Areas where Muslims settled in Bam:

The first flush of Muslim population coming from different parts of Barak Valley initially settled in the west bank of river Rukni flowing South to North. Saptagram, Islamabad, Bangram (Bhagazar), Rajghat and Channighat are the present villages of this early settlement. At the same time others settled in the foothills of Rengti Hills two km West of River Rukni which gave birth to Arjanpur, Luknathpur, Jaidhahnpur, Howaithang  and Lailapur villages from North to South in that order. In course of time the Silchar Aizwal road would pass through this region giving an added advantage to the villages West of Rukni River.It is believed that  as a matter of policy the British Government allotted land to Muslim settlers in western side of Rukni and to Hindu settlers in the Eastern side of river Rukni .This might have been followed in early years but gradualy this policy seems to have been abandoned. In later years Muslims also settled in East bank of Rukni  mostly in Rajnagar GP, Jamalpur GP ,Shewrartol GP, Jibangram GP mainly in Gojalghat, Rajnagar, Khaspur,Narayanpur. ,Jamalpur,Shyamacharanpur Bidyaratanpur ,Khulichara, Bishnupur and other numerous villages.Hindu population also settled in the villages west of Rukni river.

P.S.Next section :Traditional Society of Bam

Early Muslim Settlers of Bam: The origin of majority of present Muslim population of Bam can be traced back to present Hailakandi District and various parts of mainland Cachar district and to some extent to Karimganj district then a part of Sylhet. No one came from present Sylhet of Bangladesh even though it was a part of Assam then. The villages in Hailakandi which has largely contributed to Bam populatin are Bilpar Dhumkar, Boalipar, Nitainagar, Algapur,Syedbond,Bahadurpur, Vichingcha ,Shahabad ,Bhadurpur etc.A large part of Bam popupation are from villages in the neighbourhood of Silchar of Cachar District such as, Bagpur, Kanakpur,  Krishnapur, Neairgram, Beranga,Udharbond, Madhurbond,  Krishnapur, Banskandi,Meherpur,Tikarbosti, Majhirgram,Bhuribail, Ruknipar, Ramnagar etc. Bam witnessed  another major inflow of Muslim population  immediately after  1950.This group of migrants are mostly from Tikarbasti ,Meherpur and villages in the immediate neighbourhood of Silchar town.They sold out their small holdings to town’s people at comparatively higher price and acquired more land in Bam.Silchar town expanded  rapidly ,developing land thus alienated by Muslim villagers.

   The first settlers must have been enterprising and adventurous lot of people in search of fortune and thrill of adventure for the unknown world. The less enterprising and lazy people would not have dared to venture out and walk down twenty to fifty Km through dense jungle infested by wild bests, poisonous reptiles and insects and risk of diseases looming large. The Hailakandi people took the shortcut route cutting through pass popularly known as Ronfarnhi of Rengti Hill which is eastern boundary of Hailakandi district opposite Bam via  Dwarbond , a distance of about 30-35 km. It was less arduous for people from main land Cachar district. They traversed through the jungle plains and no hills. But still it was jungle path.When settlement of Bam was going on in the last decade of nineteenth and early years of twentieth century there was no road from Silchar towards Bam.In 1905 only two PWD roads existed in Cachar district-Badarpur-Silchar-Jirighat road and Silchar-Chatla Hawar-Somairkona-Hailakandi road. Village roads –mainly cart roads maintained by local boards formed the basis of road communication in the then Cachar.There was no carriage except few bullock carts in Cachar.

 P.S :To be continued in the next section “Areas Where Muslims Settled in Bam”

New Settlement of Bam: The Present Era:

After shifting of Tippera capital from Rajghat  to Kailash Sahar in Tripura   back in time not yet determined  the population also dwindled and finally almost disappeared gradually and Bam became jungle again and continued to be so till the annexation of Cachar to British  India in 1832.After annexation British administration started to give  settlement of land  with the sole  objective of  increasing  the Government revenue . As per legend the settlement of land in Bam started after 1885. The exact date is not yet determined. But by 1^st May 1902 nearly 7000 acres had been settled at the rate of fifteen annas an acre and a new Parganah-Davidsonabad was created in 1903.Before new settlement started Bam region was under Inner Line regulation of British introduced in 1875.Nobody could cross this inner line which ran from Dwarbond  to Moinador via Ranfarnhi of Ramprasadpur  without  a pass and go to Bam. As per policy Government allotted one Hal (about 14 bighas) of waste/jungle land to a family. Following the opening up of Bam people from distant places started to migrate to Bam and every year number of families came and settled here cutting and clearing jungles fighting against malaria and other pestilence like cholera and smallpox and wild animals. Initial waves of settlers came and settled with land allotted by British administration. The late comers had to purchase land from early settlers or settle in forest land resulting in to development of many forest villages in the unclassed and reserved forest areas.

