DUARS

also spelled Dwars, or Dooars, region of northeastern India, at the foot of the west Assam Himalayas. Its 3,400-square-mile (8,800-square-kilometre) area is divided by the Sankosh River into the Western and Eastern Duars. Both were ceded by Bhutan to the British at the end of the Bhutan War (186465). The Eastern Duars, in western Assam state, comprises a level plain intersected by numerous rivers and only slightly populated. The Western Duars lies in northern West Bengal state and is a portion of the Tarai (q.v.), a lowland belt linking the Himalayas and the plains region. The Western Duars is an important centre of the tea industry. The name Duars (literally doors) is derived from the several passes that lead from the region into the Lesser Himalayas.