Assam

Assam (/əˈsæm, æ-/;^[11]^[12] Assamese: [ˈɔxɔm] (listen)) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km² (30,285 sq mi). The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam, while Bengali is an additional official language in the Barak Valley.

Assam
State
From top, left to right: Indian rhinoceros in Orang National Park, Ahom Raja Palace, Kamakhya Temple, Rang Ghar, IIT Guwahati, Bogibeel Bridge
Seal
Motto: Joi Aai Axom (Hail mother Assam) ^[1]
Anthem: "O Mur Apunar Desh"^[1] (O my Dearest Country)

Coordinates (Dispur, Guwahati): 26°08′N 91°46′E / 26.14°N 91.77°E / 26.14; 91.77
Country	India
Statehood^†	26 January 1950^[2]
Capital	Dispur
Largest city	Guwahati
Districts	35
Government
• Body	Government of Assam
• Governor	Jagdish Mukhi^[3]
• Chief Minister	Himanta Biswa Sarma (BJP)
• Legislature	Unicameral (126 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	Rajya Sabha (7 seat) Lok Sabha (14 seats)
• High Court	Gauhati High Court
Area
• Total	78,438 km² (30,285 sq mi)
• Rank	16th
Elevation	45−1,960 m (148−6,430 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	31,169,272
• Rank	15th
• Density	397/km² (1,030/sq mi)
GDP (2020-21) ^[4]
• Total	₹3.74 lakh crore (US$47 billion)
• Per capita	₹109,069 (US$1,400)
Languages
• Official	Assamese^[5] Boro^[6]
• Additional official	Bengali (Barak Valley)^[7]
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-AS
HDI (2018)	0.614^[8] medium · 30th
Literacy (2011)	72.19%^[9]
Sex ratio (2011)	958 ♀/1000 ♂^[9]
Website	assam.gov.in
^† First recognised as an administrative division on 1 April 1911, and led to the establishment of Assam Province by partitioning Province of East Bengal and Assam. *^[] Assam was one of the original provincial divisions of British India. ^[]* Assam has had a legislature since 1937.^[10]

Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk. The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia.^[13] Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds, and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are World Heritage Sites. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is famed for its feral horses. Sal tree forests are found in the state which, as a result of abundant rainfall, look green all year round. Assam receives more rainfall than most parts of India; this rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a distinctive hydro-geomorphic environment.

Etymology

The first dated mention of the region comes from Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century) and Ptolemy's Geographia (2nd century), which calls the region Kirrhadia, apparently after the Kirata population.^[14]^[15] In the classical period and up to the 12th century, the region east of the Karatoya river, largely congruent to present-day Assam, was called Kamarupa, and alternatively, Pragjyotisha.^[16] Though a western portion of Assam as a region continued to be called Kamrup, the Ahom kingdom that emerged in the east, and which came to dominate the entire Brahmaputra valley, was called Assam (e.g. Mughals used Asham); and the British province too was called Assam. Though the precise etymology of Assam is not clear, the name Assam is associated with the Ahom people, originally called Shyam (Shan).^[17]

History

Pre-history

Assam and adjoining regions have evidences of human settlement from the beginning of the Stone Age. The hills at the height of 1,500 to 2,000 feet (460–615 m) were popular habitats probably due to availability of exposed dolerite basalt, useful for tool-making.^[18]Ambari site in Guwahati has revealed Shunga-Kushana era artefacts including flight of stairs and a water tank which may date from 1st century BCE and may be 2,000 years old. Experts speculate that another significant find at Ambari is Roman era Roman roulette pottery from the 2nd century BCE.^[19]^[20]

Legend

According to a late text, Kalika Purana (c. 9th–10th century CE), the earliest ruler of Assam was Mahiranga Danav of the Danava dynasty, which was removed by Naraka of Mithila and established the Bhauma dynasty. The last of these rulers, also Naraka, was slain by Krishna. Naraka's son Bhagadatta became the king, who (it is mentioned in the Mahabharata) fought for the Kauravas in the battle of Kurukshetra with an army of kiratas, chinas and dwellers of the eastern coast. At the same time towards the east in central Assam, Asura Kingdom was ruled by another line of kings.^[21]

Ancient era

Kamarupa kingdom at its height

Madan Kamdev ruins

Evidence indicates presence of civilization in Assam around 2nd century BCE, a rock cut stupa at Sri Surya Pahar has been dated to 200 BCE contemporary with rock cut Karle and Bhaja caves of Maharashtra.^[22] Samudragupta's 4th-century-CE Allahabad pillar inscription mentions Kamarupa^[23] and Davaka (Central Assam)^[24] as frontier kingdoms of the Gupta Empire. Davaka was later absorbed by Kamarupa, which grew into a large kingdom that spanned from Karatoya river to near present Sadiya and covered the entire Brahmaputra valley, North Bengal, parts of Bangladesh and, at times Purnea and parts of West Bengal.^[25] The kingdom was ruled by three dynasties who traced their lineage from a mleccha or Kirata Naraka; the Varmanas (c. 350–650 CE), the Mlechchha dynasty (c.655–900 CE) and the Kamarupa-Palas (c. 900–1100 CE), from their capitals in present-day Guwahati (Pragjyotishpura), Tezpur (Haruppeswara) and North Gauhati (Durjaya) respectively. All three dynasties claimed descent from Narakasura. In the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (c. 600–650 CE), the Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the region and recorded his travels. Later, after weakening and disintegration (after the Kamarupa-Palas), the Kamarupa tradition was extended to c. 1255 CE by the Lunar I (c. 1120–1185 CE) and Lunar II (c. 1155–1255 CE) dynasties.^[18]

Medieval era

Assamese kingdoms in their greatest territorial heights. Kachari kingdom (1230) in red dotted lines, Koch dynasty (1560) in blue lines, Ahom kingdom (1700) in red lines.

The Medieval Assam history may have started with the advent of Ahoms in the early part of the 13th century and covers their entire rule of 600 years till 1826. The medieval history of Assam is especially known for it's conflict with Muslim powers under Turko-Afghan and Mughals, finally resulting in Assamese victory, however, this military glory was shattered in the early 19th century when it failed to resist the Burmese invasions , which led to its annexation. ^[26]

Chutia, a Bodo-Kachari group by origin, held the regions on both the banks of Brahmaputra with its domain in the area eastwards from Vishwanath (north bank) and Buridihing (south bank), in Upper Assam and in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. It was annexed by the Ahoms in the year 1524. The rivalry between the Chutias and Ahoms for the supremacy of eastern Assam led to a series of conflicts between them from the early 16th century.

The Dimasa, another Bodo-Kachari dynasty, (13th century–1854) ruled from Dikhow River to central and southern Assam and had their capital at Dimapur. With the expansion of Ahom kingdom, by the early 17th century, the Chutia areas were annexed and since c. 1536 the Kacharis remained only in Cachar and North Cachar, and more as an Ahom ally than a competing force.

The Ahoms, a Tai group, ruled Upper Assam.^[27] The Ahom built their kingdom and consolidated their power in Eastern Assam with the modern town of Sibsagar as their capital. Until the early 16th century, the Ahoms ruled a small kingdom in Sibsagar district and suddenly expanded during King Suhungmung's rule taking advantage of weakening rule of Chutia and Dimasa kingdoms. By 1681, the whole track down to the border of the modern district of Goalpara came permanently under their sway. Ahoms ruled for nearly 600 years (1228–1826) with major expansions in the early 16th century at the cost of Chutia and Dimasa Kachari kingdoms. Since the 13th century, the centre of the Ahom polity was upper Assam; the kingdom was gradually extended to the Karatoya River in the 17th or 18th century. It was at its zenith during the reign of Sukhrungphaa or Rudra Singha (c. 1696–1714).

The Koch, another Bodo-Kachari dynasty, established sovereignty around 1510. The Koch kingdom in Western Assam and present-day North Bengal was at its zenith in the early reign of Nara Narayan (c. 1540–1587). It split into two in c. 1581, the western part as a Mughal vassal and the eastern as an Ahom satellite state. Later, in 1682, Koch Hajo was entirely annexed by the Ahoms.

Aswakranta Devalaya built by Siva Singha
Sivadol, the tallest Shiva temple in North-East India
Horse stabels in Talatal Ghar
Rang Ghar, Asia's first amphitheatre

Despite numerous invasions, mostly by the Muslim rulers, no western power ruled Assam until the arrival of the British. Though the Mughals made seventeen attempts to invade, they were never successful. The most successful invader Mir Jumla, a governor of Aurangzeb, briefly occupied Garhgaon (c. 1662–1663), the then capital, but found it difficult to prevent guerrilla attacks on his forces, forcing them to leave. The decisive victory of the Assamese led by general Lachit Borphukan on the Mughals, then under command of Raja Ram Singha, in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671 almost ended Mughal ambitions in this region. The Mughals were comprehensively defeated in the Battle of Itakhuli and expelled from Lower Assam during the reign of Gadadhar Singha in 1682.^[28]

Colonial era

Map of Eastern Bengal and Assam during 1907–1909

A map of the British Indian Empire in 1909 during the partition of Bengal (1905–1911), showing British India in two shades of pink (coral and pale) and the princely states in yellow. The Assam Province (initially as the Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam) can be seen towards the north-eastern side of India.

The discovery of Camellia sinensis in 1834 in Assam was followed by testing in 1836–37 in London. The British allowed companies to rent land from 1839 onwards. Thereafter tea plantations proliferated in Eastern Assam,^[29] where the soil and the climate were most suitable. Problems with the imported Han Chinese labourers from China and hostility from native Assamese resulted in the migration of forced labourers from central and 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 variety for Assam. By the 1850s, the industry started seeing some profits. The industry saw initial growth, when in 1861, investors were allowed to own land in Assam and it saw substantial progress with the invention of new technologies and machinery for preparing processed tea during the 1870s.

Despite the commercial success, tea labourers 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 organisation was successful in this, but even after India's independence, conditions of the labourers have improved very little.^[30]

In the later part of the 18th century, religious tensions and atrocities by the nobles led to the Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805), resulting in tremendous casualties of lives and property. The rebellion was suppressed but the kingdom was severely weakened by the civil war. Political rivalry between Prime Minister Purnananda Burhagohain and Badan Chandra Borphukan, the Ahom Viceroy of Western Assam, led to an invitation to the Burmese by the latter,^[31]^[32]^[33]^[34] in turn leading to three successive Burmese invasions of Assam. The reigning monarch Chandrakanta Singha tried to check the Burmese invaders but he was defeated after fierce resistance. And Ahom occupied Assam was captured by the Burmese.^[35]^[36]^[37]

A reign of terror was unleashed by the Burmese on the Assamese people,^[38]^[39]^[40]^[41] who fled to neighbouring kingdoms and British-ruled Bengal.^[42]^[43] The Burmese reached the East India Company's borders, and the First Anglo-Burmese War ensued in 1824. The war ended under the Treaty of Yandabo^[44] in 1826, with the Company taking control of Western Assam and installing Purandar Singha as king of Upper Assam in 1833. The arrangement lasted until 1838 and thereafter the British gradually annexed the entire region. Thereafter the court language and medium of instruction in educational institutions of Assam was made Bengali, instead of Assamese. Starting from 1836 until 1873, this imposition of a foreign tongue created greater unemployment among the People of Assam and Assamese literature naturally suffered in its growth.^[45]^[46]

Showing a historical incident at Kanaklata Udyan, Tezpur

Initially, Assam was made a part of the Bengal Presidency, then in 1906 it was made 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, were formed in Shillong, the erstwhile capital of the region. The British tea planters imported labour from central India adding to the demographic canvas.

The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' non-regulation province, also known as the Assam Chief-Commissionership. It was incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 after the partition of Bengal (1905–1911) and re-established in 1912 as Assam Province.^[47]

After a few initially unsuccessful attempts to gain independence for Assam during the 1850s, anti-colonial Assamese joined and actively supported the Indian National Congress against the British from the early 20th century, with Gopinath Bordoloi emerging as the preeminent nationalist leader in the Assam Congress.^{[citation needed]} Bordoloi's major political rival in this time was Sir Saidullah, who was representing the Muslim League, and had the backing of the influential Muslim cleric Maulana Bhasani.^[48]

The Assam Postage Circle was established by 1873 under the headship of the Deputy Post Master General.^[49]

At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor. Assam Province was one among the major eight provinces of British India. The table below shows the major original provinces during British India covering the Assam Province under the Administrative Office of the Chief Commissioner.

