ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Ananda Gopal Ghosh, Department of History, University of North Bengal, who has been my supervisor since the beginning of my early career. He provided me with all important and helpful suggestions, imperative advices and constant encouragement during the course of this work. Without his support and guidance this work won’t have been possible to complete. I am deeply indebted to him for his valuable advice and inspiration. I am also grateful to Dr. Dahlia Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of North Bengal without whose continuous unmitigated support this would have been impossible. My indebtedness to her is infinite. Without expecting anything in return she constantly guided me irrespective of anything.

I wish to offer my special gratitude to all my teachers of University of North Bengal for their encouragement and support throughout my career. I also wish to express my appreciation to Professor Anita Bagchi, Department of History, University of North Bengal, whose motherly and caring nurture provided me the required mental and technical support. Along with her, I should mention Professor Ichhimuddin Sarkar, Professor Bijay Kumar Sarkar, Mr. Varun Kumar Roy, Dr. Sudash Lama of Department of History, University of North Bengal for giving me their assurance and support many times.

I cannot do away without mentioning the contributions made by Professor Bani Prasanna Misra, former faculty, Centre for Himalayan Studies, Professor Debes Deb, former faculty, Department of Zoology, Professor Ratna Roy Sanyal, former faculty, Department of History, Prof. Dyutish Chakraborty, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Dr. Deepak Kumar Roy, Associate Professor, Department of Bengali of University of North Bengal. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions made by Dr. Ashim Kumar Sarkar, Controller of Examination, Vidyasagar University, Dr. Shymal Guha Roy and Mrs. Krishna Paul former faculty, Department of History, . Dr. Nilangsu Shekhar Das, Principal, Sukanta Mahavidyalaya, , Dr. Sujit Ghosh, Associate Professor, A. C. College, who were always there with me. Dr. Binayak Ray, Assistant Professor, Kalipada Ghosh Terai Mahavidyalaya, Bagdogra and Prof. Nirmal Kumar Roy, Associate Professor, Sonada Degree College, |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Acknowledgement

Darjeeling are also major contributors who supported me in various ways, namely technical and personal.

I thank Dr. Ashok Kumar Ganguly, former teacher Terai Tarapada Adersha Vidyalaya, Siliguri and Ashesh Das, Vivekananda Pally, Siliguri whose indelible contribution to Terai-centric studies inspired me as a novice and became a catalyst in my pursuit of knowledge and research. Dr. Kaushik Ghosh, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Bankura University, Prof. Somendu Prasad Saha, Assistant Professor, Kushmandi Govt. College, Jayjit Sarkar, Assistant Professor, North Bengal St. Xavier’s College and my student, Akhil Ray, Department of History, Malda College, Prof. Amrita Kumar Shil, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Sitalkuchi College, Dr. Binay Kumar Patel, Department of Hindi, Parimal Mitra Smriti Mahavidyalaya, , Sandip Dam, Assistant Teacher, Adhikari Krishna Kanta High School; Mr. Pradip Roy, a non-teaching stuff of Kalipada Ghosh Terai Mahavidyalaya, Bagdogra; Siliguri, Amit Jana, Research Scholar, Department of Geography, University of North Bengal are among those who stood by me and helped me heuristically.

I would like to thank Tushar Kanti Barman, Chanchal Mandal, Monoranjan Sarkar, Research Scholars (RGNF), Department Of History, University of North Bengal for their kind cooperation and friendly support.

Ajay Misra, Documentation Officer, Centre of Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal is someone who provided me with all essential support in the form of documents and relevant information especially on this topic form last five years. The kind of enriched collection he has is unparallel and without which my thesis would have been incomplete. Ajay Thakur, a staff member of the same department also enabled me with relevant technical support.

I am also grateful to my best friend Sumita Das of Malda who first kindled the spirit of academic pursuit and research in me. She is someone who like a guardian angel supported me throughout. The researcher in me is her contribution. What I am and how I am now is only because of her.

I would like to convey my special thanks to Sanjay Sarkar & Anil Roy, temporary staffs of the Central Library and all the other staffs of the Central Library,

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University of North Bengal, for their cordial support and help to provide all the support materials required for this work.

I would also like to express my special thanks to the stuffs of the Deputy Commissioner Library of Darjeeling (in the District Magistrate Office of Darjeeling), Documentation Cell, Centre of Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, National Library, Kolkata, State Archives (Kolkata) and National Archives of India (Delhi).

Finally, I would like to express special thanks to Smt. Basabi Ghosh, wife of my supervisor, my uncle Mr. Mridul Kar (Ex. Employee of the University of North Bengal), my parents Mr. Pradip Khasnobish and Mrs. Anjali Khasnobish who helped me to concentrate on completing this work and supported mentally during the course of this work. Without their help and encouragement, this study would not have been completed. I want to pay special thanks to Mr. Subir Das Mahanta of Shibmandir for his computer assistance.

Lastly again I pay my deepest regard to Professor Ananda Gopal Ghosh and Dr. Dahlia Bhattacharya, Department of History, University of North Bengal for their guidance and encouragement in the present work.

The errors, if any, have been committed involuntarily. However, the errors in fact and in judgment are, of course, my own.

Sudip Khasnobish University of North Bengal Raja Rammohanpur, Darjeeling Dated: February, 2016.

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