Assam: History, Geographical and Interesting Facts

Assam: About

Assam is a North-eastern state of India which is a part of the seven sisters. Assam is famously known for the Assam tea and Assam silk. Assam is home to the one-horned rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger, and various Asiatic birds. The first site for oil drilling in Asia was found in Assam. Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park are World Heritage Sites. The state shares its international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh, nationally it shares its borders with Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

Assam: History

The ancient history of Assam suggests that civilization was present in Assam around the 2nd century BCE, a rock-cut stupa at Sri Surya Pahar has been dated to 200 BCE contemporary with the rock-cut Karle and Bhaja caves of Maharashtra.
Mediaeval history of Assam suggests that The Chutia, a Bodo-Kachari group, held the regions on both the banks of Brahmaputra with its domain in the areas eastwards from Vishwanath and Burudhing, in the upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
The early 16th century saw a chain of conflicts between Chutias and Ahoms for the leadership of eastern Assam.
Another ruler was The Dimasa, a Bodo-Kachari ruled from the Dikhow River to Central and Southern Assam.
The Ahoms took the leadership of Upper Assam and increased their kingdom throughout the state. This weakened the Chutia and Dimasa kingdoms.
There were several western invasions over Assam but no western power was able to rule over Assam.
Modern history suggests that Assam was separated from Bengal in 1874 as the ‘North-East Frontier’ non-regular province, which is also known as Assam Chief-Commissionership.
After the partition of Bengal in 1905, Eastern Bengal and Assam were incorporated into two new provinces.
It was re-established as Province in 1912.

Assam: Things you need to know

The Capital of Assam is Dispur
The largest city of Assam is Guwahati
There are 35 districts in the state
The total area covered by Assam is 78,438 sq km.
The chief minister of Assam is Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Governor of Assam is Prof. Jagdish Mukhi.

Assam: Geographical Facts

Assam has three physical regions; the Brahmaputra River Valley, the Barak River Valley, and the hilly region between Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Manipur.
The average temperature in Assam is about 36°C. It is highest during August and the lowest goes up to 7°C during January.
The annual rainfall of Assam ranks among the highest in India. The annual rainfall received by Assam ranges from 70 inches to 120 inches.
During the early 21st century, Assam was covered with several Woodlands which include tropical evergreen and deciduous forests, grasslands, swamp forests, pine forests, and broad-leaved hill forests.
The Sal and Hollong trees are found in abundance in Assam. Along with these, Bamboo, ferns, and orchids are also abundant.
Assam has various wildlife sanctuaries due to the huge variety of habitats, flora and fauna found here. The Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park are the two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Assam.
Both the sanctuaries are known for rescuing the one-horned rhinoceros and the Manas National Park is known for rescuing tigers and leopards.