With the partition of India in 1947, Assam became a constituent state of India. The Sylhet District of Assam (excluding the Karimganj subdivision) was given up to East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh.

Modern history

Assam till the 1950s; The new states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram formed in the 1960-70s. From Shillong, the capital of Assam was shifted to Dispur, now a part of Guwahati. After the Indo-China war in 1962, Arunachal Pradesh was also separated out.

The government of India, which has the unilateral powers to change the borders of a state, divided Assam into several states beginning in 1970 within the borders of what was then Assam. In 1963, the Naga Hills district became the 16th state of India under the name of Nagaland. Part of Tuensang was added to Nagaland. In 1970, in response to the demands of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo people of the Meghalaya Plateau, the districts containing the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills were formed into an autonomous state within Assam; in 1972 this became a separate state under the name of Meghalaya. In 1972, Arunachal Pradesh (the North East Frontier Agency) and Mizoram (from the Mizo Hills in the south) were separated from Assam as union territories; both became states in 1986.^[50]

Since the restructuring of Assam after independence, communal tensions and violence remain. Separatist groups began forming along ethnic lines, and demands for autonomy and sovereignty grew, resulting in the fragmentation of Assam. In 1961, the government of Assam passed legislation making use of the Assamese language compulsory. It was withdrawn later under pressure from Bengali speaking people in Cachar. In the 1980s the Brahmaputra valley saw a six-year Assam Agitation^[51] 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 to provide constitutional, legislative, administrative and cultural safeguards for the indigenous Assamese majority, which they felt was under threat due to the increase of migration from Bangladesh. The agitation ended after an accord (Assam Accord 1985) between its leaders and the Union Government, which remained unimplemented, causing simmering discontent.^[52]

The post 1970s experienced the growth of armed separatist groups such as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)^[51] and the 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, ethnically based militant groups have grown. The Panchayati Raj Act has been applied in Assam, after agitation of the communities due to the sluggish rate of development and general apathy of successive state governments towards Indigenous Assamese communities.^{[citation needed]}

Deadly floods hit the state in 2020 and 2022.^[53]

Geography

Environs: Assam, dissected hills of the South Indian Plateau system and the Himalayas all around its north, north-east and east.

A significant geographical aspect of Assam is that it contains three of six physiographic divisions of India – The Northern Himalayas (Eastern Hills), The Northern Plains (Brahmaputra plain) and Deccan Plateau (Karbi Anglong). As the Brahmaputra flows in Assam the climate here is cold and there is rainfall most of the month. Geomorphic studies conclude that the Brahmaputra, the life-line of Assam, is an antecedent river older than the Himalayas, which has entrenched itself since they started rising. The river with steep gorges and rapids in Arunachal Pradesh entering Assam, becomes a braided river (at times 10 mi/16 km wide) and with tributaries, creates a flood plain (Brahmaputra Valley: 50–60 mi/80–100 km wide, 600 mi/1000 km long).^[54] 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.^[54] In the south, the Barak originating in the Barail Range (Assam-Nagaland border) flows through the Cachar district with a 25–30 miles (40–50 km) wide valley and enters Bangladesh with the name Surma River.

Urban centres include Guwahati, one of the 100 fastest growing cities in the world.^[55] Guwahati is also referred to as the "Gateway to the North-East India". Silchar, (in the Barak valley) is the second most populous city in Assam and an important centre of business. Other large cities include Dibrugarh, an oil and natural gas industry centre,^[56]

Climate

With the tropical monsoon climate, Assam is temperate (summer max. at 95–100 °F or 35–38 °C and winter min. at 43–46 °F or 6–8 °C) and experiences heavy rainfall and high humidity.^[54]^[57] The climate is characterised by heavy monsoon downpours reducing summer temperatures and affecting foggy nights and mornings in winters, frequent during the afternoons. Spring (March–April) and autumn (September–October) are usually pleasant with moderate rainfall and temperature. Assam's agriculture usually depends on the south-west monsoon rains.

Flooding

Every year, flooding from the Brahmaputra and other rivers such as Barak River etc. deluges places in Assam. The water levels of the rivers rise because of rainfall resulting in the rivers overflowing their banks and engulfing nearby areas. Apart from houses and livestock being washed away by flood water, bridges, railway tracks, and roads are also damaged by the calamity, which causes communication breakdown in many places. Fatalities are also caused by the natural disaster in many places of the State.^[58]^[59]

Fauna

An Indian rhino at Kaziranga National Park

An endangered golden langur

Assam is one of the richest biodiversity zones in the world and consists of tropical rainforests,^[60] deciduous forests, riverine grasslands,^[61] bamboo^[62] orchards and numerous wetland^[63] ecosystems; Many are now protected as national parks and reserved forests.

Assam has wildlife sanctuaries, the most prominent of which are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites^[64]-the Kaziranga National Park, on the bank of the Brahmaputra River, and the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, near the border with Bhutan. The Kaziranga is a refuge for the fast-disappearing Indian one-horned rhinoceros. The state is the last refuge for numerous other endangered and threatened species including the white-winged wood duck or deohanh, Bengal florican, black-breasted parrotbill, red-headed vulture, white-rumped vulture, greater adjutant, Jerdon's babbler, rufous-necked hornbill, Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, pygmy hog, gaur, wild water buffalo, Indian hog deer, hoolock gibbon, golden langur, capped langur, barasingha, Ganges river dolphin, Barca snakehead, Ganges shark, Burmese python, brahminy river turtle, black pond turtle, Asian forest tortoise, and Assam roofed turtle. Threatened species that are extinct in Assam include the gharial, a critically endangered fish-eating crocodilian, and the pink-headed duck (which may be extinct worldwide). For the state bird, the white-winged wood duck, Assam is a globally important area.^{[clarification needed]}^[65] In addition to the above, there are three other National Parks in Assam namely Dibru Saikhowa National Park, Nameri National Park and the Orang National Park.

Assam has conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the pygmy hog, tiger and numerous species of birds, and it provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites. The state contains Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted from earlier times. A land of high rainfall, Assam displays greenery. The Brahmaputra River tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with hydro-geomorphic environment.^{[citation needed]}

The state has the largest population of the wild water buffalo in the world.^[66] The state has the highest diversity of birds in India with around 820 species.^[67] With subspecies the number is as high as 946.^[68] The mammal diversity in the state is around 190 species.^[69]

Blooming of Kopou Orchid marks the beginning of the festive season of Bihu in Assam.

Flora

Assam is remarkably rich in Orchid species and the Foxtail orchid is the state flower of Assam.^[70] The recently established Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park boasts more than 500 of the estimated 1,314 orchid species found in India.

Geology

Assam has petroleum, natural gas, coal, limestone and other minor minerals such as magnetic quartzite, kaolin, sillimanites, clay and feldspar.^[71] A small quantity of iron ore is available in western districts.^[71] 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 the Assam Geologic Province.^[72]^{[citation needed]}

The region is prone to natural disasters like annual floods and frequent mild earthquakes. Strong earthquakes were recorded in 1869, 1897, and 1950.

Demographics

Population

District-wise Demographic Characteristics in 2001

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1901	3,289,680	—
1911	3,848,617	+17.0%
1921	4,636,980	+20.5%
1931	5,560,371	+19.9%
1941	6,694,790	+20.4%
1951	8,028,856	+19.9%
1961	10,837,329	+35.0%
1971	14,625,152	+35.0%
1981	18,041,248	+23.4%
1991	22,414,322	+24.2%
2001	26,655,528	+18.9%
2011	31,205,576	+17.1%
Source: Census of India^[73]

People gathered at Kamakhya Temple for the Ambubachi Mela

The total population of Assam was 26.66 million with 4.91 million households in 2001.^[74] Higher population concentration was recorded in the districts of Kamrup, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Barpeta, Dhubri, Darrang, and Cachar. Assam's population was estimated at 28.67 million in 2006 and at 30.57 million in 2011 and is expected to reach 34.18 million by 2021 and 35.60 million by 2026.^[75]

As per the 2011 census, the total population of Assam was 31,169,272. The total population of the state has increased from 26,638,407 to 31,169,272 in the last ten years with a growth rate of 16.93%.^[76]

Of the 33 districts, eight districts registered a rise in the decadal population growth rate. Religious minority-dominated districts like Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon, Nagaon, and Hailakandi, recorded growth rates ranging from 20 per cent to 24 per cent during the last decade. Eastern Assamese districts, including Sivasagar and Jorhat, registered around 9 per cent population growth. These districts do not have any international border.^[77]

In 2011, the literacy rate in the state was 73.18%. The male literacy rate was 78.81% and the female literacy rate was 67.27%.^[76] In 2001, the census had recorded literacy in Assam at 63.3% with male literacy at 71.3% and female at 54.6%. The urbanisation rate was recorded at 12.9%.^[78]

The growth of population in Assam has increased since the middle decades of the 20th century. The population grew from 3.29 million in 1901 to 6.70 million in 1941. It increased to 14.63 million in 1971 and 22.41 million in 1991.^[74] The growth in the Western districts and Southern districts was high primarily due to the influx of people from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.^[52]

The mistrust and clashes between indigenous Assamese people and Bengali Muslims started as early as 1952,^[79]^[80] but is rooted in anti Bengali sentiments of the 1940s.^[81] At least 77 people died^[82] and 400,000 people were displaced in the 2012 Assam violence between indigenous Bodos and Bengali Muslims.^[83]

The People of India project has studied 115 of the ethnic groups in Assam. 79 (69%) identify themselves regionally, 22 (19%) locally, and 3 trans-nationally. The earliest settlers were Austroasiatic, Dravidian followed by Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan, and Tai–Kadai people.^[84] Forty-five languages are spoken by different communities, including three major language families: Austroasiatic (5), Sino-Tibetan (24) and Indo-European (12). Three of the spoken languages do not fall in these families. There is a high degree of bilingualism.^{[citation needed]}

Religions

Kamakhya Temple

<div style="border:solid transparent;background-color: initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;

Religion in Assam (2011)^[85]

Hinduism (61.47%)

Islam (34.22%)

Christianity (3.74%)

Buddhism (0.18%)

No religious (0.16%)

Tribal Religion (0.09%)

Jainism (0.08%)

Sikhism (0.07%)

Basistha Temple in Guwahati.

According to the 2011 census, 61.47% were Hindus, 34.22% were Muslims.^[85]^[86] Christian minorities (3.7%) are found among the Scheduled Tribe and Castes population.^[87] The Scheduled Tribe population in Assam is around 13%, of which Bodos account for 40%.^[88] Other religions followed include Jainism (0.1%), Buddhism (0.2%), Sikhism (0.1%) and Animism (amongst Khamti, Phake, Aiton etc. communities).

