Hajo Tourism

The ancient town of Hajo is one of the most interesting places in the state of Assam, situated on the banks of river Brahmaputra, around 24 km from the city of Guwahati. What makes Hajo an important tourist destination is that this is the only place in the state where there is a confluence of three major religions of the world - Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. Shrines dedicated to Durga, Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha and major Muslim saints are found all over this place, making it an important pilgrimage center for people from all these three religions.

The history of the quiet and peaceful Hajo town is quite interesting. It is said that this town was once the capital of the Koch Dynasty, established by Raghudev, the son of legendary Koch hero Chilarai and nephew of the Kochbehar king, Narayana. The vast Koch Kingdom included Goalpara, North Kamrup, a portion of the former Darrang district and also the present day Mangaldoi subdivision. However, the dynasty came under the occupancy of the Mughals from 1639 to 1658.

With the changing history, different names came to be associated with this region. Hajo was known as Apurnabhava and Manikuta in the 11th century A.D, while the 14th century had its name as Bhisnupuskar (as described in the Yoginitantra). During the 18th century, Hajo came to be known as Manikutgram, as found in the Darang Rangbonshabali by one Surjyakhari Daivajna. During the Mughal reign, the region was called Sujabad or Sujanagar. Some people link the place with ‘haj’, which is the most revered pilgrimage spot of the Muslim community in Mecca.

Scholars and followers of Buddhism have different opinions regarding the origin of the name Hajo. Some believe that Gautam Buddha died in this region and his death pained his disciples so much that they cried out aloud ‘Ha- ju’, which means 'setting of the sun' and thus the place came to be known as Hajo. However, Dr. Banikanta Kakati (a prominent scholar of Assam) believes that there is a Bodo connection to Hajo. He suspects that Hajo is a Bodo name (Ha means land and Gojou means high, according to Bodo dialect).

Assam Tourism

Assam Tourism is a land of myths and mystery. "The land of red river and blue hills," as it is described, has a unique landscape with sprawling tea gardens and unending stretches of paddy fields interspersed with groves of coconut, areca nuts, and banana trees. Its population is a confluence of streams of different races and tribes like the Austrics, the Aryans, Negroids, Indo-Burmese, Indo-Tibetans, and Mongoloid. They have enriched each other and have evolved to give a distinctive identity to the Assamese people.