ASSAM

Assam also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province (British India), is anortheastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country. Assam though one of the original provinces of British ruled Indian sub-continent and present day India having its legislature that dates back to 1937, the present day Assam; had undergone numerous territory alignment changes with its state map being altered highest number of times when compared to any other provincial level changes that has happened in Independent India. Known for exquisite natural resources, geography and its important role in India's freedom struggle; Assam has its capital as Dispur, an especialized city circuit region located on the outskirts of its largest metropolis, Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys along with the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles (78,440 km2). Assam is surrounded by six of the other Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. These states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck". Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh; and cultures, peoples and climate with South-East Asia – important elements in India’s Look East policy. Assam became a part of India after the British occupied the region following the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826.




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 laborers from China and hostilities of native Assamese resulted into migration of forced laborers 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 many folds and became more competitive than its Chinese variant.

Despite the commercial success, tea laborers continued to be exploited, working and living under poor conditions. Fearful of greater government interference, the tea growers formed the Indian Tea Association in 1888 to lobby to retain the status quo. The organization was very successful in this, and even after India’s independence conditions of the laborers have improved very little.

CULTURE

Assamese culture is traditionally a hybrid one developed due to assimilation of ethno-cultural groups in the past. Therefore, both local elements or the local elements in Sanskritised forms are distinctly found. The major milestones in evolution of Assamese culture are:

Assimilation in the Kamarupa Kingdom for almost 700 years (under the Varmans for 300 years, Salastambhas and Palas for each 200 years).
Establishment of the Ahom dynasty in the 13th century AD and assimilation for next 600 years.
Assimilation in the Koch Kingdom (15th–16th century AD) of western Assam and Kachari Kingdom (12th–18th century AD) of central and southern Assam.

IMPORTANT CITIES:\


DISPUR



Dispur is the capital of Assam, a state in northeast India.Dispur has existed as a locality on the outskirts of Guwahati, took its place as the capital of Assam in 1973. This was after Shillong, the erstwhile capital, became the capital of the state of Meghalaya that was carved out of Assam.


Dispur is the seat of Government of Assam. The Assam Secretariat building is located in Dispur along with the Assam Assembly House and the State Emergency Operations Centre. The Assam Trunk road and the G S road passes through Dispur. To the south of Dispur is the theologically important site of Basistha Ashram and the Shankardev Kalakshetra, a cultural center created in the 1990s. Next to Dispur is the ancient township of Jatia.


Though it is well known as the capital of Assam, Dispur is also known for its tea auctions market. It is easily accessible from Guwahati. As is the case of Assam, Dispur too is on the earthquake belt.

GUWAHATI




Guwahati formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis and is the largest city of Assam inIndia, with a population of 1,100,000 (2011 census). It is also the largest metropolis in the north-east region of India. It is said to be the "Gateway" of the North East Region. Dispur, the capital of the Indian state of Assam, is located within the city and is the seat of Government of Assam.

The city is situated between the southern bank of the Brahmaputra river and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with LGB International Airport to the west, and the town of Narengi to the east. The city is gradually being expanded as North Guwahati to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. TheGuwahati Municipal Corporation, the city's local government, administers an area of 216 km², while the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, the planning and development administers an area of 340 km².

DIBRUGARH

Dibrugarh is one of the most important cities of Assam situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about 435 kilometres (270 mi) north east ofGuwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar. These three areas account for approximately 50% of India's Assam tea crop and this gives Dibrugarh its rightly earned sobriquet as the Tea City of India. Oil and Timber are the other two big industries in and around Dibrugarh. In 1950, the Medog earthquake measuring over 8.6 on the Richter Scale, changed the course of the Brahmaputra River, and this caused the destruction of more than three quarters of the town. It has since then been rebuilt over the years, but the Brahmaputra River nearby is, as it always has been, a constant reminder to its people that live in its shadow, of its turbulence and all encompassing journey to the sea.

SILCHAR

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. It is situated 420 kilometres (261 mi) south east of Guwahati. The city of Silchar has tremendous commercial importance and is the second largest city in the state of Assam. It consequently, witnesses the settlement of a sizable 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.The name "Silchar" has been originated from the Bengali words 'Shil' (a kind of stone) & 'Char' (river bank). During the British rule, ships were docked at the bank of the "River Barak" so a market developed at the bank of the river and became a major place of economic activity. The bank of the River Barak was covered with stones to help docking of ships and vessels and the market developed at a place which was fully covered with stones. People started to refer to the place as "Shiler Chor" means a bank of stone. Gradually "Shiler Chor" became "Silchar" for linguistic simplification. Later on, British officials started to use "Silchar" in their official documents referring the surrounding area of the market and "Silchar" became the official name of the place.Approximately 90% residents of Silchar are Bengalis who speak the Sylheti language, the rest being Manipuri-Meiteis, Marwaris, Bishnupriya Manipuris, and some tribal groups like Nagas. 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 town is constantly witnessing a huge influx of people from nearby smaller places due to the town'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 enterprises, making the town quite an overcrowded one. It has the second highest population in the state, although the difference with the highest populated city, Guwahati, is quite huge.