Goalpara district

Goalpara district is an administrative district in the state of AssamHistoryIt was a princely state ruled by the Rajbongsi Kings and the then ruler of the undivided kingdom. Today the erstwhile Goalpara district is divided into Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara district.The name of the district Goalpara is said to have originally derived from `Gwaltippika` meaning `Guwali village` or the village of the milk men. The history of Goalpara goes back to several centuries. Based on the Chinese traveler `Hiuentsang` report, Sir Edward Gait had concluded that the erstwhile capital of the state of Kumar Bhaskar Varman was either in Goalpara district or in Cooch Behar. The district came under British rule in 1765. Before this, the area was under the control of the Koch dynasty. It was also part of greater British Bengal. In 1826 the British accessed Assam and Goalpara was annexed to Assam in 1874, along with the creation of district headquarters at Dhubri.On 1 July 1983 two districts were split from Goalpara: Dhubri and Kokrajhar. On 29 September 1989 Bongaigaon district was created from parts of Goalpara and Kokrajhar.GeographyThe district headquarters are located at Goalpara. Goalpara district occupies an area of 1824km2, comparatively equivalent to South Korea's Jeju-do.EconomyIn 2006 the Indian government named Goalpara one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the eleven districts in Assam currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).