Divisions of Assam

The five divisions of Assam

The state of Assam in India has five regional divisions, each comprising a number of districts. The person responsible for the administration of a division is designated as a Divisional Commissioner.

History

Dibrugarh

Dhubri

Goalpara

Golaghat

Guwahati

Jorhat

Nagaon

Tezpur

Silchar

Location of the oldest urban centres recognised as a municipality region of Assam before 1947. ^{[1] [2]}

In 1874, Assam was constituted as a Chief Commissioner's province with the seat of the government in Shillong, the erstwhile capital of Assam, which is now in Meghalaya. To better administer the six districts of Goalpara, Kamrup, Sonitpur, Nagaon (formerly, Nowgong), Sivasagar (formerly, Sibsagar) and Lakhimpur, (the districts in the Brahmaputra valley, also called Assam Valley), the Judge of Assam Valley was given the additional charge of a commissioner in 1880. ^[3] In 1905, the offices of the Judge and the Commissioner were segregated in the Assam Valley; ^[4] in addition to adding a separate Commissioner's office for the administration of the Hill Districts and Surma Valley. ^[5]

List of divisions

Historical divisions (until 2015)

Division Name	Divisional Office	Districts
Hills and Barak Valley	Dispur	Cachar, Dima Hasao, Hailakandi, Karbi Anglong, and Karimganj
Lower Assam	Guwahati	Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Nalbari, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup Rural, and Kokrajhar
North Assam	Tezpur	Darrang, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Udalguri
Upper Assam	Jorhat	Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, and Tinsukia

Current divisions ^[6]

Division Name	Divisional Office	Districts	Population	Area
Hills and Barak Valley	Silchar	Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj	3,612,581
Central Assam	Nagaon	Dima Hasao, Hojai, East Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Morigaon, and Nagaon	5,894,460
Lower Assam	Guwahati	Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Nalbari, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup Rural, Kokrajhar, and South Salmara-Mankachar	13,179,980
North Assam	Tezpur	Biswanath, Darrang, Sonitpur, and Udalguri	4,246,834
Upper Assam	Jorhat	Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Sivasagar, and Tinsukia	7,840,943

Proposed divisions (new)

Division Name	Divisional Office	Districts
Assam Hills	Diphu	Dima Hasao, East Karbi Anglong, and West Karbi Anglong
Barak Valley	Silchar	Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj
Bodoland	Kokrajhar	Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, and Udalguri
Central Assam	Nagaon	Hojai, Morigaon, and Nagaon
Kamrup	Guwahati	Darrang, East Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup Rural, and South Kamrup
Lower Assam	Bongaigaon	Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, Nalbari, and South Salmara-Mankachar
North Assam	Tezpur	Biswanath, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur
Upper Assam	Jorhat	Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, and Tinsukia

Municipal corporations

Municipal corporation (present)

• Guwahati

Municipal corporation (proposed) ^[7]

• Dibrugarh

Oldest recognised and constantly inhabited urban areas

The list of the oldest urban areas based on the earliest years of formation of the civic bodies, ^{[8] [9]} constituted before India's Independence of 1947.

Type	Formation period	Urban areas
Municipal board region	Prior to India's independence in 1947	Guwahati [10] Dibrugarh [11] Goalpara [12] Dhubri [13] Nagaon [14] Tezpur [15] Jorhat [16] Golaghat [17] Silchar [18]

Notes

1. "Urbanisation and Growth of Small Towns in Assam, India" (PDF). Rinku Manta, Research Scholar, Deptt. of Geography - Gauhati University and Dr. Jnanshree Borah, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Geography: Arya Vidyapeeth and Cotton College - Gauhati University. 2005.
2. Report on the Administration of North East India. K. M. Mittal. 1921.
3. "In 1879, Sir Bayley, therefore, proposed to the Government of India that the Judge of Assam Valley to be the ex-officio Commissioner of Assam Valley. High Court objected to the proposal. But Government of India approved the scheme and the Chief Commissioner invested the Judge of Assam with the powers of a Commissioner of a Division." ( Bose 1985 , p. 32)
4. ( Bose 1985 , p. 33)
5. ( Bose 1985 , p. 36)
6. ( Press Trust of India & 31 Sept. 2015 )
7. "Citizens submit memo to Sonowal, The Telegraph (Calcutta – Gauhati)". Avik Chakraborty. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
8. "Urbanisation and Growth of Small Towns in Assam, India" (PDF). Rinku Manta, Research Scholar, Deptt. of Geography - Gauhati University and Dr. Jnanshree Borah, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Geography: Arya Vidyapeeth and Cotton College - Gauhati University. 2005.
9. Report on the Administration of North East India. K. M. Mittal. 1921.
10. Saikia, Dr Jugal (8 April 2016). Economics Of Informal Milk Producing Units In Assam
    – Guwahati municipal region, 1853, reconstituted 1873.. Notion Press. ISBN   9789352069385 . Retrieved 5 August 2016– via Google Books.
11. "Dibrugarh Municipal Board – Dibrugarh municipal region, 1873.".
12. "Goalpara Municipal Board-About Us – Goalpara municipal region, 1875.".
13. "Dhubri Municipal Board – Dhubri municipal region, 1883.".
14. "Nagaon – History – Nagaon municipal region, 1893.". Archived from the original on 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
15. "About Municipal Board – Tezpur – Tezpur municipal region".
16. "Jorhat Municipal Board(JBM), Jorhat, Assam – Jorhat municipal region, 1909". Archived from the original on 2016-03-27.
17. "AGP lists civic poll candidates – Golaghat municipal region, 1920" . Retrieved 5 August 2016.
18. "Silchar Municipal Board (Silchar Municipality) Assam – Silchar Karimganj Hailakandi – Silchar municipal region, 1922". Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

References

• Bose, M L (1985). Development of Administration in Assam. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
• Press Trust of India (October 31, 2015). "Assam reorganises different divisions" . Retrieved November 1, 2015.