GUWAHATI: The Assam government renamed Karimganj district in the Barak Valley to Sribhum, as per a notification issued on Thursday, November 21. This name change, effective immediately, was confirmed by the General Administration Department Principal Secretary Mukesh Chandra Sahu.
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The decision follows an Assam cabinet meeting held on November 19, where the renaming proposal was approved. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma explained that the new name honours a reference made by Rabindranath Tagore over a century ago.
“Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj district in Assam as Sribhumi — the land of Maa Lakshmi,” he told the media after the meeting. “Today, the Assam cabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people.”
According to the chief minister, this move is part of a broader effort to replace names that lack historical or linguistic relevance. “We will continue to change the names that do not have any dictionary reference or historical evidence. This is a continuous process,” he added.
Over 100 years ago, Rabindranath Tagore had described Sylhet district — now in Bangladesh — as ‘Sribhumi’ when he visited the region in 1919. Karimganj was then a part of Sylhet.
BJP politician Shiladitya Dev had also advocated for the name change back in 2019. Attending a centenary celebration for Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore, he had opined that Karimganj be changed to ‘Sribhumi’.