The Barak Valley (Bengali: বরাক উপত্যকা) (also South Assam) is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam. The main city of the valley is Silchar. The region is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley mainly consists of three administrative districts of Assam State - namely Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. Among these three states, Cachar and Hailakandi belonged to the erstwhile Cachar district in British-India, whereas Karimganj belonged to the Sylhet district . Karimganj was separated from Sylhet after the 1947 referendem; with the rest of Sylhet falling under East Pakistan and Karimganj under India.
Etymology
The name "Barak" has derived from the Dimasa words 'Bra' & 'Kro'. Bra means bifurcation and Kro upper portion/stream. The river Barak is bifurcated near Haritikar in the Karimganj district in to Surma River and Kushiyara River. The upstream of this bifurcated river was called Brakro by the local Dimasa people. Over the years, Brakro got converted in to Barak.
Demography
Barak valley had a population of 4,253,429 as per 2021 census. Hinduism have grown-up from 50% in 2011 to 55% in 2021 due to large scale immigration of Hindus from other parts of India and Bangladesh to the valley since last decade. The number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Barak Valley has varied estimates from year 1971-2014. According to the Assam government, 3 lakhs such people residing in the Barak Valley are eligible for citizenship if the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 becomes a law.[2][3] Christian missionaries have active in Barak region since from the time of independence. As a result of Christian missionaries, Christianity is rapidly growing among the tribals and poor section of Muslim society of the valley since from the past 2 decades. In 1991, Barak valley have 22 thousand christians but in the year of 2021, it have grown to almost 1.3 lakh approximately due to high rate of conversion from various church denomination of the valley.[4] While Islam is rapidly growing due to high birth rate specially in rural areas of Hailakandi district and Karimganj district where Islam is dominant and have strong fold presence, but much of the urban areas of the valley are still dominated by the Bengali Hindus.
| Religion | Population |
|---|---|
| Hindu | 2,339,386 |
| Muslim | 1,743,906 |
| Christian | 127,603 |
| Others | 42,534 |
References
- ↑ https://www.firstpost.com/india/assam-assembly-election-2021-in-barak-valley-congress-battles-religious-fault-lines-local-factors-bother-bjp-9483101.html
- ↑ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengali-hindu-refugees-in-assam-s-barak-valley-hope-for-cab-s-passage-in-rs/story-aIbL0La9A2zcyrfehKFx6M_amp.html
- ↑ https://www.firstpost.com/india/assam-assembly-election-2021-in-barak-valley-congress-battles-religious-fault-lines-local-factors-bother-bjp-9483101.html
- ↑ The activities of Welsh Presbyterian Mission in Barak Valley
- ↑ www.census2011.co.in › metropolitan Web results Guwahati Metropolitan Urban Region Population 2011-2021