India
India known as the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area and with more than 1.3 billion people, it is the second most populous country as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia; the Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE. In the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, Buddhism and Jainism arose. Early political consolidations took place under the Gupta empires. In the medieval era, Zoroastrianism and Islam arrived, Sikhism emerged, all adding to the region's diverse culture.
Much of the north fell to the Delhi Sultanate. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal Empire. In the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, in the mid-19th under British Crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance and led to India's independence in 1947. In 2017, the Indian economy was the world's sixth largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption and inadequate public healthcare. A nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the second largest standing army in the world and ranks fifth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories.
A pluralistic and multi-ethnic society, it is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindush, equivalent to the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the historical local appellation for the Indus River; the ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as "The people of the Indus". The geographical term Bharat, recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations, it is a modernisation of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which traditionally referred to the Indian subcontinent and gained increasing currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India. Hindustan is a Middle Persian name for India, it was introduced into India by the Mughals and used since then. Its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety; the name may refer to either the northern part of India or the entire country.
The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. Nearly contemporaneous human rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh. After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, storage of agricultural surplus, appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan; these developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India. Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Kalibangan, relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilization engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade. During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones; the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed during this period, historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.
Most historians consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west. The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period. On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation. In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period, as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, craft traditions. In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas; the emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of Mahavira.
Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle
New Alipurduar railway station
New Alipurduar is one of the four railway stations that serve Alipurduar city in Alipurduar district in north Bengal in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its station code is NOQ; the other three adjacent railway stations are Alipurduar Court and Alipurduar Junction. During British rule, all links from the northern part of Bengal and Assam to the rest of India were through the eastern part of Bengal; the most important connection was the Calcutta–Parbatipur–Haldibari–Siliguri link first established in 1878 and developed in stages. During the nineteenth century, Lalmonirhat was linked to the Dooars. In pre-independence days, a 1,000 mm metre gauge railway track running via Radhikapur, Parbatipur, Tista and Golokganj connected Fakiragram in Assam with Katihar in Bihar. With the partition of India in 1947, all these links were lost. Indian Railways took up the Assam Link Project in 1948 to build a rail link between Fakiragram and Kishanganj. Fakiragram was connected to the Indian railway system in 1950 through the Indian portion of north Bengal with a 1,000 mm metre gauge track.
The New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section was new construction old line converted to 1,676 mm broad gauge in 1966. The 265 km long 1,676 mm broad gauge Siliguri-Jogihopa railway line was constructed between 1963 and 1965. Most of the long distance trains from other parts of India pass through and stop at New Alipurdur railway junction as it is connected with double track to Assam and the rest of Bengal; the older Alipurduar station was on metre gauge track, converted to broad gauge much and fewer trains pass through Alipurduar Jn station. This station is the biggest rail way station in Alipurduar New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Northeast Frontier Railway zone Alipurduar junction railway station Alipurduar
Chilapata Forests
The Chilapata Forest is a dense forest near Jaldapara National Park in Dooars, Alipurduar district, West Bengal, India. It is about 20 km from Alipurduar, just a few minutes away from Hasimara town; until the area was known for dacoity, but it is now safe for tourists. The forest forms an elephant corridor between Jaldapara National Park and the Buxa Tiger Reserve, is rich in wildlife. New species continue to be found; the forest used to be home to large Rhinoceros populations. In hunting expeditions in 1892-1904, in and around Chilapata Forest, the Maharajah of Cooch Behar recorded killing one rhino, injury of one, sighting of over 14. Rhinos now are rare. Leopards are still common, it is hoped that eco-tourism will provide a new source of income for the indigenous Rabha people, who now depend on the forest for firewood. West Bengal State Forest Development Agency runs an eco-tourism resort at Kodalbasti, providing basic accommodation. One of the main attractions is the ruined "Nalraja Garh", or fort of the Nal kings, built in the Gupta period in the fifth century C.
