[3] The main and largest city is Silchar, which seats the headquarter of Cachar district and also serves as administrative divisional office of Barak valley division.

[25] In 1821-22 when Thomas Fischer surveyed the area,[26] he found that Hailakandi was controlled by the Kacharis, though it was surrounded by villages of the Kuki Tanghum community that owed allegiance to the Tripura kingdom.

[34][35] In 1303, Shah Jalal had established rule around Sylhet; and during Ibn Battuta's visit in 1346, the region was inhabited by Khasi, Garo, Hindus, Muslims, and others.

[36] The Mughals began the practice of settling cultivators in the region around Sylhet, which picked up significantly only after 1719 and lasted till the beginning of East India Company rule in 1765.

[37] The expansion of Mughal domains in Sylhet was part of an ancient process of Gangetic territorialism that displaced or assimilated extant populations consisting of Munda, Khasi and other peoples.

[40] EIC acquired Sarkar Sylhet, primarily the frontier town, bounded by regions that were not in their control—Mughal holdouts moved freely in the lowlands controlled by the highland rulers out of Company reach; Khasi chiefs held most of the land north of the Surma; the land north and east of Sylhet town belonged to the Jaintia kingdom; and Tripura kingdom held most of the southern highlands and the adjoining lowlands.

[41] The EIC, an erstwhile mercantile company, got into the revenue-farming and judiciary business with the diwani grant of 1765 and developed a keen interest in monopolising traditional trade routes and expanding settled farming for revenue.

He had a good number of Bengali advisers (mostly Brahmins) around him and gave grants of land to some of them, but the population resembled that of the North Cachar Hills of today as evident from various historical chronicles and sources.

[46] The population of Muslims in the colonial era Barak Valley decreased in the late 19th century largely because the fertile lands were occupied by earlier settlers of the region and later they immigrated to the present Hojai of Assam which was also a part of Kachari Kingdom up to 1832 AD.

Abdul Matlib Mazumdar along with Basanta Kumar Das (then Home Minister of Assam) travelled throughout the valley organising the Congress and addressing meetings educating the masses about the outcome of partition on the basis of religion.

[52][53] Mazumdar was the leader of the delegation that pleaded before the Radcliffe Commission that ensured that a part of Sylhet (now in Bangladesh) join with India despite being Muslim-majority (present Karimganj district).

[57][69] Hinduism is mainly practised by Bengalis, Dimasas, Tripuris, Meiteis, Bishnupriyas, Odias, Nepalis, Biharis and Marwaris living in the Valley.

[91] Barak Valley is the most neglected part of Assam in terms of its infrastructure development, tourism sector, educational institutions, hospitals, IT industries, G.D.P, H.D.I etc.

[100] On 7 September 2023, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma delivered a speech at a rally in Silchar and stated that "If the people of Barak Valley want separation, I will not oppose that demand.

"[101][102][103] The BDF subsequently conducted a press conference on 8 September 2023 and congratulated the Chief Minister for providing implicit support to the separation call.

[109][110][111] The indigenous Dimasa Cachari people of Northeast India have been demanding a separate state called Dimaraji or "Dimaland" for several decades.

Every year around 2000 Puja pandals are built in the region to mark the beginning of this festival and to seek the blessings of the goddess Kali for general happiness, health, wealth and peace through prayers[120][121][122] Busu Dima is an annual cultural festival celebrated by the Dimasa Kachari tribe of North Cachar Hills and Cachar of Barak valley.

Just like Durga puja, every year lakhs of Muslims celebrated eid with great joy and happiness throughout the valley specially in Muslim-majority Karimganj and Hailakandi district.

[132] On 24 April, the Parishad flagged off a fortnight-long Padayatra in the Barak Valley to raise awareness among the masses, which ended after 200 miles reaching to Silchar on 2 May.

[133][131] On 18 May, the Assam police arrested three prominent leaders of the movement, namely Nalinikanta Das, Rathindranath Sen and Bidhubhushan Chowdhury, the editor of weekly Yugashakti.

"[139] On 18 October 2021, a state government hoarding which was written in Assamese language has been found smeared with black ink in Barak valley's administrative capital Silchar's Petrol Pump area.

On 19 May 1961, 11 Bengali Protestors at Silchar railway station were killed for protesting against forceful imposition of Assamese language in Barak Valley region.

[152] Regarding Indigenousity, Those Bengali-speaking Hindus/Muslims of Barak Valley (comprising districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj) who bears surnames like Choudhury, Mazumdar/Mazumder, Laskar/Lashkar, Barlaskar, Barobhuiya, Mazarbhuiya, Talukdar and Hazari and other regular titles mostly brought and given by Kachari kings are Native.

According to the Committee, nearly 1.5 lakh people belong to the Dimasa, Koch Rajbongshi, Meiteis, Manipuri-Muslim (Pangals), Bishnupriya Manipuri, Cachari-speaking Muslim, tea tribes, Rongmei Naga, Kuki, Khasi, Gorkha, Hmar, Das Pattni, Nath Jogi and Namasudra Bangali communities were left out of the final NRC list.

The Committee further stated that, "All the Indigenous people of Barak Valley support the government stand of Implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord".

While Mizoram wants it to be along an Inner Line Permit notified in 1875 to protect indigenous tribals from outside influence, which Mizos feel is part of their historical homeland, Barak valley region of Assam wants it to be demarcated according to district boundaries drawn up much later.

[162] On 17 November 2022, Mizoram Home Minister have apologised for the clashes that have occurred in Barak-Mizoram border in which six police personnel and one civilian were killed in Lailapur.

[165] Hailakandi riot (2019) Local reports said that the tension started when motorbikes owned by Muslim devotees were vandalised while they were praying inside a mosque.

Mohneesh Mishra, Hailakandi's police chief, told Scroll.in that the clashes began when a group of Muslim men assembled on a public road in the town and said they will offer prayers on the street.

[172][173][174] Barak valley region is the poorest part of Assam in terms of Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index rank.