Silchar is the headquarters of Cachar district in the state of Assam in India. It is the economic gateway to the state of Mizoram and part of Manipur. The town of Silchar has tremendous commercial importance and is the second largest in the state of Assam. It consequently, witnesses the settlement of a sizeable population of traders from distant parts of India. Being a very peaceful place in the otherwise disturbed North-East earned it the bon mot of "Island of Peace" from India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Approximately 90% residents of Silchar are Sylhetis, the rest being Marwaris and some tribal groups like Meitei and Naga. The Sylhetis settled here after migrating from Sylhet, a district of undivided India, after partition of India in 1947. Silchar is situated by the banks of the Barak River in what is popularly known as Barak Valley. Rice is the staple cereal. Fish is also available. Shuţki (the local name for dried fish), shidal chutney , "chunga-r peetha" are some of the local delicacies. Over the past few years, the city is constantly witnessing a huge influx of people from nearby smaller places due to city's increasing future prospects and other developments in the field of education, medical facilities and the more recently booming real estate market and other commercial businesses, making the city quite an overcrowded one. It has now the second highest population in the state, although the difference with the highest populated city i.e., Guwahati, the capital of Assam, is quite huge.