The three popular sects of Hinduism namely, Saivisim, Saktism and Vaishnavism are prevelent here. Ekasarana Dharma (Neo-Vaisnavite movement) under the leadership of Srimanta Sankardev and his many prominent disciples, gained wonderful momentum in Assam. Many Assamese hindus are followers of the Ekasarana Dharma sect of Hinduism, which gave rise to Namghar, designed to be simpler places of worship than traditional Hindu temples.^{[citation needed]}

*Assam's Religious diversity as of the 2011 census*^[89]
Religion	Population
Hindus ( )	19,180,759
Muslims ( )	10,679,345
Christians ( )	1,165,867
Buddhists ( )	54,993
Jains ( )	25,949
Sikhs ( )	20,672
Other religions	27,118
Not stated/available	50,873
Total	31,205,576

Out of 32 districts of Assam, 9 are Muslim majority according to the 2011 census of India. The districts are Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Darrang and Bongaigaon.^[90]^[91]^[92]

Languages

7th–8th century specimen of Assamese (Kamarupi) literature

Languages of Assam (2011)^[93]

Assamese (48.38%)

Bengali (28.92%)

Bodo (4.51%)

Hindi (3.21%)

Sadri (2.29%)

Mishing (1.98%)

Nepali (1.91%)

Karbi (1.64%)

Others (7.16%)

Assamese and Bodo are the official languages of the state, while Bengali is official in the three districts of Barak Valley,^[6]^[7] where Sylheti is most commonly spoken.^[94]

**Assam linguistic diversity as per (2011 census)**^[95]
Language	Population
Assamese	15,097,257
Bengali	9,024,652
Bodo	1,407,371
Hindi	1,001,698
Sadri	714,607
Mishing	617,870
Nepali	596,026
Karbi	511,771
Others	2,234,319
Total	31,205,576

According to the language census of 2011 in Assam, out of a total population of around 31 million, Assamese is spoken by more than 22 million total speakers, with more than 15 million people speaking it as their mother tongue and around 7 million as L2 speakers.^[96] Although the number of speakers is growing, the percentage of Assam's population who have it as a mother tongue has fallen slightly. Assamese serves as lingua franca of the region^[97] as it is spoken by over 71% of the population (including the one who have listed Assamese as their 2nd language,^[96] while 48.38% of them speak it as their mother tongue.^[98] According to the 24th Edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Assamese is spoken by 15,327,990 persons as mother tongue across the world as of 2021.^[99] However, 2016 Assam Legislative Assembly election results, have found that 10 million people speaks Assamese as their mother tongue in Assam, which is significantly fewer than the census result of 2011.^[100] Furthermore, the Assamese speakers constituted 48% of the State population according to the 2011 Census, and it is predicted that by 2021 Census (currently under way) will reveal the percentage to dip lower below 40%.^[101]^[102]^[103]^[104]

The various Bengali dialects and closely related languages are spoken by around 9 million people in Assam, and the portion of the population that speaks these languages has grown slightly as per the census. However, the number of Bengali speakers is estimated to be more than the expected census results, as out of 35% Muslim population in Assam as per 2011 census, it is being reported that 30% or say 10 million of them speaks different dialects of Bengali as their native language but during census enumeration, they (Miya people) have reported their mother tongue as Assamese.^[105]^[106]^[107]^[108]^[109] Assam also has a large number of Bengali Hindu population as according to government data, It is being reported that 7.5 million Bengali Hindus live in Assam, thus constituting 25% of the state population as per 2011 census report.^[110]^[111] Bodo is the third most-spoken language followed by Hindi which comes under fourth position.

Brahmaputra valley region of Assam

Languages spoken in Brahmaputra valley (2011)^[112]^[113]

Assamese (Official) (55.65%)

Bengali (22.1%)

Hindi (7.6%)

Bodo (5.13%)

Others (9.52%)

The population of the Brahmaputra Valley is 27,580,977 according to the 2011 census report by the Assam government. Assamese is the official language of the Brahmaputra Valley and is spoken by 15 million people comprising 55.65% of the valley population. Bengali is spoken by 6.09 million people representing 22.1% of the valley, Hindi is spoken by 2.1 million comprising 7.61% of the region, Bodo is spoken by 1.41 million comprising 5.13% of the valley's population and 2.98 million people speak various indigenous tribal languages of Assam, such as Santali, Karbi, Tiwa (Lalung), Hmar, Deori, Rabha, Mishing, Koch, Rajbangshi, Sadri, Garo, Dimasa, Gondi, Savara, Gorkha, Halam, Ao and Motak.

Traditionally, Assamese was the language of the common folk in the ancient Kamarupa kingdom and in the medieval kingdoms of Dimasa Kachari, Chutiya Kachari, Borahi Kachari, Ahom and Kamata kingdoms. Traces of the language are found in many poems by Luipa, Sarahapa, and others, in Charyapada (c. 7th–8th century CE). Modern dialects such as Kamrupi and Goalpariya are remnants of this language. Moreover, Assamese in its traditional form was used by the ethno-cultural groups in the region as lingua-franca, which spread during the stronger kingdoms and was required for economic integration. Localised forms of the language still exist in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Linguistically modern Assamese traces its roots to the version developed by the American Missionaries based on the local form used near Sivasagar (Xiwôxagôr) district. Assamese (Ôxômiya) is a rich language due to its hybrid nature and unique characteristics of pronunciation and softness. The presence of Voiceless velar fricative in Assamese makes it a unique among other similar Indo-Aryan languages.^[114]^[115]

Bodo is an ancient language of Assam. Spatial distribution patterns of the ethno-cultural groups, cultural traits and the phenomenon of naming all the major rivers in the North East Region with Bodo-Kachari words (e.g. Dihing, Dibru, Dihong, D/Tista, and Dikrai) reveal that it was more widely-spoken in ancient times. Bodo is now spoken largely in the Western Assam. It is official language of the Bodoland territorial region and co-official language of the state of Assam. It is also one of twenty-two languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. After years of neglect, now Bodo language is getting attention and its literature is developing. Other native languages of Tibeto-Burman origin and related to Bodo-Kachari are Deori, Mising, Karbi, Rabha, and Tiwa.^{[citation needed]}

There are approximately 590,000 Nepali speakers spread all over the state forming about 1.98% of Assam's total population according to 2011 census.

There are speakers of Tai languages in Assam. A total of six Tai languages were spoken in Assam. Two are now extinct.^[116]

Tai Phake
Tai Aiton
Khamti
Khamyang (critically endangered)
Ahom (extinct)
Turung (extinct)

Government and politics

Assam has Governor Jagdish Mukhi as the head of the state,^[3] the unicameral Assam Legislative Assembly of 126 members, and a government led by the Chief Minister of Assam. The state is divided into five regional divisions.

On 19 May 2016, BJP under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal won the Assembly elections, thus forming the first BJP-led government in Assam.^[117]

Administrative districts

1. Tinskia 2. Dibrugarh 3. Dhemaji 4. Charaideo 5. Sivasagar 6.Lakhimpur 7. Majuli 8. Jorhat 9. Biswanath 10. Golaghat 11. Karbi Anglong 12. Sonitpur 13. Nagaon 14. Hojai 15. Karbi Anglong West 16. Dima Hasao 17. Cachar 18. Hailakandi 19. Karimganj 20. Morigaon 21. Udalguri 22. Darrang 23. Kamrup Metro 24. Baksa 25. Nalbari 26. Kamrup 27. Barpeta 28. Chirang 29. Bongaigaon 30. Goalpara 31. Kokrajhar 32. Dhubri 33. South Salmara Mankachar 34. Bajali

The 34 administrative districts of Assam are delineated based on geographic features such as rivers, hills, and forests.

On 15 August 2015, five new districts were formed:^[118]^[119]

Part of Sonitpur became the Biswanath district (9 in the nearby map)
Part of Sivasagar became the Charaideo district (4)
Part of Nagaon became the Hojai district (14)
Part of Dhubri became the South Salmara-Mankachar district (33)
The Karbi Anglong district was divided into East (11) and West (15) districts

On 27 June 2016, an island in the Brahmaputra River was removed from the Jorhat district and declared the Majuli district, India's first district that is a river island.^[120]

On 12 January 2021 Bajali has been curves out from Barpeta district and formally declared as a district. With the announcement made by Governor Jagdish Mukhi, it has become the 34th district of Assam.^[121]

Subdivisions

The administrative districts are further subdivided into 54 "Subdivisions" or Mahakuma.^[119] Every district is administered from a district headquarters with the office of the Deputy Commissioner, District Magistrate, Office of the District Panchayat and usually with a district court.

The local governance system is organised under the jila-parishad (District Panchayat) for a district, panchayat for group of or individual rural areas and under the urban local bodies for the towns and cities. There are now 2489 village panchayats covering 26247 villages in Assam.^[122] The 'town-committee' or nagar-somiti for small towns, 'municipal board' or pouro-sobha for medium towns and municipal corporation or pouro-nigom for the cities consist of the urban local bodies.

For revenue purposes, the districts are divided into revenue circles and mouzas; for the development projects, the districts are divided into 219 'development-blocks' and for law and order these are divided into 206 police stations or thana.

Guwahati is the largest metropolitan area and urban conglomeration administered under the highest form of urban local body – Guwahati Municipal Corporation in Assam. The Corporation administers an area of 216.79 km² (83.70 sq mi).^[123] All other urban centres are managed under Municipal Boards.

A list of 9 oldest, classified and prominent, and constantly inhabited, recognised urban centres based on the earliest years of formation of the civic bodies, before the Indian independence of 1947 is tabulated below:

Oldest recognised urban centres of Assam^[124]
Urban Centres	Civic Body	Year	Airport	Railway Station	Railway Junction	Road Networks	Category^†	Notes
Guwahati	Guwahati Town Committee	1853	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – III	More Guwahati, the first township of Assam.^[125]
	Guwahati Municipal Board	1873^↑	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II
	Guwahati Municipal Corporation	1974^↑	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – I	More Establishment of Guwahati Municipal Corporation.^[126]
Dibrugarh	Dibrugarh Municipal Board	1873	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Dibrugarh, the second township of Assam.^[127]
Goalpara	Goalpara Municipal Board	1875	No ¹	Yes	No ²	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Goalpara Municipality, 1875.^[128]
Dhubri	Dhubri Municipal Board	1883	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Dhubri Municipality, 1883.^[129]
Nagaon	Nagaon Municipal Board	1893	No ³	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Nagaon Municipality, 1893.^[130]
Tezpur	Tezpur Municipal Board	1894	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Tezpur Municipality, 1894.^[131]
Jorhat	Jorhat Municipal Board	1909	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Jorhat Municipality, 1909.^[132]
Golaghat	Golaghat Municipal Board	1920	No ⁴	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Golaghat Municipality, 1920.^[133]
Silchar	Silchar Municipal Board	1922	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tier – II	More Formation of Silchar Municipality, 1922.^[134]
†Tier – I: a big city with an urban conglomeration (in the true sense) administered by a Municipal corporation. Tier – II: a medium–sized city for an urban agglomeration administered by a Municipal Board. Tier – III: a small town, larger than a township with a sizeable human settlement. ↑Upgraded to the next highest form of civic body.
Jointly shared with the other urban centre. ^1 and ^2 Shared with Guwahati. ^3 Shared with Tezpur. ^4 Shared with Jorhat.

Autonomous Council

The state has three autonomous councils.

Bodoland Autonomous Territorial Council
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council
Dima Hasao Autonomous Council.

The state has further more 12 statutory autonomous council –

Tiwa(Lalung) Autonomous Council for ethnic Tiwa people (also known as Lalung people)
Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council
Moran Autonomous Council for Moran people
Dudhnoi for ethnic Rabha Kachari
Mising Autonomous Council for Mising people
Matak Autonomous Council for Matak people
Kamatapur Autonomous Council for Rajbongshi people,
Bodo Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council for Bodo-Kachari people living outside the Bodoland Territorial Region
Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, Dibrugarh,
Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council,
Titabar and Deori Autonomous Council,
Lakhimpur for ethnic Deori Kachari.

Social issues

Inter-state dispute

According to Assam Government, Assam has border dispute with four states namely Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh.^[135]

Assam-Mizoram dispute

Mizoram used to be a district of Assam as Lushai hills before being carved out as a separate union territory and later, becoming another state in 1987. Because of the history, the district's borders did not really matter for locals for a long time. Mizoram shares a border with the districts Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj which comes under Barak valley region of Assam. Over time, the two states started having different perceptions about where the demarcation should be. While Mizoram wants it to be along an Inner Line Permit notified in 1875 to protect tribals from outside influence, which Mizos feel is part of their historical homeland, Assam wants it to be demarcated according to district boundaries drawn up much later.^[135]^[136]

Assam-Meghalaya dispute

Meghalaya has identified close to a dozen areas on which it has a dispute with Assam about the state's borders. The chief ministers of the two states, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Megahalya's Conrad Sangma, recently held the first-ever meeting on inter-state border dispute. Both the states have agreed to individually assess the claims for all 12 areas flagged by Meghalaya in the past. A second round of discussion between the two state CMs will be held next month of August. On the question of the role the Union Government is playing in redressing the inter-State border dispute in the country, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said, “The approach of the Central Government has consistently been that inter-state disputes can be resolved only with the cooperation of the State Governments concerned and that the Central Government acts only as a facilitator for amicable settlement of the dispute in the spirit of mutual understanding.”^[135]

Assam-Nagaland dispute

The border dispute between the two states has been going on since the formation of Nagaland in 1963. The two states lay claim to Merapani, a small village next to the plains of Assam's Golaghat district. There have been reports of violent clashes in the region since the 1960s.^[135]^[137]

Assam-Arunachal Pradesh dispute

Assam shares an 804.10 km inter-state boundary with Arunachal Pradesh. The state of Arunachal Pradesh, created in 1987, claims some land that traditionally belonged to its residents has been given to Assam. A tripartite committee had recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal. The two states have since been battling it out in the Supreme court of India over the issue. Some incidents of local violence have been reported from the borders.^[135]^[138]

