Kamtapur

Kamtapur is the name of a state proposed in north West Bengal and Assam by the Rajbongshi people. The proposed state comprises some districts of West Bengal and other contiguous districts of Assam. This statehood demand is mostly led by Kamtapur People's Party.

History

From 650 to 1498 CE, Kamatapur (কামতাপুৰ) was a Hindu kingdom patronizing Hindu culture in eastern India. According to serious historical researches carried out by Sailen Debnath, an eminent historian of Bengal, the medieval Kamatapur or Kamata kingdom flourished before the emergence of the Koch kingdom under the leadership of Viswa Singha. Kamatapur emerged as a sovereign state right from the middle of the seventh century and it continued through ups and downs till the year 1498 when its last capital at Gosaninari was devastated by the invading army of Alauddin Husain Shah of Bengal. The ancient kingdom of Kamatapur, according to Sailen, comprised the tract of land bounded by the Karatoya in the west, the Brahmaputra in the east, the Himalayas in the north and the Padma-Brahmaputra basin in the south. Most probably, Nalrajar Garh in Chilapata forest was the earliest capital of Kamatapur and subsequently through a long course of changes and developments the capital was shifted to Maynaguri and then to Prithu Rajar Garh, and before its final shifting to Gosanimari, an ancient river port-town since the seventh century, for some time, the capital was at Singijani. After the destruction of the kingdom of Kamatapur by Alauddin Husain Shah of Gaur, there emerged the Koch kingdom with its capital at Hingulavas in the Dooars.

Sangaldip in the mid-seventh century, according to Sailen Debnath, was the first king of Kamatapur. Maharaj Prithu, Raja Sandhya, Maharaj Durlabhnarayan and Niladhwaj were the most powerful and influential rulers of the kingdom of Kamatapur. Nilambar was the last ruler of Kamatapur. Though he was a valiant fighter in the battlefield, yet, he had to give in to the tricks and military game-plans used by the generals of the army of Hussain Shah. But in earlier times, the rulers of Kamatapur nearly in most of the occasions defeated the invaders from Gaur

References

• Sailen Debnath, Essays on Cultural History of North Bengal, ISBN 978-81-86860-42-7.
• Sailen Debnath, "The Foundation of Kamatapur in the Dooars" in The Dooars in Historical Transition, ISBN 978-81-86860-44-1.

External links

• Kamatapur
• A documentary on the demand of statehood of Kamtapur
• [ www.kamatapurassociation.org Kamatapur Association]