Enter your search terms Submit search form

   Assam , state (2001 provisional pop. 26,638,407), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), extreme NE India. Dispur is the capital. Almost completely separated from India by Bangladesh, Assam is bordered by Nagaland and Manipur on the east, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya on the south, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan in the north and west and West Bengal in the west. The terrain consists largely of hill plains and some hilly ranges in the south. The river valleys, particularly those of the Brahmaputra and Surma, contain the richest soil and support most of the people. The rainfall is often excessive.
     Tea, grown on large plantations in the piedmont sections, is the principal crop. Rice, citrus fruit, sugarcane, sesame, cotton, and jute are also grown. Industry consists of the processing of agricultural products. Assam is an important oil-producing region with refineries at Digboi and Nunmati. A pipeline delivers oil to Barauni (Bihar state), and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Locally, the Brahmaputra is important for river transportation. Railways supplement the waterway and are linked with other Indian lines by a route through West Bengal. Rail and road transportation are limited. Calcutta, in West Bengal state, is the nearest large Indian city. Assam has a highly heterogeneous population. Assamese, a dialect related to Bengali, is the predominant language.
     There were serious riots in 1959–60 when Bengal-speaking Hindu refugees, fleeing from Muslim East Pakistan, settled in Assam. More refugees arrived from East Pakistan in 1971. Immigration of Bengali speakers sparked serious unrest in 1989. In 1960 and 1961 the Chinese invaded the North-East Frontier Agency (now the state of Arunachal Pradesh), which is N of Assam, but the Chinese withdrew in 1963. To improve its defenses, India embarked on a vast road-construction program.
   Assam lost territory as non-Assamese populations were granted autonomy by the Indian government. In 1963 the Naga hills district was made into the state of Nagaland. The Naga independence movement has maintained its guerrilla struggle. In 1970, Meghalaya was created in the south. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, separated in 1972, received statehood in 1987. In 1995, India's improved relations with Myanmar led to joint military operations aimed at containing various rebel contingents, each separately seeking independence from India, but the violence has continued.
 

   The most important river in the state is the Brahmaputra, which enters in the northeast and flows in a southwesterly direction. The river is navigable from the Bay of Bengal to the city of Dibrugarh. The state of Assam has a humid, subtropical climate, with extremely heavy rainfall that ranges from about 1,800 to nearly 2,500 mm (about 70 to nearly 100 in) per year. The average temperatures in January range from 10° to 23° C (50° to 73° F); in July average temperatures range from 26° to 32° C (79° to 90° F). Assam is subject to floods and earthquakes. Much of the state is covered with dense tropical forests of bamboo and, at higher elevations, evergreens. Common animals of Assam include the elephant, tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, and bear. 

       The Assamese have Mongolian -Tibetan,Aryan and Burmese ethnic origins who penetrated into Assam through different routes and contributed in their own way towards the unique fusion of a new community which came to be known as Assamese.
          The population of Assam comprises of the migrants from Burma and China who came into Assam after the mongoloid migration. Thus Assam presents a fusion of Mongol-Aryan culture. Numerous Mongoloid races inhabit the hills and plains of Assam including Nagas,Mikirs,Bodos or Boros,the Mizos or Lushais of Mizoram and the Lalungs.

           People of Assam eat non-spicy foods and even bland at times. Rice is the staple diet and other supplimentary food includes lentils,fish curry,meat curry along with herbs and vegetables. The curry is generally seasoned with ginger,garlic,cardamom,cinnamon,onions and sometimes lemon. Sweets made during the festivals are usually made of rice paste. 'Pitha' is a paper-thin pancake stuffed with sweet coconut paste or sweet black sesame seed paste.

      Assam's economy is rural and agricultural. Tea is cultivated in the hilly regions, and the state provides much of the tea grown in India. The valley of the Brahmaputra River is important for rice, the major food product of Assam. Other agricultural products are jute, sugarcane, cotton, oranges, and potatoes. The cultivation of silkworms is common in many areas. Lumber is valuable to the economy of Assam, and the extraction of crude oil is gaining in importance. The primary industries of Assam are textile manufacturing, cement production, and oil refining.

    Assam has a single-chamber legislative assembly with 126 members. The state sends 21 members to the Indian national parliament: 7 to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and 14 to the Lok Sabha (Lower House). Local government is based on 23 administrative districts.