Separate statehood demand within Assam

Bodoland

Bodoland district map

The agitation for the creation of a separate Bodoland state resulted in an agreement between the Indian Government, the Assam state government and the Bodo Liberation Tigers Force. According to the agreement made on 10 February 2003, the Bodoland Territorial Council, an entity subordinate to the government of Assam, was created to govern four districts covering 3082 Bodo Kachari-majority villages in Assam.^[139]^[140] Elections to the council were held on 13 May 2003, and Hagrama Mohilary was sworn in as the chief of the 46-member council on 4 June.^[141] Demographic wise, the Indigenous Bodo tribe constitutes half of the region's population, along with the region have also significant large number of other ethnic minorities which includes: Assamese, Koch Rajbangshi, Garo, Rabha tribe, Adivasis, Nepalis, Tea tribes, Bengalis, Biharis, Marwaris and Muslims.^[112]

Karbi Anglong

Karbi Anglong is one of the 35 districts of Assam. Karbi Anglong was previously known as Mikir Hills. It was part of the Excluded Areas and Partially Excluded Areas (the present North East India) in British India. The British Indian government had never included this area under their government's jurisdiction. Thereby, no government development work or activity were done, nor any tax levied from the hills including Karbi Anglong. The first memorandum for a Karbi homeland was presented to Governor Reid on 28 October 1940 by Semsonsing Ingti and Khorsing Terang at Mohongdijua.^[142] The Karbi leaders were then, a part of the All Party Hill Leaders' Conference (APHLC) which was formed on 6 July 1960.^[143] The movement again gained momentum when the Karbi Anglong District Council passed a resolution demanding a Separate State in 1981. Then again from 1986 through the leadership of Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), demanded Autonomous statehood of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao under Article 244(A). In 2002, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council passed another resolution to press for the demand of statehood. Several other memoranda were submitted at different times by several organisations. The demand for a separate state turned violent on 31 July 2013 when student demonstrators set government buildings on fire. Following the incident, the elected leaders of Karbi Anglong jointly submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India demanding a separate State. Demographic wise, more than half of the Karbi Anglong population is made up of Indigenous Karbi tribe with significant migrants from other parts of India.^[112]

Dimaraji

Map of Dimaraji state

The Dimasa people of northeast India have been demanding a separate state called Dimaraji or "Dimaland" for several decades. It would comprise the Dimasa-Kachari inhabited areas, namely Dima Hasao district, Cachar district, parts of Barak Valley, Nagaon district, Hojai district and Karbi Anglong district in Assam together with part of Dimapur district in Nagaland.

Barak state

Barak Valley

Bengalis first came into Assam's Brahmaputra valley in 19th century A.D as per as various credible sources.^[144]^[145]^[146]^[147] The Barak Valley of Assam comprising the present districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi is contiguous to Sylhet (Bengal plains), where the Bengali Hindus, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled well before the colonial period, influencing the culture of Dimasa Kacaharis.^[148] Bhattacharjee describes that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins written were in Bengali script.^[148] Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.^[148] The native Bengali people of Assam demanded separate state for themselves within the Bengali majority areas of Assam particularly Bengali majority Barak valley comprising three districts: Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj along with Dima Hasao and Lumding was also demanded to meet the criteria for creating a separate state for themselves by carving out from Assam's Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley post NRC.^[149]^[150]^[151]^[152] Silchar is the proposed capital of Barak state.^[153] Barak valley is the most neglected part of Assam in terms of its infrastructure development, tourism sector, educational institutions, hospitals, IT industries, G.D.P, H.D.I etc. which is still lagging behind in comparison to the Assam's mainland Brahmaputra valley which have access to all of those facilities mentioned above.^[154]^[155]^[156]^[157]^[158] In fact, the southern Assam have an overall indigenous Bengali majority population particularly Lumding have (95%) Bengali majority,^[159] Barak Valley region have an overwhelming Bengali majority of about (80.3%), while Dima Hasao have approximately (30.2%) significant Bengali plurality on certain pockets specially in the urban areas of the district.^[112]

Migration from Bangladesh

Assam has been a major site of migration since the Partition of the subcontinent, with the first wave being composed largely of Bengali Hindu refugees arriving during and shortly after the establishment of India and Pakistan (current day Bangladesh was originally part of Pakistan, known as East Pakistan) in 1947–1951. Between the period of first patches (1946-1951), around 274,455 Bengali Hindu refugees have arrived from what is now called Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in various locations of Assam as permanent settlers and again in second patches between (1952-1958) of the same decade, around 212,545 Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh took shelter in various parts of the state permanently.^[160]^[161] After the 1964 East Pakistan riots many Bengali Hindus have poured into Assam as refugees and the number of Hindu migrants in the state rose to 1,068,455 in 1968 (sharply after 4 years of the riot).^[162] The fourth patches numbering around 347,555 have just arrived after Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 as refugees and most of them being Bengali speaking Hindus have decided to stay back in Assam permanently afterwards.^[163] Though the governments of India and Bangladesh made agreements for the repatriation of certain groups of refugees after the second and third waves, a large presence of refugees and other migrants and their descendants remained in the state. Nevertheless, still people of Bangladesh have been immigrating to Assam on regular basis. As per reports, about 635 of Bangladeshi people mostly Hindus, use to immigrate to Assam daily.^[164]^[165]

Besides migration caused by displacement, there is also a large and continual unregulated movement between Assam and neighboring regions of Bangladesh with an exceptionally porous border. The situation is called a risk to Assam's as well as India's security.^[166] The continual illegal entry of people into Assam, mostly from Bangladesh, has caused economic upheaval and social and political unrest.^[167]^[168] During the Assam Movement (1979–1985), the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and others demanded that government stop the influx of immigrants and deport those who had already settled.^[169] During this period, 855 people (the AASU says 860) died in various conflicts with migrants and police.^[170]^[171] The 1983 Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, applied only to Assam, decreed that any person who entered the Assam after Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan in 1971 and without authorisation or travel documents is to be considered a foreigner, with the decision on foreigner status to be carried out by designated tribunals. In 1985, the Indian Government and leaders of the agitation signed the Assam accord to settle the conflict.^[169]

The 1991 census made the changing demographics of border districts more visible.^[172]^[169] Since 2010, the Indian Government has undertaken the updating of the National Register of Citizens for Assam, and in 2018 the 32.2 million residents of Assam were subject to a review of their citizenship.^[173] In August 2019, India released the names of the 2 million residents of Assam that had been determined to be non-citizens and whose names had therefore been struck off the Register of Citizens, depriving them of rights and making them subject to action, and potentially leaving some of them stateless, and the government has begun deporting non-citizens, while detaining 1,000 others that same year.^[174]^[175]^[176]

In January 2019, the Assam's peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) claimed that there are around 20 lakh Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam who would become Indian citizens if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed. BJP, however claimed that only eight lakh Hindu Bangladeshis will get citizenship.^[177]^[178]^[179] According to various sources, the total number of illegal Hindu Bangladeshis is hard to ascertain.^[180]^[181] According to the census data, the number of Hindu immigrants have been largely exaggerated.^[181]

In February 2020, the Assam Minority Development Board announced plans to segregate illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants from the indigenous Muslims of the state, though some have expressed problems in identifying an indigenous Muslim person. According to the board, there are 1.4 crore Muslims in the state, of which 1 crore are of Bangladeshi origin.^[182]^[183]^[184] A report reveals that out of total 33 districts in Assam, Bangladeshis dominate almost 15 districts of Assam.^[185]^[186]^[187]

Floods

In the rainy season every year, the Brahmaputra and other rivers overflow their banks and flood adjacent land. Flood waters wash away property including houses and livestock. Damage to crops and fields harms the agricultural sector. Bridges, railway tracks, and roads are also damaged, harming transportation and communication, and in some years requiring food to be air-dropped to isolated towns. Some deaths are attributed to the floods.^[188]^[189]

Unemployment

Unemployment is a chronic problem in Assam. It is variously blamed on poor infrastructure, limited connectivity, and government policy;^[190] on a "poor work culture";^[191] on failure to advertise vacancies;^[192] and on government hiring candidates from outside Assam.^[193]

In 2020 a series of violent lynchings occurred in the region.

Education

School girls in the classroom, Lakhiganj High School, Assam
Cotton University, Guwahati
Academic complex of IIT Guwahati
National Institute of Technology, Silchar
Jorhat Engineering College of Assam Science and Technology University

Assam schools are run by the Indian government, government of Assam or by private organisations. Medium of instruction is mainly in Assamese, English or Bengali. Most of the schools follow the state's examination board which is called the Secondary Education Board of Assam. Almost all private schools follow the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) syllabuses.^{[citation needed]}

Assamese language is the main medium in educational institutions but Bengali language is also taught as a major Indian language. In Guwahati and Digboi, many Jr. basic schools and Jr. high schools are Nepali linguistic and all the teachers are Nepali. Nepali is included by Assam State Secondary Board, Assam Higher Secondary Education Council and Gauhati University in their HSLC, higher secondary and graduation level respectively. In some junior basic and higher secondary schools and colleges, Nepali teachers and lecturers are appointed.^{[citation needed]}

The capital, Dispur, contains institutions of higher education for students of the north-eastern region. Cotton College, Guwahati, dates back to the 19th century. Assam has several institutions for tertiary education and research.^{[citation needed]}

Universities, colleges and institutions include:

Research institutes present in the state include National Research Centre on Pig, (ICAR) in Guwahati,^[210]

Economy

Per capita income of Assam since 1950

Assam's economy is based on agriculture and oil. Assam produces more than half of India's tea.^[211] The Assam-Arakan basin holds about a quarter of the country's oil reserves, and produces about 12% of its total petroleum.^[212] According to the recent estimates,^[213] Assam's per capita GDP is ₹6,157 at constant prices (1993–94) and ₹10,198 at current prices; almost 40% lower than that in India.^[214] According to the recent estimates,^[213] per capita income in Assam has reached ₹6756 (1993–94 constant prices) in 2004–05, which is still much lower than India's.

A paddy field in Assam

A tea garden in Assam: tea is grown at elevations near sea level, giving it a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as opposed to the more floral aroma of highland (e.g. Darjeeling, Taiwanese) teas

Tea plantations

This 1850 engraving shows the different stages in the process of making tea in Assam

Macro-economy

The economy of Assam today represents a unique juxtaposition of backwardness amidst plenty.^[215]^{[full citation needed]} Despite its rich natural resources, and supplying of up to 25% of India's petroleum needs, Assam's growth rate has not kept pace with that of India; the difference has increased rapidly since the 1970s.^[216] The Indian economy grew at 6% per annum over the period of 1981 to 2000; the growth rate of Assam was only 3.3%.^[217] In the Sixth Plan period, Assam experienced a negative growth rate of 3.78% when India's was positive at 6%.^[216] In the post-liberalised era (after 1991), the difference widened further.

