COOCH BEHAR

also spelled Kuch Bihar or Koch Bihar town, administrative headquarters of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal state, northeastern India. The town lies just east of the Torsa River. It is an agricultural market centre, has major road and rail connections, and is linked by air with Calcutta. Leather-goods manufacture is an important industry. Cooch Behar contains the maharaja's palace, a hospital, and five colleges affiliated with the University of North Bengal. Cooch Behar district (1,307 sq mi [3,386 sq km]), a former princely state, comprises an alluvial piedmont tract drained by the Tista, Torsa, and Jaldhaka rivers. Floods caused by the shifting of river courses are common. Rice, corn (maize), legumes, oilseeds, and tobacco are the chief crops. Dispersed forest areas shelter rhinoceroses, tigers, and gaurs (Indian bison). The district formed part of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom, with its capital at Kamatpur, near Cooch Behar town. In the 16th century the Koch kingdom was established. It was annexed by the Mughals in 1660 and ruled by the British in the 18th century, and the area was merged as a district with West Bengal in 1950. Pop. (1981) town, 62,127; metropolitan area, 80,101; district, 1,771,643.