Brief About South Garo Hills District
The South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya covers
an area of 1850 sq. Kms. The district is located in the southern
part of the state and bounded by West Garo Hills district in the
west, East Garo Hills in the north, West Khasi Hills in the east
and Bangladesh in the South. It has come up as a separate district
on 18th of June 1992 before which it was a part of West Garo Hills
district. The district headquarter is Baghmara.
The almost complete absence of written records
prior to the coming of the British leaves the past history of
the Garos very far from certain. For the past, we have to depend
entirely on their legends and oral traditions, their folklore
and folksongs, and other circumstantial evidences .
Early Migrations and Settlements
We cannot be certain about the length of time
the Garos have been in the hills that bear their name .
"According to their own traditions, the
Garos came originally from Tibet and settled in Cooch Bihar. From
where, they were driven to the neighbourhood of Jogighapha, where
they remained 400 years but were again compelled to fly towards
the south by the king of that country and his ally the ruler of
Cooch Bihar. Their next wanderigs were to Gauhati where they were
enslaved by the Assamese, but released by a Khasi prince who settled
them in the neighbourhood of Boko. The place was, however, infested
with tigers and the Garos then moved into the hills". (as
recorded in Gazetteer of Bengal and North-East India by B.C. Allen,
W.E.A.. gait, C.H.G. Allen & H.P. Howard). Another tradition
ascribing some support to this theory, maintains that the Garos
are descended from their forefathers in Asong Tibetgori. The Garos
in the Kamrup plain, recount a tradition that their forefathers
came eastward from the Himalayas and reached Gondulghat where
they made a brief halt, and on leaving that place, traversed to
Sadiya, from where they trekked on into the north bank of Brahmaputra.
After a long westward trail, they reached Amingaon. There in the
north bank their life was not secure, they crossed the Bahmaputra
river and came to occupy Kamakhya. They occupied it for some generations
until the Koches came to invade the Garo Kingdom. From Gauhati,
wave after wave of westward migration poured to the Garo outer
hills, and later on penetrated the interior hills of their present
abode. If critically examined, the ancient history of Garos would
seem to have been a period marked by persistent and tenacious
internal warfare and many blood-feuds seem to have occurred between
families or villages and between neighbouring Chiefs or Nokmas.
Mediaeval Period
During the Mediaeval period and the Mughal era,
the more important estates bordering the Garo Hills were Karaibari,
Kalimalupara, Mechpara and Habraghat in Rongpur district, Susang
and Sherput in Mymensing district of Bengal and Bijini in the
Eastern Duars.Early records describe the Garos as being in a state
of intermittent conflict with Zamindars of these large estates.
With the passage of time in the medieval period,
while the Garos in the hills were still divided into a number
of petty Nokmaships, the plain tracts along the fringes at the
foot of the hills came to be included in the many Zamindari Estates,
which eventually developed into fewer but larger complexes.
Modern Period
The contact between the British and the Garos
started towards the close of the 18th Century after
the British East India Company had secured the Diwani of Bengal
from the Mughal Emperor. Consequently, all the estates bordering
upon Garo Hills, which for all practical purposes had been semi-independent
were brought under the control of the British. Though political
control had passed from the Mughals to the British, the latter,
like Mughals, had no desire to control the Estates or their tributaries
directly. The Zamindars were not disturbed in the internal management
of their estates. In fact, they were entrusted, as they had been
by the Mughals, with the responsibility of keeping the hill Garos
in check with help of their retainers. Thus in the beginning,
the intermittent conflict between the Zamindars and the Garos
went on unabated until the situation deteriorated to the extent
that the British were forced to take notice. This development
led ultimately to the annexation of the Garo Hills in 1873. Captain
Williamson was the first Deputy Commissioner of the unified district.
The district was bifurcated into two districts viz. East Garo
Hills and West Garo Hills districts in October 1979.The West Garo
Hills district was further divided into two administrative districts
of West and South Garo Hills on June 1992. The district headquarters
of South Garo Hills is Baghmara.
District Profile
South Garo Hills is the latest district
of Meghalaya located in the Southern part of the State.The Garo
Hills district was divided into two districts, viz. the West Garo
Hills district and the East Garo Hills district on October 1976.
The erstwhile West Garo Hills district
was further divided into two administrative districts of West
and South Garo Hills on June 1992. The district headquarters of
South Garo Hills is Baghmara.
Area Location & Population
The South Garo Hills district lies on the
Southern part of the state of Meghalaya bounded by West
Garo Hills district in the west, East Garo Hills in the north,
West Khasi Hills in the east and Bangladesh in the South.
| Total Geographical area |
1850 Sq.Km |
| Total Population(1991) |
77073 |
| Sub-Divisions (excluding
District Hq.) |
nil |
| Development Blocks(1991) |
3 |
| Towns(1998) |
1 |
| Police Station(1997-98) |
1 |
| Police Outposts(1997-98) |
2 |
The population is pre-dominantly inhabited
by the Garos, a tribe with a matrilineal society belonging to
the Bodo family of the Tibeto-Burman race tribes. Other indigenous
inhabitants are the Hajongs, Rabhas, Koches, Rajbansis, Meches,
Kacharis and Dalus..
Topography
Chitmang Peak : The height of
this peak is 1,029 metres. This peak is locally called Waimong.
Wai means god and mong means very big. So this peak
is the Great God. It has another name Kaylas.
The simsang river runs through the foothills
of this peak. The peak is very prominent, it can be seen from
a far. Its peak resembles the back of the bull. The Garos believe
that the spirits of the dead pass by this peak.
Balpakram Hills :
The hills is adjacent to the Chitmang Peak.
Its height is 863 metres. Garos love to talk about this hill which
is connected with the life of the spirits and the mysterious stories
about them.
River System
Someswari :
Someswari is the largest river in
the whole district. The river is locally known as Simsang.
It starts from Nokrek mountains and runs towards
the east, passing through Rongrenggre, Williamnagar the headquarters
of East Garo Hills district, Nongalbibra, Siju, Rewak and lastly
Baghmara the headquarters of South Garo Hills district.
The upper course of this river is not navigable
due to the high number of cataracts and numerous huge stones.
However the lower course has many deep pools and falls. They are
Mirik, Matma, Kan’chru Suk, Jamiseng, Warisik, Bobra, Goka etc.
The chief tributaries are Chibok, Rongdik, Rompa and Ringdi rivers.
Climate
The climate of the district is largely controlled
by South–West monsoon and seasonal winds. The South Garo Hills
district being relatively lower in altitude to the rest of Meghalaya,
experiences a fairly high temperature for most part of the year.
Winter is practically dry. The district have mostly dense
tropical mixed forest
Communication
Baghmara, the headquarters of the district, is
connected by road with nearest town Tura as well as with the state
capital Shillong. The road distance between Baghmara to Tura is
122 kms.
The road distance between Baghmara to the state
capital Shillong is 445 kms. Buses and taxis by private transport
services run regularly connecting Baghmara with the nearest town
of Tura. The nearest railhead is at Gauhati, the capital of Assam
which is about 342 kms from Baghmara.