According to recent analysis, Assam's economy is showing signs of improvement. In 2001–02, the economy grew (at 1993–94 constant prices) at 4.5%, falling to 3.4% in the next financial year.^[218] During 2003–04 and 2004–05, the economy grew (at 1993–94 constant prices) at 5.5% and 5.3% respectively.^[218] The advanced estimates placed the growth rate for 2005–06 at above 6%.^[213] Assam's GDP in 2004 is estimated at $13 billion in current prices. Sectoral analysis again exhibits a dismal picture. The average annual growth rate of agriculture, which was 2.6% per annum over the 1980s, has fallen to 1.6% in the 1990s.^[219] The manufacturing sector showed some improvement in the 1990s with a growth rate of 3.4% per annum than 2.4% in the 1980s.^[219] For the past five decades, the tertiary sector has registered the highest growth rates of the other sectors, which even has slowed down in the 1990s than in the 1980s.^[219]

Employment

Unemployment is one of the major problems in Assam. This problem can be attributed to overpopulation and a faulty education system. Every year, large numbers of students obtain higher academic degrees but because of non-availability of proportional vacancies, most of these students remain unemployed.^[220]^[221] A number of employers hire over-qualified or efficient, but under-certified, candidates, or candidates with narrowly defined qualifications. The problem is exacerbated by the growth in the number of technical institutes in Assam which increases the unemployed community of the State. Many job-seekers are eligible for jobs in sectors like railways and Oil India but do not get these jobs because of the appointment of candidates from outside of Assam to these posts. The reluctance on the part of the departments concerned to advertise vacancies in vernacular language has also made matters worse for local unemployed youths particularly for the job-seekers of Grade C and D vacancies.^[222]^[223]

Reduction of the unemployed has been threatened by illegal immigration from Bangladesh. This has increased the workforce without a commensurate increase in jobs. Immigrants compete with local workers for jobs at lower wages, particularly in construction, domestics, Rickshaw-pullers, and vegetable sellers.^[224]^[225] The government has been identifying (via NRC) and deporting illegal immigrants. Continued immigration is exceeding deportation.^[226]^[227]

Agriculture

Assamese women busy planting paddy seedlings in their agricultural field in Pahukata village in the Nagaon district of Assam

In Assam among all the productive sectors, agriculture makes the highest contribution to its domestic sectors, accounting for more than a third of Assam's income and employs 69% of workforce.^[228] Assam's biggest contribution to the world is Assam tea. It has its own variety, Camellia sinensis var. assamica. The state produces rice, rapeseed, mustard seed, jute, potato, sweet potato, banana, papaya, areca nut, sugarcane and turmeric.^{[citation needed]}

Assam's agriculture is yet to experience modernisation in a real sense. With implications for food security, per capita food grain production has declined in the past five decades.^[229] Productivity has increased marginally, but is still low compared to highly productive regions. For instance, the yield of rice (a staple food of Assam) was just 1531 kg per hectare against India's 1927 kg per hectare in 2000–01^[229] (which itself is much lower than Egypt's 9283, US's 7279, South Korea's 6838, Japan's 6635 and China's 6131 kg per hectare in 2001^[230]). On the other hand, after having strong domestic demand, and with 1.5 million hectares of inland water bodies, numerous rivers and 165 varieties of fishes,^[231] fishing is still in its traditional form and production is not self-sufficient.^[232]

Floods in Assam greatly affect the farmers and the families dependent on agriculture because of large-scale damage of agricultural fields and crops by flood water.^[58]^[59] Every year, flooding from the Brahmaputra and other rivers deluges places in Assam. The water levels of the rivers rise because of rainfall resulting in the rivers overflowing their banks and engulfing nearby areas. Apart from houses and livestock being washed away by flood water, bridges, railway tracks and roads are also damaged by the calamity, which causes communication breakdown in many places. Fatalities are also caused by the natural disaster in many places of the state.^[233]^[234]

Industry

Handlooms and handicrafts are traditional industries that continue to survive, especially among rural women, in the state.^[235]

Assam's proximity to some neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, benefits its trade. The major Border checkpoints through which border trade flows to Bangladesh from Assam are : Sutarkandi (Karimganj), Dhubri, Mankachar (Dhubri) and Golokanj. To facilitate border trade with Bangladesh, Border Trade Centres have been developed at Sutarkandi and Mankachar. It has been proposed in the 11th five-year plan^{[clarification needed]} to set up two more Border Trade Center, one at Ledo connecting China and other at Darrang connecting Bhutan. There are several Land Custom Stations (LCS) in the state bordering Bangladesh and Bhutan to facilitate border trade.^[236]

The government of India has identified some thrust areas for industrial development of Assam:^[237]

Petroleum and natural gas-based industries
Industries based on locally available minerals
Processing of plantation crops
Food processing industries
Agri-Horticulture products
Herbal products
Biotech products
Pharmaceuticals
Chemical and plastic-based industries
Export oriented industries
Electronic and IT base industries including services sector
Paper making industries
Textiles and sericulture
Engineering industries
Cane and bamboo-based industries
Other handicrafts industry

Although, the region in the eastern periphery of India is landlocked and is linked to the mainland by the narrow Siliguri Corridor (or the Chicken's Neck) improved transport infrastructure in all the three modes – rail, road and air – and developing urban infrastructure in the cities and towns of Assam are giving a boost to the entire industrial scene. The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Guwahati, with international flights to Bangkok and Singapore offered by Druk Air of Bhutan, was the 12th busiest airport of India in 2012.^[238] The cities of Guwahati^[239]^[240] in the west and Dibrugarh^[241]^[242] in the east with good rail,^[243]^[244] road and air connectivity are the two important nerve centres of Assam, to be selected by Asian Development Bank for providing $200 million for improvement of urban infrastructure.^[245]^[246]

Assam is a producer of crude oil and it accounts for about 15% of India's crude output,^[247] exploited by the Assam Oil Company Ltd.,^[248] and natural gas in India and is the second place in the world (after Titusville in the United States) where petroleum was discovered. Asia's first successful mechanically drilled oil well was drilled in Makum way back in 1867. Most of the oilfields are located in the Eastern Assam region. Assam has four oil refineries in Digboi (Asia's first and world's second refinery), Guwahati, Bongaigaon and Numaligarh and with a total capacity of 7 million metric tonnes (7.7 million short tons) per annum. Asia's first refinery was set up at Digboi and discoverer of Digboi oilfield was the Assam Railways & Trading Company Limited (AR&T Co. Ltd.), a registered company of London in 1881.^[249] One of the biggest public sector oil company of the country Oil India Ltd. has its plant and headquarters at Duliajan.

There are several other industries, including a chemical fertiliser plant at Namrup, petrochemical industries in Namrup and Bongaigaon, paper mills at Jagiroad, Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. Township Area Panchgram and Jogighopa, sugar mills in Barua Bamun Gaon, Chargola, Kampur, cement plants in Bokajan and Badarpur, and a cosmetics plant of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) at Doom Dooma. Moreover, there are other industries such as jute mill, textile and yarn mills, Assam silk, and silk mills. Many of these industries are facing losses and closure due to lack of infrastructure and improper management practices.^[250]

Tourism

Wildlife, cultural, and historical destinations have attracted visitors.

Culture

A group of 'Husori' for the occasion of Assamese Bohag Bihu in their traditional attire.

Assamese Culture is traditionally a hybrid one developed due to assimilation of ethno-cultural groups of Austric, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Tai origin in the past. Therefore, both local elements or the local elements in Sanskritised forms are distinctly found.^[251] The major milestones in the evolution of Assamese culture are:

Dakhinpat Satra of Majuli

Assimilation in the Kamarupa Kingdom for almost 700 years (under the Varmans for 300 years, Salastambhas and Palas for each 200 years).^[18]
Establishment of the Chutia kingdom in the 12th century in eastern Assam and assimilation for next 400 years.^[18]
Establishment of the Ahom kingdom in the 13th century CE and assimilation for next 600 years.^[18]
Assimilation in the Koch Kingdom (15th–16th century CE) of western Assam and Kachari Kingdom (12th–18th century CE) of central and southern Assam.^[18]
Vaishnava Movement led by Srimanta Shankardeva (Xongkordeu) and its contribution and cultural changes. The Vaishanava Movement, the 15th century religio-cultural movement under the leadership of Srimanta Sankardeva (Sonkordeu) and his disciples have provided another dimension to Assamese culture. A renewed Hinduisation in local forms took place, which was initially greatly supported by the Koch and later by the Ahom Kingdoms. The resultant social institutions such as namghar and sattra (the Vaishnav Monasteries) have become part of the Assamese way of life. The movement contributed greatly towards language, literature, and performing and fine arts.^{[citation needed]}

Presenting Gayan Bayan in Majuli, the Neo-Vaishnavite cultural heritage of Assam

The modern culture has been influenced by events in the British and the post-British era. The language was standardised by American Baptist Missionaries such as Nathan Brown, Dr. Miles Bronson and local pundits such as Hemchandra Barua with the form available in the Sibsagar (Sivasagar) District (the ex-nerve centre of the Ahom Kingdom).^{[citation needed]}

Increasing efforts of standardisation in the 20th century alienated the localised forms present in different areas and with the less-assimilated ethno-cultural groups (many source-cultures). However, Assamese culture in its hybrid form and nature is one of the richest, still developing and in true sense is a 'cultural system' with sub-systems. Many source-cultures of the Assamese cultural-system are still surviving either as sub-systems or as sister entities, e.g. the; Bodo or Karbi or Mishing. It is important to keep the broader system closer to its roots and at the same time focus on development of the sub-systems.

Some of the common and unique cultural traits in the region are peoples' respect towards areca-nut and betel leaves, symbolic (gamosa, arnai, etc.), traditional silk garments (e.g. mekhela chador, traditional dress of Assamese women) and towards forefathers and elderly. Moreover, great hospitality and bamboo culture are common.

Symbols

Girl in traditional Mekhela chador dress with a Dhol wrapped with Gamosa

A decorative Assamese Jaapi laid over a Gamosa

Symbolism is an ancient cultural practice in Assam and is still a very important part of the Assamese way of life. Various elements are used to represent beliefs, feelings, pride, identity, etc. Tamulpan, Xorai and Gamosa are three important symbolic elements in Assamese culture. Tamulpan (the areca nut and betel leaves) or guapan (gua from kwa) are considered along with the Gamosa (a typical woven cotton or silk cloth with embroidery) as the offers of devotion, respect and friendship. The Tamulpan-tradition is an ancient one and is being followed since time-immemorial with roots in the aboriginal Austric culture. Xorai is a traditionally manufactured bell-metal article of great respect and is used as a container-medium while performing respectful offers. Moreover, symbolically many ethno-cultural groups use specific clothes to portray respect and pride.

There were many other symbolic elements and designs, but are now only found in literature, art, sculpture, architecture, etc. or in use today for only religious purposes. The typical designs of Assamese-lion, dragon, and flying-lion were used for symbolising various purposes and occasions. The archaeological sites such as the Madan Kamdev (c. 9th–10th centuries CE) exhibits mass-scale use of lions, dragon-lions and many other figures of demons to show case power and prosperity. The Vaishnava monasteries and many other architectural sites of the late medieval period display the use of lions and dragons for symbolic effects.

Festivals and traditions

A Bihu dancer blowing a pepa (horn)

A beautifully adorned Jaapi

Mising girls dancing during Ali Ai Ligang (Spring Festival)

There are diversified important traditional festivals in Assam. Bihu is the most important and common and celebrated all over Assam. It is the Assamese new year celebrated in April of the Gregorian calendar. Christmas is observed with great merriment by Christians of various denominations, including Catholics and Protestants, throughout Assam. Durga Puja, a festival introduced and popularised by Bengalis, is widely celebrated across the state. Muslims celebrate two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) with much eagerness all over Assam.

Bihu is a series of three prominent festivals. Primarily a non-religious festival celebrated to mark the seasons and the significant points of a cultivator's life over a yearly cycle. Three Bihus, rongali or bohag, celebrated with the coming of spring and the beginning of the sowing season; kongali or kati, the barren bihu when the fields are lush but the barns are empty; and the bhogali or magh, the thanksgiving when the crops have been harvested and the barns are full. Bihu songs and Bihu dance are associated to rongali bihu. The day before the each bihu is known as 'uruka'. The first day of 'rongali bihu' is called 'Goru bihu' (the bihu of the cows), when the cows are taken to the nearby rivers or ponds to be bathed with special care. In recent times the form and nature of celebration has changed with the growth of urban centres.

Bwisagu is one of the popular seasonal festivals of the Bodos. Bwisagu start of the new year or age. Baisagu is a Boro word which originated from the word "Baisa" which means year or age, and "Agu" that means starting or start.

Beshoma is a festival of Deshi people.^[252] It is a celebration of sowing crop. The Beshoma starts on the last day of Chaitra and goes on until the sixth of Baisakh. With varying locations it is also called Bishma or Chait-Boishne.^[253]

Bushu Dima or simply Bushu is a major harvest festival of the Dimasa people. This festival is celebrated during the end of January. Officially 27 January has been declared as the day of Bushu Dima festival. The Dimasa people celebrate their festival by playing musical instruments- khram (a type of drum), muri (a kind of huge long flute). The people dances to the different tunes called "murithai" and each dance has got its name, the prominent being the "Baidima" There are three types of Bushu celebrated among the Dimasas Jidap, Surem and Hangsou.

Chavang Kut is a post harvesting festival of the Kuki people. The festival is celebrated on the first day of November every year. Hence, this particular day has been officially declared as a Restricted Holiday by the Assam government. In the past, the celebration was primarily important in the religio-cultural sense. The rhythmic movements of the dances in the festival were inspired by animals, agricultural techniques and showed their relationship with ecology. Today, the celebration witnesses the shifting of stages and is revamped to suit new contexts and interpretations. The traditional dances which form the core of the festival is now performed in out-of-village settings and are staged in a secular public sphere. In Assam, the Kukis mainly reside in the two autonomous districts of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong.