E. the Golden Age of India. Although poorly maintained, the site has considerable archaeological interest. Other activities include Tonga rides through Mathura tea garden, boating on the Bania river and angling on the confluence of the Kalchini and Buri Basra
Jayanti, Alipurduar
Jayanti is a small forest village within Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, India. It is located along the Jayanti River, it is popular with hikers for its views of wild fountains. A 13 km trek from Buxaduar to Jayanti passes through the dense forest of the Buxa Tiger Reserve. Jayanti features a stalactite cave known as the Mahakal cave; the nearest railway station is Rajabhatkhawa on the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road Line. Media related to Birds of Jayanti at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Butterflies of Jayanti & Samsing at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Flora of Jayanti & Samsing at Wikimedia Commons
Buxa Tiger Reserve
The Buxa Tiger Reserve is a 760-square-kilometre tiger reserve located inside the Buxa National Park in West Bengal, India, in the Buxa Hills of the southern hilly area of Bhutan. Animals found in the park include, the tiger, elephant, Indian boar and red jungle fowl, it is contiguous to the Buxa Formation of Mamley in Mamley village of Namchi neighboring state of Sikkim, the stromatolite bearing Dolomite Limestones, declared national geological monument by the Geological Survey of India, for their protection, maintenance and enhancement of geotourism. Buxa Tiger Reserve lies in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, its northern boundary runs along the international border with Bhutan. The Sinchula hill range lies all along the northern side of BTR and the eastern boundary touches that of the Assam state. National Highway No.31 C runs along its southern boundary. It is the eastern most extension of extreme bio-diverse North-East India and represents endemic Indo-Malayan region; the fragile "Terai Eco-System" constitutes a part of this reserve.
The Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary of Bhutan is contiguous to the north of BTR. Manas National Park lies on east of BTR. BTR, serves as international corridor for Asian elephant migration between India and Bhutan. To the south-west, the Chilapata Forests form an elephant corridor to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary; the reserve encompasses as many as eight forest types. The divisional headquarters is located at Alipurduar; the forest is divided into two divisions: West. The Himalayan griffon, beautiful nuthatch, four different varieties of hornbill and the red breasted Himalayan partridge are important birds in this reserve. Among the wild animals, clouded leopard, wild dog and Himalayan black bear are rare. Buxa Fort is an important landmark for this reserve; this fort was captured by British-India in 1865 after the Bhutan War from Bhutan. This fort was used as a detention camp for Indian freedom fighters during the Indian freedom movement. Buxa Tiger Reserve was created in 1983 as the 15th tiger reserve in India.
In 1986, Buxa Wildlife Sanctuary was constituted over 314.52 km2 of the reserve forests. In 1991, 54.47 km2 was added to Buxa Wildlife Sanctuary. A year in 1992, the Government of West Bengal declared its intentions to constitute a national park over 117.10 km2 of the Buxa Wildlife Sanctuary. State government declared national park with notification No.3403-For/11B-6/95 dt. 05.12.1997. The historic Buxa Fort. People have sentimental attachment with the fort on accounts of its association with the struggle for freedom. A sacred temple, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga lies in BTR. Around 10,000 devotees of Lord Shiva congregate here on "Shiva Chouturdoshi". Northern dry deciduous Eastern Bhabar and Terai sal East Himalayan moist mixed deciduous forest Sub-Himalayan secondary wet mixed forest Eastern sub-montane semi-evergreen forest Northern tropical evergreen forest East Himalayan subtropical wet hill forest Moist sal savannah Low alluvium Savannah woodland More than 450 species of trees, 250 species of shrubs, 400 species of herbs, 9 species of cane, 10 species of bamboo, 150 species of orchids, 100 species of grass and 130 species of aquatic flora including more than 70 sedges have been identified so far.
There are more than 160 species of other ferns. The main trees are sal, gamhar and chikrasi. There are more than 284 species of birds, 73 species of mammals, 76 species of snakes and 5 species of amphibians have been identified so far. In a recent survey it was found that Buxa Tiger Reserve has the highest number of fish species in the North Bengal region. Tiger, giant squirrel, chital, clouded leopard, wild buffalo and snakes including the regal python are found here. About 230 species of birds and innumerable butterflies add colour to the forest; the Raidak and Jayanti rivers which flow through the forest and Narathali Lake are home to migratory and endemic birds. There are greater pied hornbill, migratory goosander, wagtails, the rare black necked crane, migratory common teal, black stork, large whistling teal and ferruginous pochards. Two new species of frog were discovered in the park in 2006. In February 2018, golden and spotted Asiatic golden cats were recorded in the reserve for the first time.
