What am I looking at?
Dhubri is a city and the administrative centre of Dhubri district in the Indian state of Assam.
The quick answer
Dhubri is a city and the administrative centre of Dhubri district in the Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra River, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a municipal board under the British regime. It is situated about 277.4 kilometres (172 mi) west from Dispur, the state capital of Assam.
How it came to be
The town is also an important commercial centre and had a busy river port, particularly for jute. Dhubri is called the "Land of Rivers" as it is covered on three sides by the Brahmaputra and Gangadhar rivers.
The detail most people miss
Until 1874, Dhubri was mostly ruled by Koch Kings. In 1874, the British government created a new province named Assam Valley Province and incorporated Goalpara district area comprising three civil subdivisions Dhubri, Goalpara and Kokrajhar with the new Assam Province. In 1879, the district headquarters was shifted from Goalpara to Dhubri city. The district of Dhubri is again subdivided in three districts namely Dhubri, Goalpara and Kokrajhar. The City of Dhubri falls under the jurisdiction of the district of Dhubri whose headquarters is at city Dhubri.
Why it still matters
The present Dhubri District is one of the three Civil Sub-divisions of erst-while Goalpara district, established in 1876 during British regime. In 1879 the District headquarters was shifted from Goalpara to Dhubri.
Look closer
In 1983 Goalpara district was divided into four separate districts and Dhubri is one of those. Covering an area of 2,838 km2. including forests, riverines, hills etc. the district has become the most densely populated district in India with a density of 584 persons per km2.(As per 2001 census).
