Colonial Penetration, Land Revenue Reforms and Transition of Cooch Behar from a Benevolent to a Predatory State 1772-1923

Abstract

Cooch Behar a native state of India in Colonial terminology is situated in the North-Eastern part of India. The territory of modern Cooch Behar originally formed part of the ancient kingdom of Kamrup, and had no separate existence of its own as a district principality before the division of that country between the King Nara Narayan and his brother Sukladwaj, commonly known as Chila Rai, in the middle of the 16th century. CoochBehar became feudatory state ' to the English East India Company by virtue of the Treaty of 1773. It as because of colonial penetration and the Land Revenue Reforms that totally metamorphosed the Cooch Behar State.