Diphu (Pron:ˈdɪfu:) is the headquarter of

Karbi Anglong district Karbi Anglong district is one of the 34 administrative districts of Assam in India. Diphu is the administrative headquarter of the district. The district is administered by Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council according to the Sixth Schedule of the C ...

in the state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This small town is a popular tourist

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

for people of nearby cities.

Etymology

The word ''Diphu'' came from

Dimasa language The Dimasa language is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Dimasa people of the Northeastern Indian states of Assam and Nagaland. The Dimasa language is known to Dimasas as "Grao-Dima" and it is similar to Boro, Kokborok and Garo languages. ...

, meaning ''White Water'' (''Di'' for ''Water'', and ''Phu'' for ''White''). Historically, it is said that the stream in Diphu carries large amounts of sediment during the rainy season, giving it a whitish colour, hence its name.

Geography

Diphu is located at . It has an average elevation of 186 metres (610 feet). It is about 270 km by road and 213 km by railways from Guwahati. The town is located on a beautiful hill.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Diphu had a population of 63,654. Based on population, it is classified as a class-II city (between 50,000 and 99,999 inhabitants). Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Diphu has an average literacy rate of 90%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy rate is 94% and female literacy rate is 86%. In Diphu, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. The major indigenous communities living in Diphu are Karbi, Dimasa Kachari, Garo Kachari and

Rengma Naga Rengma is a Naga people, Naga tribe found in Nagaland and Assam states of India. According to the 2011 Census of India, the population of Rengmas in Nagaland stands at 62,951 and the population of Rengmas in Assam is around 22,000. Tseminyü dis ...

Language

Karbi is the most spoken language at 25,045 speakers, followed by Bangali at 13,400 and Assamese at 8,007, Hindi is spoken by 5,277 people, Bodo at 1,909 and Nepali at 2,712.

Culture

The town is home to many indigenous communities and other communities from rest of the country. Dimasas, Karbis, Rengma,

Tiwa Tiwa and Tigua may refer to: * Tiwa Puebloans, an ethnic group of New Mexico, US * Tiwa (Lalung), an ethnic group of north-eastern India * Tiwa language (India), a Sino-Tibetan language of India * Tiwa languages, a group of Tanoan languages of the ...

Kachari,

Bodo Kachari Bodo may refer to: Ethnicity * Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India * Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people Culture and language * Boro cu ...

, Garo Kachari and

Rabha The Rabha are a Tibeto-Burman community to the Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal. They primarily inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some are found in the Garo Hills. Most of the Rabhas of Dooars refer to thems ...

being the major tribes of the district. The town exhibits peaceful and harmonious coexistence among them. It houses temples, churches, mosques and gurudwaras. The town celebrates all the major festivals together with much fun-fare.

Rongker Rongker is an annual winter time festival of merriment observed by the Karbis of Assam. It is also known as Dehal in Dumra Longri i.e. Kamrup Metropolitan district of Assam and Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. It is observed in order to appease ...

, Bushu-Dima,

Wangala Wangala is also called the festival of "The Hundred Drums", a harvest festival celebrated by the Garo tribe, who live in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Assam in India and Greater Mymensingh in Bangladesh. In this post harvest festival, they give tha ...

Bihu Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The Rongali Bihu i ...

, Sikpui-Ruoi,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

, Baikho and other festivals are celebrated with fervour and joy.

Tourism

Places of interest

; Arboretum cum Craft & Cultural Centre : It is a newly built garden on the outskirts of the market. It houses a garden, children's park and an open stage auditorium. ; Recreation Park cum Medicinal Garden: Situated on the Diphu-Manja road it is a very beautiful garden set up by the forest department. The park has much natural scenery, valuable trees and herbs which attracts many people. ; Taralangso: It is located in the heart of Diphu. The headquarters of "Karbi Cultural Society", which is an established democratic cultural organisation, is permanently set here. The Karbi Youth Festival is celebrated in Taralangso every year from 15 to 19 February. During the festival the place becomes a cultural pilgrimage. ; Botanical Garden: About 7 km away from Diphu along the Lumding road, there is a botanical garden of Forest west division. The garden is rich in many valuable trees, herbs and orchids. ; Arboretum : It is an old Arboretum garden. Situated on Lumding road, near the town border. ; Statue of Rongpharpi Rongbe: In the middle of the town there is a great statue of Rongpharpi Rongbe and her comrades - a grand sculpture enlivened in the hand of its sculptor. It has immortalised a glorified page of Karbi history. Rongpharpi Rongbe was the first woman who rebelled against exploitation and oppression. ; District Museum ; Umwang

Public parks and gardens

* Arboretum cum Craft & Cultural Centre. * Arboretum (old). * Recreation cum Medicinal Park. * Botanical Garden (Near ITI). * Botanical Garden (Lumding road). * Khorsing Ingti Children Park. * Semson Sing Ingti Memorial Park. * Gandhi Park.

