| History
of Dooars
 The
land and people of the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri have a long
history, which includes part of Assam, Coochbehar and the Rangpur
District of present Bangladesh. Jalpaiguri has a presence in
Mahabharata, which goes back to 10th century BC. There is mention
of a king named Bhagadutta, a ruler of Pragjyotish or western
Assam, who joined the great battle of Kurukhsetra on the side
of Kourav.
It appears from Mahabharata that he ruled
over an area that extends from Bramhaputra River in Assam to
Eastern Nepal along the foothills of Himalayas. The modern district
of Jalpaiguri falls within this tract. Several rock inscriptions
excavated from Jalpaiguri district refer the presence of some
great ruler of ancient India. Bhaskarbarmana, the best known
King of Gupta Dynasty, Sasanka are among the few of them.
 During
the medieval period there was a long chain of dense forest tract
moving from east bank of Tista in present Dooars to the west
bank of Bagmati River in Bangladesh Rangpur. These jungles were
the territory of three Mongoloid tribes - Koch, Mech and Tharu.
The Raikats - ruler of Baikunthapur had an important role in
uniting Jalpaiguri. The evidences of their kingdom and palaces
are still visible in Raikatpara in Jalpaiguri town.
Jalpaiguri as an administrative unit came
into being in 1869, by amalgamating western Dooars with Jalpaiguri
subdivision of Rangpur (Bangladesh). The most significant historical
development after the formation of Jalpaiguri district was the
growth of tea industry in dooars plains. It not only changed
the landscape but also the socio-economic pattern of the district.
The vast tract of forestlands becomes dotted with tea gardens,
villages and markets. |
