Nazira

Nazira নাজিৰা
town
Nazira Location in Assam, India
Coordinates: 26°55′N 94°44′E / 26.92°N 94.73°E / 26.92; 94.73Coordinates: 26°55′N 94°44′E / 26.92°N 94.73°E / 26.92; 94.73
Country	India
State	Assam
District	Sivasagar
Government
• Body	Nazira Municipality Board
Elevation	132 m (433 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	12,466
Languages
• Official	Assamese
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Nazira (IPA: nəˈzɪərə) is a town and a municipal board in Sivasagar district in the Indian state of Assam.

Nazira is a historical town on the bank of River Dikhow in Sivasagar district in Assam. It is around 18 km from Sivasagar city, 3 km from Simaluguri Jn. and 78 km from Jorhat Airport. It is Sub-divisional Head Office of Nazira Sub-division. The HQ of ONGC, Assam Asset, a Maharatna E&P company is situated in Nazira. Nazira is surrounded by huge tea estates like Mackeypore, Geleky, Santok, Bihubor, Lakwa, Ligiripukhuri, Mezenga, Bamunpukhuri and Maduri Tea estate.Once Mezenga was related with Scottish Assam Tea Company;This company was formed in 1865 to purchase,extend and cultivate Heelekah, Mazenga and Karsoolie Estates in Assam.^[1]

History

Nazira was an important place during the regime of Ahom Kingdom. Nearby Gargaon was the capital of Ahom Kingdom over a long period. According to legends Nazira got its name from 'Now-Jeera', which in Assamese literally means resting place of boats. The historian Sarbananda Rajkumar states that 'Nazira' is a Tai(Ahom) word: Na means Land,Zi-Inclined & Ra-Much. So, Nazira means a much inclined land.^[2] He also writes that once the important places of Nazira were Ganak Village and Nazirahat.

Being in the vicinity of the Dikhow river and the capital of Ahom kingdom Gargaon, it is said that boats used to rest in this place after their long journey through the river. The Kareng Ghar a palace from the Medieval period build by King Rajeshwar Singha, a ruler of the Ahom kingdom stands as a testimony of the bygone era. During the British rule, tea plantations were started in and around Nazira like the other parts of upper Assam. The present day officer's club of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation limited(ONGCL)was in fact a tea planter's club established in 1939. Nazira was the headquarters of famous Assam Tea Company.^[3]

J. W. Masters, the then Superintendent of Assam Company had proceeded to Assam in June 1839 and took up residence at Nazira who made Nazira as the Company's Headquarters.^[4] An old British Graveyard has been lying inside ONGC Colony Nazira Town. Here there are about 62 graves can be traced according to the list given by H. A. Antrobus. The buried include the historian William Robinson, the author of A Grammar of Assamese Language (1839) and A Descriptive Account Of Asam:With a Sketch of the Local Geography,and a Concise History of the Tea-Plant of Asam. (1841).^[5] William Robinson mastered over the Mising Language and unbelievably on Dafla language too. William Robinson wrote Notes on the Daflas and the Peculiarities of Their Language. Robinson was the first man to attempt to write a grammar on the Mising Language for institutional purpose. His A short outline of Miri (Mising) grammar was published in the March issue of Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal , in 1849. (Vol, 18, part 1, page 224).^[6]

The Gorokihiya Temple,[Gorokihiya means Cowboy in Assamese] at Namati of Ahom days is 3 km from Nazira. History says that Ahom King Pratap Singha(1603–41) was a devotee of God Siva before he took his throne and he worshipped a Siva Linga. After he got his throne as a King he removed the Siva Linga and established it on the bank of Dikhow River just opposite to Gargaon in a temple which was called as Maidole+. This temple is also known as Maheswara Ghar or house or God Siva.^[7] Charaideu is just 16 km from Nazira Town. Here tourist can see the very sacred earthen pyramids(Tombs) of Ahom Kings,families and other ministers. During World WarII(1939–1945)also Nazira had played an important rule in China Burma India Theatre. The OSS Detachment 101 established a base camp under the guise of a centre for malarial research at a tea plantation near Nazira. Detachment 101's training camp was located at Nazira (Most probably in the present Guest House, ONGCL Colony, Nazira).^[8]

Nazira has very reputed and old educational institutions like Gargaon College, Nazira College, Nazira Boys Higher Secondary &Multi Purpose School, Nazira Girls HS School, Nazira Bortol HS School, Kendriya Vidyalaya,Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, DPS Nazira, NIIT Simaluguri Centre, Sankardev Vidya Niketan, St. Peters School, LigiriPukhuri High School,Gurukul school,Amolapatty, Aim's Multi Purpose Study Centre, NEEDS Institute if Fashion Design, NEEDS Technical Institute and many more. The primary source of income of this area is employment in ONGC and Govt. Departments. Well experienced entrepreneurs are doing oilfield related contracts & services. Big companies like Halliburton and Schlumberger operate in this area. However, cultivation is still one of the main source of income of this region.

Geography

Nazira is located at 26°55′N 94°44′E / 26.92°N 94.73°E / 26.92; 94.73.^[9] It has an average elevation of 132 metres (433 feet).

Climate

It has a humid subtropical monsoon climate like the rest of Assam. It has a long rainy season starting with pre-monsoon showers in the months of April, which signals the onset of spring. The real deluge starts in June, which continues up to the month of September. The rainy season, which gets overlapped with the summer season, help maintain the maximum temperature attainable to around 35 degree Celsius. The winter season starts at around November and continues up to February. The minimum temperature seldom reaches below 10 degree Celsius. Light woollen cloth is enough to beat the cold. For latest weather forecast kindly follow the link http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Nazira/forecasts/latest

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[10] Nazira had a population of 12,466. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Nazira has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 78%. In Nazira, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Nazira is mainly inhabited by Ahoms followed by the Assamese Muslims, Brahmins, Koch, Kalitas, Deories and Kaibarta constitute the rest of the portion of the demographic chart. Besides Nazira also has a sizeable population from the tea tribes community, who were brought as labours from central India by British for Tea plantations.

Politics

Nazira is part of Jorhat (Lok Sabha constituency).^[11]

Nazira Constituency MLA- Mr. Debabrat Saikia 2011

Economy

Nazira lies in oil and gas rich region. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC is state owned entity) operates major oil rigs and production platforms for E&P exploration. Several other multinationals such as Schlumberger and Halliburton are also present in the city. Tea and agricultural cultivations are also main source of income of common people.

References