Cachar District Records (Letters Subsequent to the Annexation of Cachar in Part-1)

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This is indubitably a valuable collection of records of Cachar District which covers the period from April 1834 to June 1853 in Volume One and from 1853 to 1860 in Volume Two. The letters published in this volume delineate numerous detail concerning the modernization of Cachar where the British established a judicial system, developed police administration, introduced a modern revenue system, and helped the growth of modern education. The remoteness of Cachar was removed, and the district attracted enterprising people from the neighbouring areas. The reader of this volume may also have a glimpse of a simmer of discontent which was attributable to disputes between people speaking different languages, defects in land-settlement, and the overbearing stance of the British bureaucrats and their native flunkeys. This book of records would be a valuable addition to the publications of the Asiatic Society.

Looking at Firminger's 'Sylhet District Records' the idea of compiling the old records of Cachar came to my mind. In this volume I have compiled the miscellaneous letters from 1834 to 1853. I worked for many years to compile these records; many years I say, as the reading of many of these letters was a tough job. Many of them are illegible, because of bad handwriting of the copyists and many have become illegible, in spite of good handwriting, because of the fading of the ink used. But more tough was the tracing of the records which are lying untouched, for how many years no one knows, in a prohibited dark and dingy room, into which only 'Aklu' has got entrance. I am grateful to the record-keepers, with whom I had to come into contact, for their kind and ungrudging cooperation. Aklu is the busiest man in the record room, and yet he spared no pains, to find out the records for me. The record-keeper, I feel, should not be frequently changed, as he can pick up acquaintance with the records only if he is allowed to stay in the post for a considerable period.