Assam is known for Assam tea, petroleum resources, Assam silk and for its rich biodiversity. It has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, tiger, numerous species of birds and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. It is increasingly becoming a popular destination for wild-life tourism and notably Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites.[2] Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now. A land of high rainfall, Assam is endowed with lush greenery and the mighty river Brahmaputra, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a unique hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.
Etymology
Assam was known as Pragjyotisha in the Mahabharata; and Kamarupa in the 1st millennium. Assam gets it name from the Ahom kingdom (1228-1826), then known as Kingdom of Assam.[4] The British province after 1838 and the Indian state after 1947 came to be known as Assam.
On February 27, 2006 the Government of Assam started a process to change the name of the state to Asom,[5] a controversial move that has been opposed by the people and political organizations.[6]
[edit] Physical geography
- See also: Biodiversity of Assam
Geomorphic studies conclude that the Brahmaputra, the life-line of Assam is a paleo-river; older than the Himalayas. The river with steep gorges and rapids in Arunachal Pradesh entering Assam, becomes a braided river (at times 16 km wide) and with tributaries, creates a flood plain (Brahmaputra Valley: 80-100km wide, 1000 km long).[7] The hills of Karbi Anglong, North Cachar and those in and close to Guwahati (also Khasi-Garo Hills) now eroded and dissected are originally parts of the South Indian Plateau system.[7] In the south, the Barak originating in the Barail Range (Assam-Nagaland border), flows through the Cachar district with a 40-50km wide valley and confluences with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.
Assam is endowed with petroleum, natural gas, coal, limestone and other minor minerals such as magnetic quartzite, kaolin, sillimanites, clay and feldspar.[8] A small quantity of iron ore is available in western districts.[8] Discovered in 1889, all the major petroleum-gas reserves are in Upper parts. A recent USGS estimate shows 399 million barrels (63,400,000 m3) of oil, 1,178 billion cubic feet (3.34×1010 m3) of gas and 67 million barrels (10,700,000 m3) of natural gas liquids in Assam Geologic Province. [9]
With the “Tropical Monsoon Rainforest Climate”, Assam is temperate (Summer max. at 35-38 and winter min. at 6-8 degrees Celsius) and experiences heavy rainfall and high humidity.[7] [10] The climate is characterised by heavy monsoon downpours reducing summer temperature and foggy nights and mornings in winter . Thunderstorms known as Bordoicila are frequent during the afternoons. Spring (Mar-Apr) and Autumn (Sept-Oct) are usually pleasant with moderate rainfall and temperature.
Assam is one of the richest biodiversity zones in the world and consists of tropical rainforests,[11], deciduous forests, riverine grasslands[12], bamboo[13] orchards and numerous wetland[14] ecosystems; Many are now protected as national parks and reserved forests. The Kaziranga, home of the rare Indian Rhinoceros, and Manas are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Assam. The state is the last refuge for numerous other endangered species such as Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei), White-winged Wood Duck or Deohanh (Cairina scutulata), Bengal Florican, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Pygmy Hog, Greater Adjutant and so on. Some other endangered species with significant population in Assam are Tiger, Elephant, Hoolock Gibbon, Jerdon's Babbler and so on. Assam is also known for orchids.[15]
The region is prone to natural disasters with annual floods and frequent mild earthquakes. Strong earthquakes are rare; three of these were recorded in 1869, 1897 (8.1 on the Richter scale); and in 1950 (8.6).
History
Pre-history
Assam and adjoining regions have evidences of human settlements from all the periods of the Stone ages. The hills at the height of 460 to 615 m were popular habitates probably due to availability of exposed doleritic basalt useful for tool-making.[16]
According to Kalika Purana (c.8th-9th A.D), written in Assam, the earliest ruler was Mahiranga followed by Hatak, Sambar, Ratna and Ghatak; Naraka removed this line of rulers and established his own dynasty. It mentions that the last of the Naraka-bhauma rulers, Narak, was slain by Krishna. Naraka's son Bhagadatta, mentioned in the Mahabharata, fought for the Kauravas in the battle of Kurushetra with an army of kiratas, chinas and dwellers of the eastern coast. Later rulers of Kamarupa frequently drew their lineage from the Naraka rulers.