Moreover, there are other important traditional festivals being celebrated every year on different occasions at different places. Many of these are celebrated by different ethno-cultural groups (sub and sister cultures). Some of these are:

Me-Dam-Me-Phi
Ali-Aye-Ligang
Rongker
Wanshuwa Festival
Kherai
Garja
Bisu (Deori)
Awnkham Gwrlwi Janai
Chojun/Swarak
Deusi Bhailo ( Traditional Nepalese songs that are sung during the festival of light " Dipavali " and also called "Tihar" )
Sokk-erroi
Hacha-kekan
Hapsa Hatarnai
Porag
Bathow
Wangala
Bohuwa dance

Other few yearly celebrations are Doul Utsav of Barpeta, Brahmaputra Beach Festival, Guwahati, Kaziranga Elephant Festival, Kaziranga and Dehing Patkai Festival, Lekhapani, Karbi Youth Festival of Diphu and International Jatinga Festival, Jatinga can not be forgotten. Few yearly Mela's like Jonbeel Mela, began in the 15th century by the Ahom Kings, Ambubachi Mela, Guwahati etc.

Lachit Divas' is celebrated to promote the ideals of Lachit Borphukan – the legendary general of Assam's history. Sarbananda Sonowal, the chief minister of Assam took part in the Lachit Divas celebration at the statue of Lachit Borphukan at Brahmaputra riverfront on 24 November 2017. He said, the first countrywide celebration of 'Lachit Divas' would take place in New Delhi followed by state capitals such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata in a phased manner.

Music, dance, and drama

Sattriya Dance
Bodo dance Bagurumba
Jhumair dance in Tea garden
Nagara
Bhupen Hazarika
Assamese youth performing Bihu Dance
Statue of Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Phani Sarma at District Library, Guwahati.

Actors of Abinaswar Gosthi performs the play "Surjya Mandirot Surjyasta" directed by Dipok Borah

Performing arts include: Ankia Naat (Onkeeya Naat), a traditional Vaishnav dance-drama (Bhaona) popular since the 15th century CE.^{[citation needed]} It makes use of large masks of gods, goddesses, demons and animals and in between the plays a Sutradhar (Xutrodhar) continues to narrate the story.^{[citation needed]}

Besides Bihu dance and Huchory performed during the Bohag Bihu, dance forms of tribal minorities such as; Kushan nritra of Rajbongshi's, Bagurumba and Bordoicikhla dance of Bodos, Mishing Bihu, Banjar Kekan performed during Chomangkan by Karbis, Jhumair of Tea-garden community are some of the major folk dances.^[254] Sattriya (Sotriya) dance related to Vaishnav tradition is a classical form of dance. Moreover, there are several other age-old dance-forms such as Barpeta's Bhortal Nritya, Deodhani Nritya, Ojapali, Beula Dance, Ka Shad Inglong Kardom, Nimso Kerung, etc. The tradition of modern moving theatres is typical of Assam with immense popularity of many Mobile theatre groups such as Kohinoor, Sankardev, Abahan, Bhagyadevi, Hengul, Brindabon, Itihas etc.^{[citation needed]}

The indigenous folk music has influenced the growth of a modern idiom, that finds expression in the music of artists like Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnuprasad Rabha, Parvati Prasad Baruwa, Bhupen Hazarika, Pratima Barua Pandey, Anima Choudhury, Luit Konwar Rudra Baruah, Jayanta Hazarika, Khagen Mahanta, Dipali Barthakur, Ganashilpi Dilip Sarma, Sudakshina Sarma among many others. Among the new generation, Zubeen Garg, Jitul Sonowal, Angaraag Mahanta and Joi Barua.^{[citation needed]} There is an award given in the honour of Bishnu Prasad Rabha for achievements in the cultural/music world of Assam by the state government.^{[citation needed]}

Cuisine

Assamese Thali

An ethnic preparation of Ghost chili chicken curry of Assam

Typically, an Assamese meal consists of many things such as bhat (rice) with dayl/ daly (lentils), masor jool (fish stew), mangxô (meat stew) and stir fried greens or herbs and vegetables.^{[citation needed]}

The two main characteristics of a traditional meal in Assam are khar (an Alkali, named after its main ingredient) and tenga (Preparations bearing a characteristically rich and tangy flavour). Khorika is the smoked or fire grilled meat eaten with meals. Commonly consumed varieties of meat include Mutton, fowl, duck/goose, fish, pigeon, pork and beef (among Muslim and Christian indigenous Assamese ethnic groups). Grasshoppers, locusts, silkworms, snails, eels, wild fowl, squab and other birds, venison are also eaten, albeit in moderation.^{[citation needed]}

Khorisa (fermented bamboo shoots) are used at times to flavour curries while they can also be preserved and made into pickles. Koldil (banana flower) and squash are also used in popular culinary preparations.^[255]

A variety of different rice cultivars are grown and consumed in different ways, viz., roasted, ground, boiled or just soaked.^{[citation needed]}

Fish curries made of free range wild fish as well as Bôralí, rôu, illish, or sitôl are the most popular.^{[citation needed]}

Another favourite combination is luchi (fried flatbread), a curry which can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian.^{[citation needed]}

Many indigenous Assamese communities households still continue to brew their traditional alcoholic beverages; examples include: Laupani, Xaaj, Paniyo, Jou, Joumai, Hor, Apang, etc. Such beverages are served during traditional festivities. Declining them is considered socially offensive.^{[citation needed]}

The food is often served in bell metal dishes and platters like Kanhi, Maihang and so on.^{[citation needed]}

Lakshminath Bezbaroa, one of the foremost figures of Assamese literature.

Literature

Imaginary portrait of Srimanta Sankardeva by Bishnu Prasad Rabha^[256]

Assamese literature dates back to the composition of Charyapada, and later on works like Saptakanda Ramayana by Madhava Kandali, which is the first translation of the Ramayana into an Indo-Aryan language, contributed to Assamese literature.^[257]^[258]^[259] Sankardeva's Borgeet, Ankia Naat, Bhaona and Satra tradition backed the 15th-16th century Assamese literature.^[260]^[261]^[262]^[263] Written during the Reign of Ahoms, the Buranjis are notable literary works which are prominently historical manuscripts.^[264] Most literary works are written in Assamese although other local language such as Bodo and Dimasa are also represented.^{[citation needed]} In the 19th and 20th century, Assamese and other literature was modernised by authors including Lakshminath Bezbaroa, Birinchi Kumar Barua, Hem Barua, Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Hiren Bhattacharyya, Homen Borgohain, Bhabananda Deka, Rebati Mohan Dutta Choudhury, Mahim Bora, Lil Bahadur Chettri, Syed Abdul Malik, Surendranath Medhi, Hiren Gohain etc.

Fine arts

The archaic Mauryan Stupas discovered in and around Goalpara district are the earliest examples (c. 300 BCE to c. 100 CE) of ancient art and architectural works. The remains discovered in Daparvatiya (Doporboteeya) archaeological site with a beautiful doorframe in Tezpur are identified as the best examples of artwork in ancient Assam with influence of Sarnath School of Art of the late Gupta period.^{[citation needed]}

Painting is an ancient tradition of Assam. Xuanzang (7th century CE) mentions that among the Kamarupa king Bhaskaravarma's gifts to Harshavardhana there were paintings and painted objects, some of which were on Assamese silk. Many of the manuscripts such as Hastividyarnava (A Treatise on Elephants), the Chitra Bhagawata and in the Gita Govinda from the Middle Ages bear excellent examples of traditional paintings.^{[citation needed]}

Traditional crafts

Assam has a rich tradition of crafts, Cane and bamboo craft, bell metal and brass craft, silk and cotton weaving, toy and mask making, pottery and terracotta work, wood craft, jewellery making, and musical instruments making have remained as major traditions.^[265]

Cane and bamboo craft provide the most commonly used utilities in daily life, ranging from household utilities, weaving accessories, fishing accessories, furniture, musical instruments, construction materials, etc. Utilities and symbolic articles such as Sorai and Bota made from bell metal and brass are found in every Assamese household.^[266]^[267] Hajo and Sarthebari (Sorthebaary) are the most important centres of traditional bell-metal and brass crafts. Assam is the home of several types of silks, the most prestigious are: Muga – the natural golden silk, Pat – a creamy-bright-silver coloured silk and Eri – a variety used for manufacturing warm clothes for winter. Apart from Sualkuchi (Xualkuchi), the centre for the traditional silk industry, in almost every parts of the Brahmaputra Valley, rural households produce silk and silk garments with excellent embroidery designs. Moreover, various ethno-cultural groups in Assam make different types of cotton garments with unique embroidery designs and wonderful colour combinations.

Moreover, Assam possesses unique crafts of toy and mask making mostly concentrated in the Vaishnav Monasteries, pottery and terracotta work in western Assam districts and wood craft, iron craft, jewellery, etc. in many places across the region.

Lil Bahadur Chettri
A folio from the Hastividyarnava manuscript
A page of manuscript painting from Assam; The medieval painters used locally manufactured painting materials such as the colours of hangool and haital and papers manufactured from aloewood bark
Bell metal made sorai and sophura are important parts of culture
Assam Kahor (Bell metal) Kahi
Brihat Ushaharan, an 18th century manuscript illustration of Garhgoan school of painting
Mayurpokhyi Khel-Nao (Pleasure boat) of medieval Assam, used by Badula Ata of Kamalabari Satra
18th century Mahisamardini bronze metal sculpture

Media

Print media include Assamese dailies Amar Asom, Asomiya Khabar, Asomiya Pratidin, Dainik Agradoot, Dainik Janambhumi, Dainik Asam, Gana Adhikar, Janasadharan and Niyomiya Barta. Asom Bani, Sadin and Janambhumi are Assamese weekly newspapers. The English dailies of Assam include The Assam Tribune, The Sentinel, The Telegraph, The Times of India, The North East Times, Eastern Chronicle and The Hills Times. Thekar, in the Karbi language has the largest circulation of any daily from Karbi Anglong district. Bodosa has the highest circulation of any Bodo daily from BTR. Dainik Jugasankha is a Bengali daily with editions from Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Silchar and Kolkata. Dainik Samayik Prasanga, Dainik Prantojyoti, Dainik Janakantha and Nababarta Prasanga are other prominent Bengali dailies published in the Barak Valley towns of Karimganj and Silchar. Hindi dailies include Purvanchal Prahari, Pratah Khabar and Dainik Purvoday.

Broadcasting stations of All India Radio have been established in 22 cities across the state. Local news and music are the main priority for those stations. Assam has three public service broadcasting service stations of state-owned Doordarshan at Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar. The Guwahati-based satellite news channels include Assam Talks, DY 365, News Live, News18 Assam-North East, North East Live, Prag News and Pratidin Time.

With the internet users, social media based news sites have become popular. Notable among them are North East Today, G Plus, Northeast Now, Time8 etc.