Media

;Local Newspapers * Drongo Express (English daily) * Hill Observer (English daily) * Pherangke (Karbi daily) *

The Arleng Daily The Arleng Daily is a Karbi daily newspaper published from Diphu, Assam. It has its beginning in June 2004. Initially its publication was distributed for free in and around Diphu, (mostly in Diphu Government College). As of 2008, it was one of ...

(Karbi daily) * The Hills Emissary (English daily) * The Hills Times (English daily) *

Thekar Thekar is a Karbi daily newspaper published from Diphu, Assam. It is the highest circulated Karbi daily in North East India. As of 2008, it was one of the only two Karbi-language dailies in Karbi Anglong district, The Thekar has wide reach among ...

(Karbi daily) ;Radio : Diphu house an

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

station. ;Television : Diphu house a relay centre for

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

. There is also a

CATV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

, KAT, operating in the town. Currently, KAT is only local channel in the town.

Education institutions

Universities

Assam University Assam University is a collegiate central public university located at Silchar, Assam, India. It was founded in the year 1994 by the provisions of an act enacted by the Parliament of India. The Governor of Assam is the Chief Rector and the ...

, Diphu Campus *

IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University, known as IGNOU, is a Central University located at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India. Named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of 20& ...

study centre

Medical Colleges

Diphu Medical College and Hospital Diphu Medical College and Hospital is a medical college with attached hospital located in Diphu, Assam. It started functioning from 25 November 2019. This is the 7th medical college of the state. The college operates under the State Ministry of ...

Colleges

*B.Ed. College *Commerce College *Diphu Girl's College * Diphu Government College * Diphu Law College *Renu Terangpi Memorial College

Technical and vocational institutes

* Basic Training Centre. * Diphu Polytechnic, Diphu. * Hindi Teacher Training Centre. * Industrial Training Institute (ITI). * Vocational Training and Research Centre (VTRC).

Schools

Health infrastructure

Hospital

* Veterinary Hospital (2 Nos.) * Diphu Civil Hospital (Defunct) - ongoing conversion to Cancer Centre. * Diphu Christian Hospital (New).

Transportation

Road

National Highway 329A connect the town to outside place. Diphu is well connected to most districts and important towns of Assam by Government and private buses. Shared

Car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

also ply between nearby town and places.

Auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

is the main mode of transport within the town.

Rail

The town is served by

Diphu railway station Diphu railway station (Station Code: DPU) is the main railway station of Diphu town, headquarter of Karbi Anglong district in Assam. It is under Lumding railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is located on Lum ...

Northeast Frontier Railway zone The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and e ...

which lies on

Lumding–Dibrugarh section The Lumding–Dibrugarh section is a broad-gauge railway line connecting and . The -long railway line is functional in the Indian state of Assam. It is under the jurisdiction of Northeast Frontier Railway. History The Assam Railway and Tradi ...

. Many crucial trains connect the town like

Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express ''Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express'' is one of the premier train in the exclusive fleet of Rajdhani Expresses of Indian Railways. It connects in Delhi and in Assam. History * The first version of this train was inaugurated on 26 October 1996 as G ...

Brahmaputra Mail The 15657 / 15658 ''Brahmaputra Mail'' is a daily train that connects Old Delhi with Kamakhya (an important town in Assam). Introduced in 1972 after the construction of the rail section of the Farakka Barrage, the train originally ran as the T ...

Kamrup Express The ''Kamrup Express'' is a daily Express train which connects Howrah (Kolkata) in West Bengal with Dibrugarh, a major town in upper Assam. Originally the train ran between Howrah and Guwahati (which is the district headquarters of Kamrup dis ...

Jan Shatabdi Express The Jan Shatabdi Express is a more affordable and economical version of the Shatabdi Express''.'' The word 'Jan' refers to common people. Being an economical version of the Shatabdi Express, it provides the passenger with Air Conditioned Chair ...

, Chandigarh Express,

Nagaland Express The ''Nagaland Express'' is a daily Express train which runs between Guwahati railway station in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam and Dibrugarh Town in Upper Assam. Earlier, the train ran between Guwahati and Dimapur Dimapur () is the ...

etc.

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in Karbi Anglong. The multipurpose Karbi Anglong Sports Association (KASA) Stadium is home to Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC, a professional football club based in Diphu. It competes in the top division

Assam State Premier League Assam State Premier League (ASPL) is the state-level top division football league in the Indian state of Assam, organised by the Assam Football Association and the Guwahati Sports Association. The inaugural edition of the league started in 2008 ...

. Currently, there is one Stadium at KASA Sports Complex and another under construction at Chutianala, Diphu.

Politics

Diphu town is under Diphu (Vidhan Sabha constituency). This constituency form a part of

Autonomous District (Lok Sabha constituency) Autonomous District Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian state of Assam. The constituency consists of three autonomous districts namely Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong district. The c ...

Notable people

Horen Sing Bey Horen Sing Bey is an Indian politician from the state of Assam. He is elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Autonomous District, Assam in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Part ...

: Present- M.P. * Biren Sing Engti: Former-M.P. * Jayanta Rongpi: Former-M.P. * Late Semsonsing Ingti *:Founder of undemarcated

(The then Mikir Hills).

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Karbi Anglong district