[edit] Ancient and medieval
Ancient Assam known as Kamarupa was ruled by powerful dynasties: the Varmanas (c.350-650A.D.), the Salstambhas (Xalostombho, c.655-900 A.D.) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c.900-1100A.D.). In the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c.600–650A.D.), the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang visited the region and recorded his travels. Later, after weakening and disintegration (after the Kamarupa-Palas), the Kamarupa tradition was somewhat extended till c.1255A.D. by the Lunar I (c.1120-1185A.D.) and Lunar II (c.1155-1255A.D.) dynasties.[16]
Two later dynasties, the Ahoms and the Koch left larger impacts. The Ahoms, originally a Tai group, ruled Assam for nearly 600 years (1228–1826) and the Koch, a Tibeto-Burmese, established sovereignty in c.1510A.D.. The Koch kingdom in western Assam and present North Bengal was at its zenith in the early reign of Naranarayana (c.1540-1587A.D.). It split into two in c.1581A.D, the western part as a Moghul vassel and the eastern as an Ahom satellite state. Since c 13th A.D., the nerve centre of Ahom polity was upper Assam; the kingdom was gradually extended till Karatoya river in the c.17th-18th A.D.. It was at its zenith during the reign of Sukhrungpha or Sworgodeu Rudra Simha (c.1696-1714A.D.). Among other dynasties, the Chutiyas ruled the north-eastern Assam and parts of present Arunachal Pradesh and the Kacharis ruled from Dikhow river to central and southern Assam. With expansion of Ahom kingdom, by c.1520A.D. the Chutiya areas were annexed and since c.1536A.D. Kacharis remained only in Cachar and North Cachar more as an Ahom ally then a competing force. Despite numerous invasions, mostly by the Muslim rulers, no western power ruled Assam until the arrival of the British. The most successful invader Mir Jumla, a governor of Aurangzeb, briefly occupied Garhgaon (c.1662–63A.D.) the then capital, but found it difficult to control people making guerrilla attacks on his forces, forcing them to leave. The decisive victory of the Assamese led by the great general Lachit Borphukan on the Mughals then under command of Raja Ram Singha at Saraighat (1671) has almost ended Mughal ambitions. Mughals were finally expelled in c.1682A.D. from lower Assam.
British Assam
Ahom palace intrigue, and political turmoil due to the Moamoria rebellion, aided the expansionist Burmese ruler of Ava to invade Assam and install a puppet king in 1821. With the Burmese having reached the East India Company’s borders, the First Anglo-Burmese War ensued. The war ended under the Treaty of Yandaboo[17] in 1826, with the Company taking control of the Lower Assam and installing Purander Singh as king of Upper Assam in 1833. The arrangement lasted till 1838 and thereaftre British annexed the entire region. Initially Assam was made a part of the Bengal Presidency, then in 1906 it was a part of Eastern Bengal and Assam province and in 1912 it was reconstituted into a Chief Commissioners' province. In 1913, a Legislative Council and in 1937 the Assam Legislative Assembly was formed in Shillong, the erstwhile Capital. The British tea planters imported labour from central India adding to the demographic canvas. After few initial unsuccessful attempts to free Assam during 1850s, the Assamese since early 20th century joined and actively supported Indian National Congress against the British. In 1947, Assam inclusive of present Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya became a state of Republic of India (princely states, Manipur and Tripura became Group C provinces) and a district of Assam, Sylhet chose to join Pakistan.
Post British
Since 1947, with increasing economic problems in the region, separatist groups began forming along ethnic lines, and demands for autonomy and sovereignty grew, resulting into fragmentation of Assam.
Since mid-20th century, people from present Bangladesh have been migrating to Assam. In 1961, the Government of Assam passed a legislation making use of Assamese language compulsory; It had to be withdrawn later under pressure from Bengali speaking people in Cachar. In the 1980s the Brahmaputra valley saw a six-year Assam Agitation [18] triggered by the discovery of a sudden rise in registered voters on electoral rolls. It tried to force the government to identify and deport foreigners illegally migrating from neighbouring Bangladesh and changing the demographics. The agitation ended after an accord between its leaders and the Union Government, which remained unimplemented, causing simmering discontent. On the other hand, political parties neglecting the burning problem have used the Bangladeshi card as a vote bank.[19]
The post 1970s experienced the growth of armed separatist groups like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) [18] and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). In November 1990, the Government of India deployed the Indian army, after which low-intensity military conflicts and political homicides have been continuing for more than a decade. In recent times, ethnicity based militant groups (UPDS, DHD, KLO, HPCD etc.) have also mushroomed. Regional autonomy has been ensured for Bodos in Bodoland Territorial Council Areas (BTCA) and for the Karbis in Karbi Anglong after agitation of the communities due to sluggish rate of development and aspirations for self-government.
Tea history
After discovery of Camellia sinensis (1834) in Assam followed by its tests in 1836-37 in London, the British allowed companies to rent land since 1839. Thereafter tea plantations mushroomed in Upper Assam, where the soil and the climate were most suitable. Problems with the imported labourers from China and hostilities of native Assamese resulted into migration of forced labourers from central-eastern parts of India. After initial trial and error with planting the Chinese and the Assamese-Chinese hybrid varieties, the planters later accepted the local Camellia assamica as the most suitable one for Assam. By 1850s, the industry started seeing some profits. Industry saw initial growth, when in 1861, investors were allowed to own land in Assam and it saw substantial progress with invention of new technologies and machinery for preparing processed tea during 1870s. The cost of Assam tea was lowered down manifold and became more competitive than its Chinese variant.
Despite having commercial success, tea labourers remained exploited and worked and lived under poor conditions. In the fear of greater government interference the tea growers formed The Indian Tea Association in 1888 to lobby for the continued status quo. The organization was very successful in this, and even after India’s independence conditions of the labourers have improved very little.[20]
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