Notes

^ "State Symbols | Assam State Portal". Assam.gov.in. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^ Steinberg, S. (2016). The Statesman's Year-Book 1964–65: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. Springer. p. 412. ISBN 978-0-230-27093-0.
^ ^a ^b "Jagdish Mukhi: Few facts about Assam's new Governor". The New Indian Express. 30 September 2017. from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^ "Assam Budget 2021". 16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
^ (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. pp. 58–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
^ ^a ^b PTI (30 December 2020). "Assam Assembly Accords Associate Official Language Status To Bodo". NDTV. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Govt withdraws Assamese as official language from Barak valley". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b (PDF). planningcommission.gov.in. Planning Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
^ "Assam Legislative Assembly - History". from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
^ "Assam". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ . Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020.
^ "Here is India's oil story". The Financial Express. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
^ Besatia in the Schoff translation and also sometimes used by Ptolemy, they are a people similar to Kirradai and they lived in the region between "Assam and Sichuan" (Casson 1989, pp. 241–243)
^ "The Periplus of the Erythraen Sea (last quarter of the first century A.D) and Ptolemy's Geography (middle of the second century A.D) appear to call the land including Assam Kirrhadia after its Kirata population." (Sircar 1990:60–61)
^ "Prior to the thirteenth century the present region was called Kāmarūpa or, alternatively, Prāgjyotiṣapur", Lahiri, Nayanjot., Pre-Ahom Assam (Delhi 1991) p. 14
^ "Ahoms also gave Assam and its language their name (Ahom and the modern ɒχɒm 'Assam' come from an attested earlier form asam, acam, probably from a Burmese corruption of the word Shan/Shyam, cf. Siam: Kakati 1962; 1-4)." (Masica 1993, p. 50)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Sircar, D C (1990), "Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa", in Barpujari, H K (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. I, Guwahati: Publication Board, Assam, pp. 59–78
^ "The Assam Tribune Online". www.assamtribune.com. from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
^ "Relics hold clue to missing history – Sunga-Kushana era terracotta artefacts may say if Guwahati existed before 7th century AD". www.telegraphindia.com. from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
^ India History Association. Session (2001), Proceedings of North East India History Association North East he came under the 'bad' influence of Banasura, ruler of Sonitapura (identified with Tezpur now under Sonitpur district in central Assam), and ended up sidelining Kamakhya in favour of Siva. Thereafter Naraka forsook the guidance
^ Barman, Bratatee (January 2020). "Archaeology of BCE 200 -CE 1200 Assam (Northeast India): Pre-literary to Historical and Early Medieval Periods". Archaeology in Northeast India Recent Trends and Future Prospects Essays Celebrating 150 Years of Research.
^ Tej Ram Sharma,1978, "Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions. (1.publ.)", Page 254, Kamarupa consisted of the Western districts of the Brahmaputra valley which being the most powerful state.
^ Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma – 2005,"Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, ... – Volume 3", Page 248, Davaka (Nowgong) and Kamarupa as separate and submissive friendly kingdoms.
^ The eastern border of Kamarupa is given by the temple of the goddess Tamreshvari (Pūrvāte Kāmarūpasya devī Dikkaravasini in Kalika Purana) near present-day Sadiya. "...the temple of the goddess Tameshwari (Dikkaravasini) is now located at modern Sadiya about 100 miles to the northeast of Sibsagar" (Sircar 1990, pp. 63–68).
^ (Baruah 1986:36)
^ Banikanta Kakati, Assamese:Its formation and development
^ "In the Battle of Itakhuli in September 1682, the Ahom forces chased the defeated Mughals nearly one hundred kilometers back to the Manas river. The Manas then became the Ahom-Mughal boundary until the British occupation." Richards, John F. (1995). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 0521566037. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
^ Roy, Tirthankar (2012). India in the World Economy: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-107-00910-3.
^ MacFarlane, Alan; MacFarlane, Iris (2003), Green Gold, The Empire of Tea, Ch. 6–11, Random House, London
^ Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 225
^ Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 199
^ Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 299
^ Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page 108
^ Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 230
^ Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 206
^ Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 320
^ Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 231
^ Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 207
^ Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 318
^ Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page 116-117
^ Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 232
^ Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page117
^ Aitchison, C. U., ed. (1931), , Calcutta: Projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu, pp. 230–233, archived from the original on 2 December 2008
^ Barpujari, H.K. (1998). North-East India, Problem Prospect and Politics. Guwahati: Spectrum Publishers. p. 41.
^ Bose, M.L. (1989). Social History of Assam. New Delhi: Ashok Kumar Mittal Concept Publishing Company. p. 91.
^ William Cooke Taylor, A Popular History of British India. p. 505
^ Nath, Sunil (2001). "The Secessionist Insurgency and the Freedom of Minds". www.satp.org. Institute for Conflict Management. from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
^ Indian Philatelists Forum (4 June 2011). "Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately: INDIAN POSTAL CIRCLES". Modernindianphilately.blogspot.in. from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
^ Bhubaneswar Bhattacharyya (1995). The troubled border: some facts about boundary disputes between Assam-Nagaland, Assam-Arunachal Pradesh, Assam-Meghalaya, and Assam-Mizoram. Lawyer's Book Stall. ISBN 9788173310997.
^ ^a ^b Hazarika, Sanjoy (2003), Strangers of the Mist, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., ISBN 0-14-024052-7
^ ^a ^b Governor of Assam (8 November 1998). "Report on Illegal Migration into Assam". from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
^ Reuters (24 May 2022). "Floods kill 25 in India's Assam, displace thousands". Reuters. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Singh, R. L. (1993), India, A Regional Geography, Varanasi, India: National Geographical Society of India
^ . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
^ . Arunachal Tourism. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
^ Purdue University. . Archived from the original on 5 June 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b . Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ Borthakur, Ahir Bhairab (15 January 2002), , Down to Earth, archived from the original on 28 September 2007
^ Birdlife International, UK. "Indo-Gangetic Grasslands" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
^ National Mission on Bamboo Applications 2004
^ Sharma, Pradip (April–June 2003), (PDF), ENVIS Assam, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, 2: 7, archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006.
^ World Heritage Centre, UNESCO. "World Heritage List". from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
^ Choudhury, A.U.(1996) Survey of the white-winged wood duck and the Bengal florican in Tinsukia district & adjacent areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India, Guwahati, India. 82pp+
^ Choudhury, A.U. (2010)The vanishing herds : the wild water buffalo. Gibbon Books, Rhino Foundation, CEPF & COA, Taiwan, Guwahati, India
^ Choudhury, A.U. (2000)The birds of Assam. Gibbon Books & WWF-India, Guwahati, India
^ Choudhury, A.U. (1990). Checklist of the birds of Assam. Sofia Press & Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Guwahati, India. 72 pp+
^ Choudhury, A.U. (1997)The check list of the mammals of Assam. Gibbon Books & ASTEC, Guwahati, India
^ ENVIS Assam (April–June 2003). (PDF). ENVIS Assam, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council. 2: 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006.
^ ^a ^b NEDFi & NIC-Assam. . Archived from the original on 18 April 2007.
^ Wandrey 2004, p. 17
^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b Government of Assam 2002–03. . Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
^ National Commission on Population, Census of India (2006). "Population Projections for India and States 2001–2026". from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
^ ^a ^b Government of Assam Census 2011. . Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ cdpsindia. "centre for development and peace studies". from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
^ Director of Census Operations, Census of India 2001
^ "Muslim-Bodo mistrust exists for many decades". The Times of India. 24 July 2012. from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
^ "Assam govt mulls arming Muslims in Bodo areas". The Times of India. 5 May 2014. from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
^ Andre, Aletta; Kumar, Abhimanyu (23 December 2016). "Protest poetry: Assam's Bengali Muslims take a stand". Aljazeera. Aljazeera. from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ "Assam violence: Four more bodies found, toll rises to 77". IBN. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
^ Harris, Gardiner (28 July 2012). "As Tensions in India Turn Deadly, Some Say Officials Ignored Warning Signs". The New York Times. from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
^ Taher, Mohammad (1993) The Peopling of Assam and contemporary social structure in Ahmad, Aijazuddin (ed) Social Structure and Regional Development, Rawat Publications, New Delhi
^ ^a ^b . Census of India, 2012. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
^ . 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
^ "India's religions by numbers". The Hindu. 26 August 2015. from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ Deka, Kaustubh (12 May 2014). "Bodos and their rights". The Hindu. from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
^ "Muslim majority districts in Assam up". The Times of India. from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^ "Assam Muslim growth is higher in districts away from border". 31 August 2015. from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^ "Census 2011 data rekindles 'demographic invasion' fear in Assam". 26 August 2015. from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^ "Distribution of the 22 scheduled languages-India/States/Union Territories - 2011 census" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ "Sylheti". Ethnologue. from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
^ ^a ^b Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. "C-17 POPULATION BY BILINGUALISM AND TRILINGUALISM". Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ "Axomiya is the major language spoken in Assam, and serves almost as a lingua franca among the different speech communities in the whole area." (Goswami 2003:394)
^ "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ "Assamese".
^ "Assam Assembly Elections 2016: Assamese are minority, Muslims are largest electoral group in this poll battle!". 8 April 2016.
^ "Assamese speakers in Assam: An insecure future?". 10 April 2021.
^ "Assamese language: Asam Sahitya Sabha gives government two-month ultimatum on use of Assamese | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ "Sabha, Ajmal prod on Assamese".
^ "Take action against 'Chalo Paltai' propagators, Sabha tells government | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ ""Indigenous Muslims Agreed on Checking Population": Assam Chief Minister".
^ "Declare Assamese our mother tongue | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ Saikia, Arunabh. "A new generation of 'Miya' Muslims in Assam may vote for Congress-AIUDF – but only out of compulsion". Scroll.in. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^ X, Samrat. "National Register of Citizens: Identity issue haunts Assam, again". Newslaundry. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^ "The Economic Basis of Assam's Linguistic Politics and Anti-Immigrant Movements".
^ "Reference at www.thenewsweb.in". April 2021.
^ "Help Hindu Bengalis in Assam to save them from becoming refugee again | Milaap".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Reference at censusindia.gov.in".
^ "Battleground Assam a tale of two valleys and the CAA quandary Assam bengal polls 2021 | Opinion News – India TV". 18 February 2021.
^ Das, Ankur; Deka, Tusmita. "The Allophonic Variation of the Assamese voiceless velar fricative /x/". 13th Annual Conference of South Asian Languages (ICOSAL13).
^ "Assamese". www.languagesgulper.com. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
^ Morey, Stephen. 2005. The Tai languages of Assam: a grammar and texts. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
^ "North by Northeast: What explains BJP's stunning win in Assam?". 22 May 2016. from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "Govt announces 5 new districts". Assam Times. 15 August 2015. from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Revenue Department, Government of Assam
^ "Assam: Majuli becomes 1st river island district of India". Hindustan Times. Guwahati. 27 June 2016. from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
^ Desk, Sentinel Digital (13 January 2021). "'Bajali' Becomes the 34th Full-Fledged District of Assam". www.sentinelassam.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
^ Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Government of Assam. . Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2006.
^ "GMC Portal". from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ Sharma, Anil Kumar (1 January 2007). Quit India Movement in Assam. Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788183242424. from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.
^ Saikia, Dr Jugal (8 April 2016). Economics of Informal Milk Producing Units in Assam. Notion Press. ISBN 9789352069385. from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.
^ "History – GMC Portal". from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "Municipal Board". from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "Municipal Board-About Us". from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "Dhubri Municipal Board". from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
^ . Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
^ . Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
^ . Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "AGP lists civic poll candidates". from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ . Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Total seven inter-state border disputes in country; Assam has dispute with four states: Govt | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ Deb, Debraj (5 August 2021). "Explained: Why did a 150-year-old Assam-Mizoram dispute get violent now?". The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Assam Nagaland border dispute: Assam signs agreement with Nagaland to diffuse stand-off on eastern front | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ "Border dispute with Arunachal at 1,200 places: Himanta Biswa Sarma". The Hindu. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "The Hindu : Assam: accord and discord". Hinduonnet.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
^ "Memorandum of Settlement on Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)". Satp.org. 10 February 2003. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
^ . The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 June 2005. Archived from the original on 15 June 2005.
^ Dharamsing Teron, "Opium Curse – A Forgotten Chapter", unpublished.
^ J. I. Kathar (IAS Retd), "1971 Aningkan Kilik Kehai Un:e....", Thekar (5 February 2013); available from . Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ "Home | Karimganj District | Government Of Assam, India".
^ "Bangla Language - Banglapedia".
^ Majumdar, Paramananda (2006). "Introduction of the Bengali Language in 19". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 67: 787–792. JSTOR 44147998.
^ "Welcome to Jamia Millia Islamia - A Central University". › uploadPDF The Bengalis of Assam - Jamia Millia Islamia
^ ^a ^b ^c Baruah, Professor of Political Studies Sanjib; Baruah, Sanjib (29 June 1999). India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8122-3491-6.
^ "Assam NRC LIVE: Not Hindus or Muslims, But Bengalis Being Targeted, Says Mamata". News18. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Exclusion of Hindu Bengalis from Assam NRC changing political". Business Standard. PTI. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "What the NRC reveals about the challenges of being Bengali in Assam". Hindustan Times. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ Daniyal, Shoaib (31 July 2018). "'An expel Bengalis campaign': Opposing NRC in Assam, Mamata makes her strongest identity pitch yet". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "One moment, please..."
^ Mazumder, Prasanta (12 July 2018). "Statehood demand grows louder in Assam's Barak Valley". New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Barak organization demands creation of separate state - Sentinelassam". The Sentinel. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Give up separate Barak state demand: Sonowal to Dutta Roy". Northeast Now. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ Saikia, Arunabh (29 December 2017). "A tale of two valleys: What's behind the demand for a separate Union Territory in southern Assam?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Statehood sought for Assam's Barak Valley". The Hindu. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ Saha, Abhishek; Agarwala, Tora (25 August 2019). "Deadline approaching: What it is to be a name on NRC list — or off it". The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.
^ "iussp2005". › ...PDF The Brahmaputra valley of India can be compared only with the Indus ...
^ "iussp2005". iussp2005.princeton.edu. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^ "Adelaide Research & Scholarship: Home". digital.library.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^ "Bangladeshi people come to Assam regularly: National Hindu Mahasabha - Pratidin Time". Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "No Hindus will be left in Bangladesh after 30 years: professor". The Hindu. PTI. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Illegal immigration from Bangladesh a national problem". India Today. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ . Hindustan Times. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Illegal Migration into Assam". www.satp.org. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Illegal Migration into Assam". www.satp.org. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
^ "Martyrs of Assam Agitation | Implementation of Assam Accord | Government of Assam, India". assamaccord.assam.gov.in. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
^ "Assam: Prafulla Mahanta not to campaign for AGP to protest alliance with BJP". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
^ . 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
^ "The National Register of Citizens and India's commitment deficit to international law". LSE Human Rights. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
^ "Leave in 15 days, BJP MPs tell illegal immigrants in Assam". Firstpost. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Assam NRC: What next for 1.9 million 'stateless' Indians?". BBC News. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
^ "India leaves nearly two million people off citizens' list, fate..." Reuters. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti". The Economic Times. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ Saikia, Arunabh (30 August 2020). "Bengali Hindus in this Assam village live the anxious life of 'NRC rejects'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ Tewari, Ruhi (5 September 2019). "Bengali Hindus in Assam look at Citizenship Bill to get out of NRC mess". ThePrint. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ "Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis". Deccan Herald. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated - India News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ Hazarika, Mytithili (12 February 2020). "BJP wants to segregate Assamese Muslims from Bangladeshi Muslims, but some ask how". The Print. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
^ PTI (10 February 2020). "Assam plans survey to identify indigenous Muslim population". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
^ "Online census of Assamese Muslims launched". The Hindu. 15 April 2021.
^ "Hari Shankar Brahma report reveals illegal Bangladeshis dominates 15 out of 33 Assam districts, massive threats to indigenous people | Indiablooms - First Portal on Digital News Management".
^ "Muslim majority districts in Assam up | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
^ "Assam Elections 2021 | How Muslims of the State, One-third of Electorate, Voted in 2016 and 2019".
^ "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Flood situation in Assam worsens". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.^{[dead link]}
^ "Poor infrastructure, stringent policies bottleneck for Assam's growth". The Economic Times. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ "Panel for study of unemployment problem in Assam". Zee News. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ Thakur, Shivasish (17 October 2013). . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ . The Assam Tribune. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ "Don Bosco University – Azara – Guwahati – Welcome to Don Bosco University". Dbuniversity.ac.in. from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ "Assam Down Town University". adtu.in. from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ . Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^ "Assam Women's University". Assam Women's University. from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^ . bodolanduniversity.org.in. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ "Dibrugarh University". Dibrugarh University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^ "Gauhati University". Gauhati University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^ "Kaziranga University". kazirangauniversity.in. from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ "National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam". National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam.
^ "Tezpur University". Tezpur University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^ "National Institute of Technology, Silchar". from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^ "Assam Engineering College".
^ "Central Institute of Technology".
^ "Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management & Technology". from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ "Indian Institute of Technology".
^ "Jorhat Engineering College".
^ "National Research Centre on Pig, (ICAR) in Guwahati". from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
^ Indian Tea Association. . Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ U.S. Energy Information Administration. "India – Analysis". from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Government of Assam. . Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
^ Government of Assam. . Economic Survey of Assam 2001–2002 in Assam Human Development Report, 2003. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
^ National Commission for Women 2004
^ ^a ^b UNDP 2004, pp. 22–23
^ UNDP 2004, p. 22
^ ^a ^b Government of Assam (2006). "Economic Survey of Assam 2004–2005 in NEDFi, Assam Profile, NER Databank". from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c UNDP 2004, pp. 24–25
^ "Poor infrastructure, stringent policies bottleneck for Assam's growth". The Economic Times. 9 July 2015. from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Panel for study of unemployment problem in Assam". Zee News. 26 October 2012. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ . The Assam Tribune. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ . The Assam Tribune. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Centre taking steps to check illegal immigration into Assam". The Economic Times. 5 August 2015. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Soon blueprint to deport illegal Bangladeshis in Assam". Hindustan Times. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Illegal immigration from Bangladesh a national problem". India Today. 4 June 2014. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Leave in 15 days, BJP MPs tell illegal immigrants in Assam". Firstpost. 2 June 2014. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ Government of Assam. . p. 32. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b UNDP 2004, p. 33
^ FAO Statistics Division, 2007, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2006.
^ Assam Small Farmers' Agri-business Consortium. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2006.
^ UNDP 2004, p. 37
^ "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
^ "Flood situation in Assam worsens". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.^{[dead link]}
^ "National Handloom Day 2022: How self-help groups sustain Indian handicrafts and handlooms". The Indian Express. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
^ . Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ . Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ List of busiest airports in India by passenger traffic
^ . Guwahati Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013.
^ "Guwahati". IndiaUnveiled. from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ . Dibrugarh Municipal Board. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014.
^ "Dibrugarh". IndiaUnveiled. from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "New Delhi Dibrugarh Trains". Indiarailinfo. from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "Trains from Dibrugarh". Indiarailinfo. from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "ADB $200 Million Loan to Upgrade Services in Key Cities of India's Assam State". Asian Development Bank. 3 October 2011. from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
^ . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ Government of Assam (18 February 2007). . Government of Assam. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
^ "Assamco". assamco.com. from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ . Investinassam.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
^ "Assam Economy – Economy of Assam, Business & Economy of Assam India". iloveindia.com. from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
^ Kakati, Banikanta (1962), Assamese, Its Formation and Development, 2nd edition, Guwahati, India: Lawyer's Book Stall
^ "Bihu – Its Myriad Colours". NORTHEAST NOW. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
^ "Beshoma: The 'Rongali Bihu' of Deshi Muslims | The Thumb Print - A magazine from the East". Retrieved 8 September 2019.
^ "Dances of Assam – Folk Dances of Assam, Traditional Dances of Assam". www.bharatonline.com. from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ "khorisa turns natural preservative". from the original on 11 April 2019.
^ "Portrait of a poet as an artist". The Telegraph. 13 October 2003.
^ Paniker, K. Ayyappa (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 9788126003655.