”

                                                         (Click to enlarge)
Inner Line passed through Ramprasadpur-27 km South of  Silchar and 3 km North of Dholai .Above is the 27 km post in Silchar Bhaga -Aizwal  NH 54.


RR  CC

                                                     






(Click to enlarge)

Ranfarnhi-the hilly path through Rengti Hills  following Inner Line  starts from present NH 54 (seen in the right of the NH)here at Ramprasadpur and served as path for coming to Bam from Hailakandi.This is the Northern boundary of Bam.



P.S :To be continued in the next section “The Early Settlers of Bam"

 Old History of Bam: 
The present Bam has an old history. Bam finds its mention in the History of Cachar written by Upendra Chandra Guha in 1912 under the title “Cacharer Itibritya”.According to Upendra Chandra Guha, in olden time Rajghat, a village in Bam by the bank of river Rukni thirty seven km south of Silchar was the Capital of Tippera kingdom. Subsequently the capital was shifted to Joypur near Kailash Sahar then to Manik Bhander  and finally to Agartala. Rajdhigi of Islamabad in Bam also finds mention in the book along with capital Rajghat.This Rajdhigi is still in existence and intact. Designed in the likeness of Joysagar of Ahom kings this 14 bigha Rajdhigi belonged to the Tippera Royal family. The vast tank has been converted in to fishery project by Assam Government in 1957.The banks of Rajdhigi are so wide that offices and residential quarters of Fisheries Department have been constructed on the Banks.

Raj Dighi of Tippera kings in Bam

  The reason for shifting the capital from Rajghat to Kailas Sahar and probable period is not known. Lieutenant Fisher, in charge of Cachar Affairs in his report on 29^th July 1831 to David Scott, Agent to the Governor General, North East Frontier stated that the survey team had found the Rukni river banks in Bam “still covered with remains of villages which were formerly well inhabited but have been abandoned within the last fifty years in consequence of oppressions to which the country has been subjected to”. This implies that Bam was inhabited by people up to 1781. It is not yet clear whether the people who lived in Bam up to 1781 were Tippera or any other people after Tippera people left Bam for Agartala via Kailash Sahar. By oppressions he might have meant the frequent Kuki or Lushai incursion which used to take place during that period. Early Bam people used to talk about Kukir Bhagan along with Mogor Bhagan and Jangir Bhagan. By word Bhagan they meant flight of a people to save the life from attack of other forces.

   The origin of the name Bam is shrouded in mystery. No one knows for sure how the region came to be known as Bam and since when. According to one source before partition of India many people from Sylhet came and settled in Hailakandi and Dholai of Hailakandi.Subsequently one section of these people from Dholai came to this southern part of Cachar and settled. As this place is located in the left side of Hailakandi and Dholai it was named as Bam -Dholai.There is some logic in this theory. The people who migrated from Dholai of Hailakandi might have named their new home after their old village. According to another version this place was backward and name Bam was given to signify backwardness. According to another opinion it was the last settlement in the left bank of Barak River and hence called Bam-the Bengali equivalent of left. According to another legend Ranfarnhi a hilly way through Rengti Hills near Ramprasadpur of Bam for going westwards to Hailakandi from Manipur, the region in question falls to the left of Ranfarnhi and hence called Bam. Yet according to another legend Bam came from Dimasa word ‘Bam Dig Dig’. Davidson discovered this place and entrusted Ganesh Barman for survey of the place. After completion of survey he found a beautiful round shaped region and exclaimed ‘Bam Dig Dig’ and the place came to be known as Bam. All these are legend and hypothesis. But there is no recorded history of origin of the name Bam. Till now mention of Bam has not been found in any official record of the Government. The first time the name Bam surfaced in print media was 1912 in Cacharer Itibritya written by Upendra Chandra Guha.The British Government created Parganah covering Bam region  and named it Davidsonabad Parganah after a Britiser- Davidson-most probably a tea planter in Cachar.The mention of Davidsonabad Parganah is found in the Statistical Account of Cachar-1879. In all probability British would have named it Bam Parganah if the name Bam existed at that time as all Parganas in Cachar were named after the places and no Parganah was named after any British personality. It is therefore likely that this region was named Bam in between 1879 and 1912 or earlier than that.B.C.Allen in his Assam District Gazetteers Volume I, Cachar-1905 and Hunter in his Statistical Account of Cachar 1879 mentioned this region either as Southern Cachar or inner line area but not as Bam. It is up to the future researchers to determine the date  and origin of name Bam more precisely.

PS:To be continued in the next section :"New Settlement in Bam". 

Please give your comment and views in comment section.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………