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KUCH BEHAR
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KUCH See also:BEHAR , or Coocx BEHAR, a native See also:state of See also:India, in See also:Bengal, consisting of a submontane See also:tract, not far from See also:Darjeeling, entirely surrounded by See also:British territory. See also:Area, 1307 sq. m. Pop. (Igor), 566,974; estimated See also:revenue, £140,000. The state forms a level See also:plain of triangular shape, intersected by numerous See also:rivers. The greater portion is fertile and well cultivated, but tracts of See also:jungle are to be seen in the See also:north-See also:east corner, which abuts upon See also:Assam. The See also:soil is See also:uniform in See also:character throughout, consisting of a See also:light, friable See also:loam, varying in See also:depth from 6 in. to 3 ft., superimposed upon a deep See also:bed of See also:sand. The whole is detritus, washed down by torrents from the neighbouring Himalayas. The rivers all pass through the state from north to See also:south, to join the See also:main stream of the See also:Brahmaputra. Some See also:half-dozen are navigable for small trading boats throughout the See also:year, and are nowhere fordable; and there are about twenty See also:minor streams which become navigable only during the See also:rainy See also:season. The streams have a tendency to cut new channels for themselves after every See also:annual See also:flood, and they communicate with one another by See also:cross-See also:country watercourses. See also:Rice is grown on three-fourths of the cultivated area. Jute and See also:tobacco are also largely grown for export. The only See also:special See also:industries are the See also:weaving of a strong See also:silk obtained from See also:worms fed on the See also:castor-oil plant, and of a coarse jute See also:cloth used for screens and bedding. The See also:external See also:trade is chiefly in the hands of Marwari immigrants from See also:Rajputana. Among other improvements a railway has been constructed, with the assistance of a See also:loan from the British See also:government. The See also:earthquake of the 12th of See also:June 1897 caused damage to public buildings, roads, &c., in the state to the estimated amount of £roo,000. The See also:Koch or Rajbansi, from which the name of the state is derived, are a widely spread tribe, evidently of aboriginal descent, found throughout all See also:northern Bengal, from See also:Purnea See also:district to the Assam valley. They are akin to the Indo-See also:Chinese races of the north-east frontier; but they have now become largely hinduized, especially in their own See also:home, where the appellation " Koch " has come to be used as a See also:term of reproach. Their See also:total number in all India was returned in 1901 as nearly 22 millions. As in the See also:case of many other small native states, the royal See also:family of Kuch Behar See also:lays claim to a divine origin in See also:order to conceal an impure aboriginal descent. The greatest monarch of the See also:dynasty was Nar Narayan, the son of Visu Singh, who began to reign about 1550. He conquered the whole of See also:Kamrup, built temples in Assam, of which ruins still exist bearing See also:inscriptions with his name, and extended his See also:power southwards over what is now See also:part of the British districts of See also:Rangpur and Purnea. His son, See also:Lakshmi Narayan, who succeeded him in Kuch Behar, became tributary to the See also:Mogul See also:Empire. In 1772 a competitor for the See also:throne, having been driven out of the country by his rivals, applied for assistance to See also:Warren See also:Hastings. A detachment of sepoys was accordingly marched into the state; the Bhutias, whose interference had led to this intervention, wereexpelled, and forced to See also:sue for See also:peace through the See also:mediation of the lama of See also:Tibet. By the treaty made on this occasion, See also:April 1773, the See also:raja acknowledged subjection to the See also:Company, and made over to it one-half of his annual revenues. In 1863, on the See also:death of the raja, leaving a son and See also:heir only ten months old, a British See also:commissioner was appointed to undertake the See also:direct management of affairs during the minority of the See also:prince, and many important reforms were successfully introduced. The maharaja See also:Sir Nripendra Narayan, G.C.I.E., See also:born in 1862, was educated under British guardianship at See also:Patna and See also:Calcutta, and became hon. See also:lieutenant-See also:colonel of the 6th Bengal See also:Cavalry. In 1897—98 he served in the See also:Tirah See also:campaign on the See also:staff of See also:General Yeatman-Biggs, and received the distinction of a C.B. He was See also:present at the See also:Jubilee in 1887, the See also:Diamond Jubilee of 1897, and See also: It contains a See also:college affiliated to the Calcutta University. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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