Goalpara region

The Goalpara region is a cultural and historical region of Assam in India, largely matching the old undivided Goalpara district. It is bounded by Bhutan to the north, the Kamrup region to the east, Meghalaya to the south and, in the west, by Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Rangpur in Bangladesh. Its natural landmarks are the Sankosh and Brahmaputra rivers on the west, the Manas River on the east of the north bank, the Garo Hills to the south and the Bhutan Hills to the north. It was first defined as an administrative unit in the 17th century as Sarkar Dhekuri under the Mughal Bengal Subah, and the British constituted it as a district in 1833, named for its headquarters at Goalpara town. Rabha, Mech and Garo communities form much of the population, and the Goalpariya dialect and Rabha language are spoken there.