MAP OF ASSAM
India is a country that is best known for its strong heritage, rich culture, and beautiful historical monuments. Assam is one of those states of India.
The diverse feature of the country tops all the other countries in the world and stands remarkably as a nation with distinct features, strong spiritual connection, vibrant festivals, and delicious food.
In this article, we are going to explore and learn more about the variant features, ancient history of Assam, and amazing facts of the state.
To know about all the states and capitals of India, visit here.
INTRODUCTION OF ASSAM STATE:
Assam is a state in India that is known as the Land of red rivers and blue hills as it is situated in the south of the eastern Himalayas along with the valleys named Brahmaputra and Barak river valleys.
It is a state located in northern east part of India that is enclosed by the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
The name Assam is derived from the word 'Asama' which means "peerless". Assam is a state that is known for its natural beauty as it is said to be one of the magnificent states of India that carries a wide range of rainforests to rare wildlife species.
OIL DRILLING
Assam is the first state to have drilled oil in Asia, Digboi is a town in Assam where the first crude oil of India was discovered in the 19th century.
It is said that the name Digboi was derived from the phrase ' dig boy dig ' as this is how the English people used to call the workers that worked for digging the crude oil.
Today as there may not be a high production of oil digging as compared to the olden days the town Digboi is still said to be the oldest producing oilfield.
ASSAM'S TEA
As we all know Assam is one important state that is most known for its tea and silk, the tea that is grown in Assam are black tea leaves, from the plant Camellia sinensis.
Assam tea is said to have briskness, malty flavor, and strong bright color which remains perfect for black tea lovers.
Therefore, Assam tea is commonly referred to as breakfast tea as black tea is usually consumed by people in the mornings.
Assam was said to be the second most state to have large tea production after Southern China.
ASSAM'S SILK
Assam is said to have produced high-quality silk since the olden times, it produces Golden Muga silk, white pat, and warm eri silk.
the process of silk weaving has been happening since the 17th century, which gave a boost to women's employment as women wove silk all around the state.
Though there were many places where silk was cultivated and woven Sualkuchi is said to be the top tier of the silk handloom industry
CLIMATE
The average temperature of Assam ranges from a high humid and hot climate of 36 degrees in August to a low climate of 7 degrees in January which gives heavy rainfall and foggy nights and mornings.
The heaviest precipitation comes in June and lasts for more than three months which eventually leads to devastating floods.
Every year because of the continuous flow of water in the river banks of Brahmaputra leads to flooding the areas during heavy rainfall times.
Many houses and livestock are being washed away by the water which also results in the damage to the roads and in addition to that communication facilities are also weakened.
HISTORY OF ASSAM:
Assam was ruled by many dynasties such as the Pala, Koch, Kachari, where they fought frequently to get the Kingdom to themselves.
In the 13th century the Ahom people crossed Myanmar and entered Assam by conquering the upper Assam areas, the Ahom people gave the name Assam and practiced the ruling power in the upper Assam.
After two centuries they defeated the dynasties of the Pala, Koch, Kachari and also other rulers to take control of the lower Assam as well. Soon the warriors of Myanmar took over the Kingdom in the 18th century.
British entered and reinstated peace among the Ahom people yet they did not stop and soldiers from Myanmar started entering the state turning it into chaos.
Soon the British forced out the invaders of Myanmar after the Treaty of Yandabo and took complete control of Assam under the British agency.
In 1905 Assam was combined with eastern Bengal which created a huge rejection and protests, however, in 1912, Assam was again made a separate territory.
After the independence of India in 1947, Sylhet a district in Assam was given up to Pakistan which is now Bangladesh.
Assam became a constituent state of India in the year 1950 but between the year 19502 to 1960s Assam started losing many of its territories to the emerging borders of the country.
In 1963 the Naga Hills district of Assam became a separate state in the name Nagaland as the 16th state of India.
By the demand of the people living in Meghalaya Plateau, the districts of Khasi hills, Jaintia hills, and Garo hills became a separate state under the name Meghalaya.
In the same way, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram which was a part of Assam during the British period were also separated from Assam and formed into union territories of India in the year 1972.
Tensions and objections based on community and language turned into violence that remained in the state of Assam even after the states Nagaland, Meghalaya, Bangladesh, and Arunachal Pradesh were created.
In the early 1980s dissatisfaction of the Assamese with the people who were the immigrants of Bangladesh created violence which resulted in the loss of many lives.
Later in the year 1985, Mahanta formed a political party and won the legislative elections in the state, and became the Chief Minister of Assam.
AMAZING FACTS ON THE STATE OF ASSAM:
- Every state has many new things that need to be explored and appreciated, Once you learn the special features of a place, you will want to know more and experience them, in that way the following are some of the wonderful aspects of the state Assam.
- Assam has the widest rivers of India ' Brahmaputra' The river enters through Arunachal Pradesh, it flows from the head of the Assam valley and enters the state which becomes very wide as 10 km in many parts of Assam.
- The state is popularly known for its wonderful wildlife of having the world's highest one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga national park which is a world-famous heritage site that has even received a bonafide, it has a population of 2401 rhinoceros in the year 2015.
- India's largest zoo called the Assam state zoo is the largest zoo to be formed in northeast India, it has a coverage of 432 acres of land, it attracts more than hundreds of visitors to the zoo.
- The longest bridge of India 'Bhupen Hazarika Bridge' was commenced by the Prime Minister of India, the total length of the bridge is 9.15km.
- A kind of silk called Muga silk which is of high quality is produced in the state of Assam which has a huge demand all over the world.
- The safety of wearing helmets has been banned in the Kokrajhar district while riding motorcycles.
- The festival of Bihu is celebrated thrice a year in the state in mid-January, April, and October. It is not a religious festival, but it's mainly celebrated to mark the points of a cultivator's yearly lifecycle.
- Just like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam is also home to many pretty orchids of a variety of species.
FAQs - REGARDING THE STATE OF ASSAM:
CONCLUSION:
The majority of the people of Assam live in rural areas compared to olden times in the recent days, the population of Assam is found to be on the rise because of the immigrants from Bangladesh.
Nepal to work as tea garden laborers, the increase in the population explains the growth of industries and more employment opportunities thereby increasing the per capita income of the state.
In the 21st century Guwahati district is said to have the highest urban population.
Therefore Assam is without a doubt one of the emerging states of India in areas of employment in tea and silk.
It is one of the most appealing states with ancient villages, golf courses in tea plantations, and for its beautiful river banks.