Contested Spaces: Population Dynamics, the Refugees and Changing Social Landscape of Siliguri (1835 To 2011 C.E.)

Abstract

The East India company in 1835 first acquired the nucleus of Darjeeling district from Raja of Sikkim, it was almost entirely under forest and particularly uninhabited. Although it was stated to have been inhabited probably a more accurate estimate was that these Hill tracks of 138 square miles contain the population of 100. The heavy forest and no communication facilities must have discouraged development and could have been a big obstruction for any increase of population. 1This research article traces how the population of Siliguri changed after independence and especially after the Indo Pakistan war when there was a huge flow of migration of people from surrounding areas and this totally altered the social landscape of the region.