Endangered species found in the reserve are Indian tiger, Asian elephant, leopard cat, Bengal florican, regal python, Chinese pangolin, hispid hare, hog deerlesser adjutant, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture, chestnut-breasted partridge, rufous necked hornbill, ferruginous pochard and great hornbill. Most rivers enter BTR from Bhutan, they carry huge amount of bed load. They obliterate beds of BTR rivers. Flooding is frequent. Critical habitats are lost. Over one lakh cattle graze in the reserve daily. Weeds, unpalatable grasses and shrubs have invaded the overgrazed areas. Hilly and riverine tracts of core suffer from fire. Non timber forest produce collectors and shepherds put forests on fire. No frequent poaching cases. Tribal population in tea gardens poach small mammals during Holi festival illicitly as part of ritual hunting. Bodo militants from Assam enter core. Timber thieves operate in the area. Five forest hamlets in hilly tract viz. Adma, Santrabari and Tashigaon have some encroachments by way of unauthorised orange
West Bengal
West Bengal is an Indian state, located in eastern region of the country on the Bay of Bengal. With over 91 million inhabitants, it is India's fourth-most populous state, it has an area of 88,752 km2. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, Nepal and Bhutan in the north, it borders the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, center of the third-largest metropolitan area in the country; as for geography, West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority; the area's early history featured a succession of Indian empires, internal squabbling, a tussle between Hinduism and Buddhism for dominance. Ancient Bengal was the site of several major Janapadas, while the earliest cities date back to the Vedic period; the region was part including the Mauryans and Guptas.
It was a bastion of regional kingdoms. The citadel of Gauda served as the capital of the Gauda Kingdom, the Buddhist Pala Empire and Hindu Sena Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by several sultans, powerful Hindu states, Baro-Bhuyan landlords, until the beginning of British rule in the 18th century; the British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, Calcutta served for many years as the capital of British India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in an expansion of Western education, culminating in developments in science, institutional education, social reforms in the region, including what became known as the Bengali Renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided during India's independence in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal, a state of India, East Bengal, a province of Pakistan which became independent Bangladesh.
Between 1977 and 2011 the state was administered by the world's longest elected Communist government. The economy of West Bengal is the sixth-largest state economy in India with ₹13.14 lakh crore in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹108,000. The state's cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, includes authors in literature, such as Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Kolkata is known as the "cultural capital of India". West Bengal is known for its enthusiasm for the sport of association football, as well as cricket; the origin of the name Bengal is unknown. One theory suggests that the word derives from "Bang", a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BCE; the Bengali word Bongo might have been derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name Vanga, the region's early history is obscure. At the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west.
The eastern part came to be known be as East Pakistan, the eastern wing of newly born Pakistan and the western part came to be known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011 the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the official name of the state to PaschimBanga; this is the native name of the state meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language. In August 2016 the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed another resolution to change the name of West Bengal to "Bengal" in English, "Bangla" in Bengali. Despite the Trinamool Congress government's efforts to forge a consensus on the name change resolution, the Indian National Congress, the Left Front, the Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the resolution. However, the central government has turned down the proposal stating that the state should have one single name for all languages instead of three and the name should not be the same as that of any other territory. Stone Age tools dating back 20,000 years have been excavated in the state, showing human occupation 8,000 years earlier than scholars had earlier thought.
The region was a part of the Vanga Kingdom, according to the Indian epic Mahabharata. Several Vedic realms were present in the Bengal region, including Vanga, Rarh and the Suhma Kingdom. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is a mention by the Ancient Greeks around 100 BCE of a land named Gangaridai, located at the mouths of the Ganges. Bengal had overseas trade relations with Suvarnabhumi. According to the Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamsa, Prince Vijaya, a Vanga Kingdom prince, conquered Lanka and gave the name Sinhala Kingdom to the country; the kingdom of Magadha was formed in the 7th century BCE, consisting of the regions now comprising Bihar and Bengal. It was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of the lives of Mahavira, founder of Jainism, Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism, it kingdoms. Under Ashoka, the Maurya Empire of Magadha in the 3rd century BCE extended over nearly all of South Asia, including Afghanistan and parts of Balochistan. From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.
