Coochbehar
Cooch Behar district (Bengali: কোচবিহার
জেলা, Rajbongshi/Kamatapuri : কোচবিহার)
is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the district's namesake
town. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely
state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty. As of 2011 it is the third least
populous district of West Bengal (out of 19), after Dakshin Dinajpur and Darjeeling.
Geography
Cooch Behar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal.
Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the
district of Jalpaiguri in the north, state of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh
in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai
of West Bengal. A geopolitical curiosity is that there are 92 Bangladeshi exclaves,
with a total area of 47.7 km² in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there are 106 Indian exclaves
inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km². These were part of the high stake
card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch
Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur. Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves are within
Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves are within Bangladeshi exclaves.
The largest Indian exclave, Balapara Khagrabari, surrounds a Bangladeshi exclave,
Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounds an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari,
of less than one hectare (link to external map here). See also Indo-Bangladesh enclaves.
Census Data
| Description |
2011 |
2001 |
| Actual Population |
2,822,780 |
2,479,155 |
| Male |
1,453,590 |
1,272,094 |
| Female |
1,369,190 |
1,207,061 |
| Population Growth |
13.86% |
14.19% |
| Area Sq. Km |
3,387 |
3,387 |
| Density/km2 |
833 |
732 |
| Proportion to West Bengal Population |
3.09% |
3.09% |
| Sex Ratio (Per 1000) |
942 |
949 |
| Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) |
948 |
964 |
| Average Literacy |
75.49 |
66.30 |
| Male Literacy |
81.52 |
75.93 |
| Female Literacy |
69.08 |
56.12 |
| Total Child Population (0-6 Age) |
332,355 |
387,130 |
| Male Population (0-6 Age) |
170,598 |
197,118 |
| Female Population (0-6 Age) |
161,757 |
190,012 |
| Literates |
1,879,984 |
1,386,965 |
| Male Literates |
1,045,903 |
816,196 |
| Female Literates |
834,081 |
570,769 |
| Child Proportion (0-6 Age) |
11.77% |
15.62% |
| Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) |
11.74% |
15.50% |
| Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) |
11.81% |
15.74% |
Divisions
Administrative divisions
Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision
- Cooch Behar: Municipality
- Cooch Behar I (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 15 gram
panchayats and two census towns: Kharimala Khagrabari and Guriahati. Block headquarter
is in Dhaluabari.
- Cooch Behar II (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 13 gram
panchayats and one census town: Khagrabari. Block headquarter is in Pundibari.
Dinhata subdivision
- Dinhata: Municipality
- Dinhata I (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 16 Gram Panchayats
and one census town: Bhangri Pratham Khanda. Block headquarter is in Dinhata.
- Dinhata II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 12 gram
panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sahebganj.
- Sitai (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 5 Gram Panchayats.
Block headquarter is in Sitai.
Mathabhanga subdivision
- Mathabhanga: Municipality
- Sitalkuchi (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 gram
panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sitalkuchi.
- Mathabhanga I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 10
Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sikarpur.
- Mathabhanga II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 19
Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Mathabhanga.
Mekhliganj subdivision
- Mekhliganj: Municipality
- Haldibari: Municipality
- Mekhliganj (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 gram
panchayats. Block headquarter is in Changrabandha.
- Haldibari (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 6 gram
panchayats. Block headquarter is in Haldibari.
Tufanganj subdivision
- Tufanganj: Municipality
- Tufanganj I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 14 gram
panchayats. Block headquarter is in Tufanganj.
- Tufanganj II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 11
Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Baxirhat.