Habiganj Subdivision, 1908

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Habiganj Subdivision

Subdivision in the south-west corner of Sylhet District, Eastern Bengal and Assam, lying between 23° 59' and 24° 41' N. and 91° 10' and 91° 43' E., with an area of 952 square miles. The subdivision forms a level plain intersected with numerous rivers and watercourses, into the southern portion of which low hills project from the Tippera system. The annual rainfall at Habiganj town averages only 95 inches, which is considerably less than that recorded in most other places in the District. The poi^ulation, which in 1891 was 504,592, had risen by 1901 to 555,001, an increase of 10 per cent., and the density is now 583 persons per square mile, as compared with 416 in the District as a whole. The staple food-crop is sai/, or trans- ])lanted winter rice, and the tea industry has only recently become of importance. In 1904 there were 12 gardens with 9,990 acres under plant, which gave employment to 26 Europeans and 9,505 natives. The Assam-Bengal Railway runs through the south of the subdivision, but the rivers, of which the most important are the Barak, Khowai, and Kalni, are largely used as trade routes. The subdivision is divided into the four thdnas of Habiganj, Baniyachung, Madhabpur, and Xabiganj, and contains one town, Hakiganj (population, 5,236), the head-quarters, and 1,935 villages. The subdivisional staff is unusually strong, as the amount of business to be disposed of is large, and four JNIunsifs are employed on civil work. The Subdivisional Magistrate is generally a native of India. The demand on account of land revenue and cesses in 1903-4 was Rs. 2,11,000.