Two kingdoms – Vanga or Samatata, Gauda –
Northeast Frontier Railway zone
The Northeast Frontier Railway, is one of the 18 railway zones in India. Headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, it is responsible for rail operations in the entire Northeast and parts of West Bengal and Bihar. Northeast Frontier Railway is divided into 5 divisions: Katihar Alipurduar Lumding Rangiya TinsukiaEach of these divisions is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager, a Senior Administrative Grade officer of the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India; the departmental setup at headquarters level and divisional setup in the field assists the General Manager in running the railways. Various departments namely engineering, electrical, signal & telecom, commercial, accounts, security and medical are headed by a Senior Administrative Grade / Higher Administrative Grade officer, provide technical and operational support to the divisions in train operations. In 1881, railway first came to Assam when Assam Railway and Trading Company set up metre gauge track; the 65-km-long metre gauge line from Dibrugarh to Margherita was constructed for transportation of tea and coal.
This company started the first passenger train in Assam by the name of Dibru Sadiya Railway. The North Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 by amalgamating two railway systems: the Assam Railway and Oudh and Tirhut Railway, it was bifurcated into two railway zones on 15 January 1958, the North Eastern Railway and the Northeast Frontier Railway. to better serve the needs of the northeastern states. Railway service was established in Tripura in 1964, but it was limited to Dharmanagar and Kailasahar; the northeastern state capital came on India's rail map with the advent of the railways in the subcontinent in 1853 and the foundation stone of the 119 km Kumarghat–Agartala railway project was laid in 1996 by the former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. Following which railways were built in Agartala the capital city of Tripura after more than a decade as passengers became more predominant in the region and railways were a mark of success in the state. Agartala expects faster trains in the upcoming coming decade.
The area of Northeast Frontier Railway operations is characterized by exceptional beauty and at the same time by some of the most arduous terrain. This difficult terrain limits the rail network expansion, the only state with a decent rail network is Assam; the network is not broad gauge in many parts and the rail lines are antiquated with speeds at some sections being limited to a maximum of 30 km/h. Before the Saraighat Bridge was constructed, passengers had to get down on the Amingaon side of the Brahmaputra and take a ferry across to Pandu Junction from where they could resume their journey; the majority of the tracks have been converted to BG and electrification is in process starting from Katihar till Guwahati. A few of the major sections under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone are: Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Rangia-Murkongselek section Guwahati–Lumding section Lumding–Dibrugarh section Silchar–Sabroom section Katihar-Siliguri section Katihar-Jogbani branch line The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is maintained and governed under the responsibility of Katihar division.
It ascends 6,850 feet from New Jalpaiguri. After independence, India's partition resulted in the isolation of the Northeast region; the DHR was merged into Assam Railways, it was closed for the construction of the Assam–Bengal link line and one of its extension lines to Kishanganj was converted to metre gauge. DHR's other extension line to Kalimpong was washed away due to floods. On reopening, the DHR was merged with North Eastern Railway in 1952 and into Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958; the DHR achieved worldwide fame for many reasons such as: A gateway to the Himalayas The tiny four-wheeled steam locomotives of the 19th century The curves, loops, "Z"s and steep grades crisscrossing the roadAn interest in DHR all along has ensured that it continues to operate notwithstanding heavy losses. The steam locomotive is an icon of this Railway. Tindharia workshop has kept 13 locomotives surviving, some of which are over 100 years old and the youngest is about 70 years old. Timeline of DHR: 20 January 1948: Purchased by the Government of India 26 January 1948: Transferred to Assam Rail Link 26 January 1950: Transferred to Assam Railway 14 January 1952: Transferred to North Eastern Railway 15 January 1958: Transferred to Northeast Frontier Railway Bihar Nagaland West Bengal Meghalaya Manipur Assam Mizoram Tripura Arunachal Pradesh All India Station Masters' Association Zones and divisions of Indian Railways Northeast Frontier Railway Indian Railways Online Indian Railways Fan Club IR.
Online Tickets N F Railway Northeast Frontier Railway Recruitment Dutta, Arup Kumar. Indian Railways, the final frontier: genesis and growth of the North-East Frontier Railway. Guwahati: Northeast Frontier Railway. LCCN 2003308231
Alipurduar district
