Dooars

Spreading across two neighbouring states of Assam and West Bengal, though the word 'Dooars' never had any mention in the geographical map, this unique piece of land has its presence with importance in the history since time immemorial.

The ancient history of the north-east India has ample evidence of migrations from Tibet and Eastern China for ages towards the southern alluvial plains, in search of livelihood. People from the central part of Tibet took the route through Bhutan, and the adjacent foothill region filled with dense forests and wild mountain streams was their gateway to the riverine plains having multiple entry points. Later named as Dooars, this region was in the western part of ancient Kamarupa kingdom till the 12th century. During this period, these doorways to the plains had become very significant as check-posts to the annual trade route from Tibet, following which Buddhism could reach and spread remarkably. Even the Tibetan warriors who captured Bhutan in the 9th century and later known as Bhutiyas, always wanted to get hold of this region, with intention to conquer the fertile plain land. The earlier inhabitants of both Dooars and Bhutan used to enjoy a cordial relation among themselves.

In the mediaeval period we find the huge Kamarupa kingdom broken into pieces. With its western part renamed Kamatapur, several dynasties ruled with glory and galore, till they fell to the attack of Delhi Sultanate at the end of the 15th century. The Sultans could not occupy the land for long, and the power vacuum paved the way to the rise of Koch Kingdom. Maharaja Biswasingha, the first Koch ruler, was the first indigenous sovereign King of Dooars in its truest sense.

During the reign of King Naranarayana with his lieutenant brother Mahabir Chilarai, the able sons of Maharaja Biswasingha, Koch Kingdom reached to its peak, as the entire north-east was conquered by them. But after them, the invasion by the mighty Mughals and never-ending fratricidal conflicts made the kingdom weak, yielding submission to the mightier outsiders. Initially their kinship dispute invited the Mughals, then to fight the Mughal aggression they took refuge to Bhutanese support, and finally to get rid of the Bhutanese control they finally become the tributary ally of the British East India Company. The dynasty, however, continued till their inclusion in independent Indian Republic in 1950, the Kings were popular among the common people of the State due to their benevolent nature and the glamour of the Koch kingdom lasts even today.

Dooars was under the Bhutanese occupation for nearly two hundred years. Even the British, though ousted them from Koch Kingdom, used to pamper them initially with an intention to establish business relation with Tibet through Dooars and Bhutan. But as history flew in a different course, with the discovery of tea plants immediately after conquering Assam from the Burmese clutch, British could foresee far more lucrative future of invading Chinese monopoly in the global tea market. So, they took control of the Dooars region from the obstinate Bhutiyas winning the bloody Anglo-Bhutan war in 1865 and started building tea-empire along with Assam and Darjeeling Himalayas. It was the British who named the region 'Dooars' formally, and the modern history of Dooars started with them.

From 1876 to 1947, British got barely seventy years to build their mammoth tea empire, primarily in the western part of Dooars that comes under undivided Jalpaiguri District. In the eastern part of Dooars falling under undivided Goalpara district of Assam, however, tea plantation was not that successful, due to natural resistance of denser forests and reluctant Bodo inhabitants. The British tea empire has a gloomy history of oppression, as the poor migrant workers supplied by special recruiters primarily from the Chhotonagpur region as bonded labourers faced severe livelihood crisis, under paid wages and malnutrition. Even after 78 years the British rulers left, the colonial legacy continues, and the fate of Dooars tea industry found no better, witnessing outward migration and even death of tea-labourers due to long pending unpaid wages, financial distress and closure of so many gardens.

It’s true that British were responsible for destroying forests and ecology of Dooars, and also for a sizeable migration from the southern plains disturbing the demography that resulted into ethnic unrest in later period. But at the same time, it is due to the British rulers’ initiative this part came into the map of modern civilisation with the advent of rail, roads, electricity and education. Despite all the negative effects, Tea gardens have added finesse to the landscape of dooars with its picturesque mountains, forests & rivers and its enviable biodiversity, which provides ideal environment for eco-sustainable tourism. Adding to this, Dooars being the home to indigenous communities like Toto, Rabha, Mech, Bodo, Koch-Rajbangshi, Garo, Drukpa, Tamang, Lepcha, and migrant tea labourers like Oraon, Munda, Santhal, Kharia, Malpahari, Chik-Baraik etc; their diverse ethnic culture and crafts have made this piece of land so unique. Dooars may be absent in the curriculum of our mainstream history, but its geographical significance with its mesmerising natural resources has always been undeniable till date.