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Assam

Information about Assam
Assam is the gateway to the north eastern part of India. The name "Assam" is derived from the word "Asom" which, in Sanskrit, means unequal or unrivalled. It is known as Assam due to the uneven topography of the land full of hills, plains, rivers and also due to the Mongolian Ahom dynasty which had ruled Assam for more than six hundred years. The ancient name of Assam is Kamarupa which is mentioned in the Ramayana. Assam, the mystic, rich and green land of rolling plains, dense forests, eternal blue hills and beautiful rivers is known for its tea, rich flora and fauna, and the world famous one horned rhinoceros. The principal language of Assam  is Assamese. The state of Assam is one

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of the most beautiful regions of India. Some people call it a magical land while others call it a green paradise. The capital of Assam is Dispur. The temperature in Assam is moderate. It is the wettest place in the world with waterfalls six times as high as the famous Niagara Falls. The temperature here can drop from 90 to 50 degrees Celsius in an hour of ascending into the hills.

History of Assam
Assam's history goes back to ancient times. The base of this history can be found in Tantric literature, Buddhist literature, Assamese folklore, Vedic literature, the epics and the religious legends. The ancient name of Assam is Kamarupa as mentioned in the Ramayana. According to a popular legend, Kama, the God of Love tried to arouse passion in the heart of Lord Shiva who was in meditation. Shiva opened his third eye and destroyed Kama Dev. The compassionate Lord later forgave Kama and revived him. The land where Kama got back his Rupa, the form came to be known as Kamarupa. The Aryans found their way into Assam in very early times. Various places mentioned in the epics, like Mahabharata etc. are now identified with sites in this state.

 

The first known ruler of Assam was Mahiranga Danava of Danava dynasty, who was later succeeded by Hatakasur, Sambarsur and Ratnasur. After them there was a chief named Ghatakasur, the ruler of the Kiratas, who made Progjyotishpur, the modern Guwahati as his capital. Later, the old tribes of Kamrupa were subdued by the fierce tribals who came from Burma’s lravady Valley in the thirteenth century. They were called Ahoms – the present name of Assam is derived from the new inhabitants of Kamarupa. During the 13th century, the Ahoms established their rule over Assam with the capital at Sibsagar, the Sovansiri area and ruled from there for about six hundred years. During their rule, they managed to keep the kingdom, independent from Mughal, the Muslim invaders and as well from other invaders. The Ahom rulers were so powerful that they thwarted attempts of the Mughals 13 times to annex Assam. The Mughals attacked Assam for about seventeen times. When the Mughals failed to subdue the “The rats of Assam”, the Ahom rulers expanded east establishing their authority over the Nagas of Cachar destroying their capital Dimapur. Ahom power started weakening in the 17th century. In 1792, Burma invaded Assam and the Assamese king, Gaurinath,

Assam History

sought the assistance of the East India Company. The Burmese were repulsed but they came back in 1819. after the Anglo-Burmese War in 1824-26, Burma ceded Assam to East India Company and the British annexed it to their Indian empire. During World War II, the Assamese helped the Allied forces in repulsing the Japanese invaders and kept open the supply route to China. The British entered Assam in 1824 as tea planter which was the starting point of the destruction of Ahom dynasty. During the British Raj, till 1947, Assam comprised most of Northeast India, except the Tripura and Manipur. The government of India divided Assam into several states in the 1970s to satisfy national aspirations of the tribal populations living within the borders of Assam, and for other political reasons. The capital of Assam used to be Shillong for more than a hundred years till it was moved to Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati in 1972, after Meghalaya became a separate state of India.

Geography of Assam
Geographically, Assam broadly comprises of the Brahmaputra Valley where the Brahmaputra River with its numerous tributaries, flows over 700 km. through the state. The total length of the river from its source is 2,900 kms. Assam is bordered in the north by Bhutan, in the east by Arunachal Pradesh, in the south by Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, in the south west by Meghalaya and in the west by West Bengal and Bangladesh.

 

Festivals of Assam
Assam is a land of fairs and festivals. Bihu is one of the most important national festival of Assam which is celebrated by all the people. The Bohag or Rongali Bihu ushers in the Assamese New Year, in the middle of April, and is celebrated with distinctive Bihu dances and songs. There are three festivals in Assam, which are celebrated in the month of Bohaag (mid April), Maagh (mid January), and Kaati (mid October). These festivals are Bohaag Bihu, Maagh Bihu and Kati Bihu.
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Places in Assam

Assam Festival

There are 22 districts in Assam. Guwahati is the gateway to the enchanting north eastern India. It was known as the Pragjyotishpura, the Light of the East, and was a vast kingdom during the Mahabharata. Today, Guwahati is the hub of the region and also its largest city. The various other places in Assam are Majuli, Sibsagar, Haflong, Digboi and Tezpur. More...

People of Assam
Assam is predominantly a land of the Tibeto-Burmese. The Austro-Asiatics, Negros, Dravidians, Alpines, Indo-mongoloids, Tibeto-Burmese and Aryans penetrated into Assam through different routes and contributed in their own way towards the unique fusion of a new community which came to be later known as the Assamese. The Assamese are the citizens of Assam and thus speaks the Assamese or Asomiya language. The Assamese comprises of the native Assamese, Mymenshingy settlers from Bangladesh and tea-garden laborers. Most of the Assamese are the Vaishnavite Hindus. The Assamese-speaking Hindus represent two-thirds of the state's population and indigenous Tibeto-Burman tribal groups make up another 16 percent. The Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims represent the largest minorities, followed by Nepalis and populations from neighboring regions of India.

 

Art and Crafts of Assam
The people of Assam have been traditional craftsmen from the olden times. Assam is mostly known for its exquisite silks and the bamboo and cane products. Besides this, several other crafts like toys, pottery, woodcraft, masks, jewellery, metal crafts are also made here. Cane and bamboo have remained inseparable parts of life in Assam. They happen to be the two most commonly used items in daily life, ranging from household implements to construction of dwelling houses to weaving accessories to musical instruments, handicrafts, furniture, baskets and mats. Handloom

Assam Arts

weaving is integral to life in Assam. Little surprise, then that the state can boast of several special kinds of hand-woven cloth. The most prized is the fine golden ‘Muga’ silk. Traditional garments include the two-piece mekhela chadar worn by women. Bell – metal products and brassware form part of the Assamese people’s daily life. The ‘xorai and bota’ – receptacles for betel nut and paan leaves – have been traditionally used for centuries. Two whole townships near Guwahati, Hajo and Sarthebari, are entirely devoted to the production of traditional metal ware.

 

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Assam
Assam is known for the large variety of flora and fauna. Some of the famous national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Assam are the Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Nameri National Park, Orang National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. The Kaziranga National Park is the first National Park in Assam and is the home of the great Indian one-horned Rhinoceros.
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Adventure Activities in Assam

Brahmaputra, one of the largest river in India, flows through Assam. With its numerous tributaries, it offers a wide range of water based adventure sports like river cruise, boat racing and river rafting. Some of the adventure sports in Assam are Angling, River Cruise, Boat Racing, River Rafting and Golf.
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Permit for Visiting Assam
No permit is required by domestic as well as foreign tourists to visit Assam. However, foreign tourists must have an Indian Visa.

How to reach Assam

Assam is well connected by air with rest of India. Other State capitals within the region are also connected by air. Guwahati is well connected by train with the rest of the country. Some of the major towns within the state are also connected by the railway network. A network of National Highways and other roads connect all important places of Assam.

 
 
   

 

 
 

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