. After the 1826 treaty, the British government in Assam incorporated a number of administrative changes such as the formation of districts. The Sivasagar district was created after the annexation of Purandar Singha’s dominion of upper Assam in 1839. The Sadar headquarter of Sivasagar was transferred to Jorhat in 1912–13. The undivided old Sivasagar district comprised three subdivisions, namely Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat. In 1983, the Sivasagar district was reorganized to carve out the Jorhat district.[4] It was further divided on 15 August 1987 for the creation of the Golaghat district.[4]

Geography

One of the quaintest towns of Eastern Assam, Sivasagar is one of the cleanest towns in Assam. The district is situated between 26.45° and 27.15° North latitudes and 94.25° and 95.25° East longitudes. Sivasagar district occupies an area of 2,668 square kilometres (1,030 sq mi),

Saaremaa Island.[6]

The Sivasagar district is bordered by the

Brahmaputra river in the north. The district is mostly flat alluvial plain with hillocks on south-eastern and southern areas near the Nagaland
border.

Economy

The main industries in Sivasagar are oil industry, tea industry & tourism industry. Majority of the population are agrarian.

Demographics

According to the

640).[7] The district has a population density of 431 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,120/sq mi).[7] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 9.37%.[7] Sivasagar has a sex ratio of 954 females for every 1000 males,[7] and a literacy rate of 81.36%.[7]

After bifurcation Sivasagar district has a population of 679,632, of which 80,373 (11.83%) live in urban areas. The residual district has a sex ratio of 952 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 34,704 (5.11%) and 37,130 (5.46%) of the population respectively.[7]

Religions in Sivasagar district (2011)[8]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 87.17%
Islam
 
 10.88%
Christianity
 
 1.24%
Other or not stated
 
 0.71%

In the residual district Hindus are 592,433 (87.17%), Muslims are 73,961 (10.88%), Christians 8,433 (1.24%).

Nocte living in certain parts of the district. Many Rajasthani
families are also present in Sivasagar district

Languages of Sivasagar district (2011)[9]

  
Sadri
(1.38%)
  Others (2.06%)

Sibsagar is an overwhelming assamese majority district. At the time of the 2011 census, 90.24% of the population spoke Assamese, 2.78% Mishing, 1.96% Hindi, 1.58% Bengali and 1.38% Sadri as their first language.[9]

Flora and fauna

In 1999, Sivasagar district became home to the Pani Dihing Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 34 km2 (13.1 sq mi).[10] There are also many reserve forests like Abhaypur, Dilli, Diroi, Geleky and Saleh. There are some unclassified forests along the Nagaland and Arunachal border. The vegetation is mostly

tropical evergreen with trees like hollong
, titachapa, nahor, mekai etc. dominating the canopy. The district is also rich in
sambar, hoolock gibbon
are found in the reserve forests.

Festivals and fairs

The Bihus are the most popular agricultural festival in the district.[3] The Bohag Bihu/Rongali Bihu marks the advent of the cropping season, the Magh Bihu is the harvest festival and the Kati Bihu held in the lean period of agriculture is marked by the observing of penance and prayer. The Vaishnav community observes the birth and death anniversaries of the prominent Vaishnava saints of the state. Tribal communities like the Mishings and Deoris also perform Bihu in their own styles. Id-ul-Zuha and Id-ul-fitr are religious festivals of the Muslim community. Other Hindu festivals observed in the district are Ambubashi, Durga Puja and Sivaratri . The Sivaratri Mela of Siva Dol in Sivasagar town has been observed since the days of Ahom rule.[3] The Tea tribes maintain their own rich cultural traditions. The Jhumur dance and traditional music of these communities are very popular.

Sivasagar Day

The Sivasagar District celebrates Sivasagar Day on July the 1st of every year. The day is celebrated with cultural programs and cultural rallies along with plantation programmes in the entire Sivasagar District.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b District at a glance, Sivasagar. Office of the Deputy Director of Economics and Statistics, Sivasagar. 2001.
  2. ^ Sukapha arrived in 1228 and settled with the Morans and Borahis
  3. ^ a b c The North East Times, Special supplement (1995). Sivasagar District. Guwahati: G L Publications.
  4. ^ a b Law, Gwillim (2011-09-25). "Districts of India". Statoids. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  5. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help
    )
  6. United Nations Environment Program
    . 1998-02-18. Retrieved 2011-10-11. Saaremaa 2,672km2
  7. ^ a b c d e f "District Census Handbook: Sivasagar" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Table C-01 Population By Religion: Assam". census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Table C-16 Population By Mother Tongue: Assam". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  10. ^ Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Assam". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.

External links

26°59′03.90″N 94°37′53.07″E / 26.9844167°N 94.6314083°E / 26.9844167; 94.6314083

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