A Brief History of Cooch Behar

In the last two thousand years, the vast alluvial plains beneath the Sub-Himalayan Mountain
range stretching from the River Tista (Trisrota) to Brahmaputra (Lauhitya) were documented
in ancient literary sources and inscriptions as Pragjyotis, Lauhitya, Kamarupa and Kamata.1
From the sixteenth century onward the Tantric texts, Mughal, Portuguese, Dutch and British
accounts, travelogues and topographic maps marked the western portion of the Kamarupa as
Couch Country, Cocho Bihar, Comotay, Kamata Bihar, Kosbia, Cos Bhaar, Koch-bihar.2 To
end the all pre-existing confusion regarding the name of the place, the spelling Cooch Behar
was permanently fixed by His Highness Maharaja Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur of Cooch
Behar through the gazette notification published in Cooch Behar Gazetteer, 1896.3

The origin of the human settlements in Pragjyotis and its surrounding regions was vividly
portrayed in Indian mythology. According to Mahabharata, Narakasura established a colony
in Kamarupa by expelling the people of Kirat race. Bhagadatta, the elder son of King
Narakasura participated in the great battle of Kurukshetra from the side of the Kauravas and
was killed by Arjuna.4 The Koch Kings of Kamarupa states that around nineteen rulers of
Narakas dynasty ruled over Kamarupa. Most famous among them, Kumar Bhaskaravarma was
a contemporary of Harshavardhana of Pushyabhuti dynasty of Kannuj.5

Around the fourth and fifth centuries, Sangaladeva became the most powerful sovereign ruler
of these regions. He established capital at Laksanabati (Gour) after repulsing the Hunas from
Bengal and Malava. Kalahana’s Rajatarangini mentions that in the eighth century, the kingdom
of Pragjyotis and Stri-Rajya was attacked by King Muktapida Lalitaditya of Kashmir.6 Between
the eighth to eleventh centuries, the kingdom of Koch was transformed into a fief of the Pala
kings of Kamarupa.7 In 1205 AD, Ikhtiyar al-Din Muḥammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, the Turko-
Afghan military general of Muhammad of Ghor, marched towards Tibet through these regions.
The Sankara Charita and Asamer Sanksipta Burunji mention that from 1293 onward, there was
a sustained war between the King of Ahom and the rulers of Kamata.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Kamatapur (Gosanimari; Location: 26.032°N -

1
Ahmed, Khan Chowdhury Amanatulla, Cooch Beharer Itihas, Vol.I, Cooch Behar State
Press, Cooch Behar, 1935, p. 1
2
Ibid, pp. 2- 13
3
Cooch Behar Gazetteer, 1896, p.28. His Highness Maharaja Nripendra Narayan Bhup
Bahadur of Cooch Behar preferred to adopt the more anglicized spelling Cooch instated of
Koch which was the native pronunciation.
4
For more information see Mahabharata, Asvamedhaparva Adhyayas 75, 76.
5
Ahmed, 1935, op.cit, p.15
6
Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Taranga-4, Verses-272-274
7
Ghosal, Sarat Chandra, History of Cooch Behar, State Press Cooch Behar, 1942, p.26
8
Ibid, p. 38
1
at Gosanimari Rajpat, (Dinhata Block I, Cooch Behar) protected by the Archaeological Survey
of India, Government of India. According to Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, the Kamata kingdom
stood as a buffer between eastern Kamrupa and the Bengal Sultanate. In 1808, the ruin of Rajpat
was examined by Dr. Francis Buchanan Hamilton who prepared a detailed map of the old
fortress. The Kamata state reached its zenith during Kamateswar Niladhvaja and Chakradhvaja.
A few sources state that the temple of Kamateswari was built by Chakradhvaja, as he was
advised in dreams to recover the indestructible Chandika Kavacha (amulet) of King Bhagadatta
who was killed in the great battle of Kurukshetra and installed it in Gosanimari the capital of
Kamatapur. The entire region was destroyed by Ala-ud-din Husain Shah of Hussain Shahi
dynasty in 1498. Shah Ismail Ghazi, the military general of Husain Shah defeated and executed
King Nilambar, the last ruler of Khen dynasty. In a queue, Ala-ud-din Husain Shah and his
military generals devastated the Kamateswari temple of Kamatapur, Kamakhya Temple at
Nilachal Hills, Jagannath Temple of Puri.

From 1515 to 1949, overall twenty-one kings of Koch dynasty ruled Cooch Behar and many
times faced the Mughals and Bhutanese invaders. Biswa Singha (1515–1540) was regarded as
the supremely powerful first sovereign ruler of the Koch dynasty. He adopted the title
Kamateswar and established control over vast tracks from the foothill of the Himalayas upto
the Gouda. He reconstructed the Kamakhya Temple in Nilachal Hills and established capital at
Chikna. Maharaja Naranarayan and Laxminarayan faced numerous attacks from outsiders.
Maharaja Naranarayan was the first ruler of Cooch Behar who introduced population census in
his kingdom.9 In 1596, Maharaja of Amer Mansingh I, the military general of Akbar marched
towards Cooch Behar. Koch ruler Laxminarayan accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals. Again
in 1661, following the order of Aurangzeb, his military general Mir Mohammad Sayyid
Ardistani or Mir Jumla II attacked Cooch Behar and subjugated the capital without any battle.
Maharaja Prananarayan fled to the foothills for a secure shelter. Soon the name of Cooch Behar
was changed to Alamgirnagar. Cooch Behar was the only state in entire India where the
Mughals issued their coins in a regional language. Later on, Maharaja Prananarayan agreed to
give valuable yearly tribute to the Mughal Emperor and resume control over the capital.

After the death of Aurangzeb (1707), the Bhutanese incursions rapidly increased in the
neighbouring areas of Falakata, Buxa and Western Dooars. It led to the frontier dispute between
Cooch Behar and Bhutan. In the 1700s, political problems intensified along with the abduction
of Maharaja Dharjendranarayan of Cooch Behar by the king of Bhutan and the commencement
of the Sanyasi-Fakir uprising in the Northern Part of Bengal. Warren Hastings (1732 -1818)
the first governor-general of Bengal intervened in these matters and deputed Company’s troops
to Cooch Behar. Maharaja Dharjendranarayan of Cooch Behar was released from Bhutan and
Anglo-Koch Treaty was signed in 1773. The British East India Company grabbed 1,99,120
narayani taka from Cooch Behar state as the charge of the war.10 Aftermath of the treaty, the
process of Anglicization was started in Cooch Behar, especially in the sphere of administration,
judiciary, revenue and education of Royal descendants.

9
Ibid, p. 157
10
Ahmed, 1935, op.cit, p.214
2
The modern cityscape of Cooch Behar Town (26.3452° N, 89.4482° E) gradually developed
since the reign of Maharaja Harendranarayan to His Highness Maharaja Nripendra Narayan
Bhup Bahadur during the nineteenth century. As British colonialism directly stimulated the
growth of Calcutta as a cosmopolitan city, it also influenced the rulers of Cooch Behar to gain
the reputation of the most advanced native states in South Asia. Soon the magnificent royal
palace, educational institutions, state offices, court, libraries, clubs, theatrical stages,
playgrounds, and railway station were constructed which replicated the Neo-classical and Indo-
Saracenic architecture prevalent in the British capital in India. Maharaja Nripendra Narayan
and Maharani Sunity Devi had a worldwide reputation. Sunity Devi became the first Indian
Queen to travel abroad and the first woman recipient of the CIE award of the British Empire.
She attended the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria in 1898 and the Delhi Durbar
of 1911 with her husband. Cooch Behar was the only native state in India where three royal
ladies wrote their autobiographies in Bengali and English.

During the rule of the Regency Council in Cooch Behar State, Manishi Panchnan Barma
strongly protested against the steps taken by the council and raised his voice for the rights of
the Rajbansi people. He fought for the identity of the Rajbangshi Kshatriyas, social justice for
the oppressed women and eradication of all kinds of exploitation in society. The last Koch
ruler, Sir Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur (1915-1970), ceded full ruling powers to the
Government of India on 12 September 1949 and the state was merged with West Bengal on 1
January 1950.