January 13, 2023

[1] "State Symbols | Assam State Portal". Assam.gov.in. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

[2] Steinberg, S. (2016). The Statesman's Year-Book 1964–65: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. Springer. p. 412. ISBN 978-0-230-27093-0.

[nie-Mukhi-3] "Jagdish Mukhi: Few facts about Assam's new Governor". The New Indian Express. 30 September 2017. from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

[Assam_Budget_2021-4] "Assam Budget 2021". 16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.

[nclmanurep2010-5] (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. pp. 58–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2016.

[BodoOff-6] PTI (30 December 2020). "Assam Assembly Accords Associate Official Language Status To Bodo". NDTV. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

[BnOff-7] "Govt withdraws Assamese as official language from Barak valley". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2018.

[GlobalDataLab-8] "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

[pc-census2011-9] (PDF). planningcommission.gov.in. Planning Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.

[10] "Assam Legislative Assembly - History". from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.

[11] "Assam". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[12] . Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020.

[13] "Here is India's oil story". The Financial Express. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2019.

[14] Besatia in the Schoff translation and also sometimes used by Ptolemy, they are a people similar to Kirradai and they lived in the region between "Assam and Sichuan" (Casson 1989, pp. 241–243)

[15] "The Periplus of the Erythraen Sea (last quarter of the first century A.D) and Ptolemy's Geography (middle of the second century A.D) appear to call the land including Assam Kirrhadia after its Kirata population." (Sircar 1990:60–61)

[16] "Prior to the thirteenth century the present region was called Kāmarūpa or, alternatively, Prāgjyotiṣapur", Lahiri, Nayanjot., Pre-Ahom Assam (Delhi 1991) p. 14

[17] "Ahoms also gave Assam and its language their name (Ahom and the modern ɒχɒm 'Assam' come from an attested earlier form asam, acam, probably from a Burmese corruption of the word Shan/Shyam, cf. Siam: Kakati 1962; 1-4)." (Masica 1993, p. 50)

[HKBarpujariCHOA-18] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Sircar, D C (1990), "Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa", in Barpujari, H K (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. I, Guwahati: Publication Board, Assam, pp. 59–78

[19] "The Assam Tribune Online". www.assamtribune.com. from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.

[20] "Relics hold clue to missing history – Sunga-Kushana era terracotta artefacts may say if Guwahati existed before 7th century AD". www.telegraphindia.com. from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.

[21] India History Association. Session (2001), Proceedings of North East India History Association North East he came under the 'bad' influence of Banasura, ruler of Sonitapura (identified with Tezpur now under Sonitpur district in central Assam), and ended up sidelining Kamakhya in favour of Siva. Thereafter Naraka forsook the guidance

[22] Barman, Bratatee (January 2020). "Archaeology of BCE 200 -CE 1200 Assam (Northeast India): Pre-literary to Historical and Early Medieval Periods". Archaeology in Northeast India Recent Trends and Future Prospects Essays Celebrating 150 Years of Research.

[23] Tej Ram Sharma,1978, "Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions. (1.publ.)", Page 254, Kamarupa consisted of the Western districts of the Brahmaputra valley which being the most powerful state.

[24] Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma – 2005,"Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, ... – Volume 3", Page 248, Davaka (Nowgong) and Kamarupa as separate and submissive friendly kingdoms.

[25] The eastern border of Kamarupa is given by the temple of the goddess Tamreshvari (Pūrvāte Kāmarūpasya devī Dikkaravasini in Kalika Purana) near present-day Sadiya. "...the temple of the goddess Tameshwari (Dikkaravasini) is now located at modern Sadiya about 100 miles to the northeast of Sibsagar" (Sircar 1990, pp. 63–68).

[26] (Baruah 1986:36)

[27] Banikanta Kakati, Assamese:Its formation and development

[28] "In the Battle of Itakhuli in September 1682, the Ahom forces chased the defeated Mughals nearly one hundred kilometers back to the Manas river. The Manas then became the Ahom-Mughal boundary until the British occupation." Richards, John F. (1995). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 0521566037. Retrieved 26 January 2013.

[Roy-29] Roy, Tirthankar (2012). India in the World Economy: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-107-00910-3.

[30] MacFarlane, Alan; MacFarlane, Iris (2003), Green Gold, The Empire of Tea, Ch. 6–11, Random House, London

[31] Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 225

[32] Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 199

[33] Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 299

[34] Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page 108

[35] Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 230

[36] Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 206

[37] Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 320

[38] Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 231

[39] Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681–1826) 1968 page 207

[40] Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 page 318

[41] Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page 116-117

[42] Gait E.A. A History of Assam 1926 Calcutta and Shimla Thacker & Co page 232

[43] Barua Gunaviram Assam Buranji or A History of Assam 2008 page117

[44] Aitchison, C. U., ed. (1931), , Calcutta: Projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu, pp. 230–233, archived from the original on 2 December 2008

[45] Barpujari, H.K. (1998). North-East India, Problem Prospect and Politics. Guwahati: Spectrum Publishers. p. 41.

[46] Bose, M.L. (1989). Social History of Assam. New Delhi: Ashok Kumar Mittal Concept Publishing Company. p. 91.

[47] William Cooke Taylor, A Popular History of British India. p. 505

[48] Nath, Sunil (2001). "The Secessionist Insurgency and the Freedom of Minds". www.satp.org. Institute for Conflict Management. from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2014.

[49] Indian Philatelists Forum (4 June 2011). "Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately: INDIAN POSTAL CIRCLES". Modernindianphilately.blogspot.in. from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.

[Bhattacharyya1995-50] Bhubaneswar Bhattacharyya (1995). The troubled border: some facts about boundary disputes between Assam-Nagaland, Assam-Arunachal Pradesh, Assam-Meghalaya, and Assam-Mizoram. Lawyer's Book Stall. ISBN 9788173310997.

[Hazarika-51] Hazarika, Sanjoy (2003), Strangers of the Mist, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., ISBN 0-14-024052-7

[SinhaSKillmig-52] Governor of Assam (8 November 1998). "Report on Illegal Migration into Assam". from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.

[53] Reuters (24 May 2022). "Floods kill 25 in India's Assam, displace thousands". Reuters. Retrieved 3 June 2022.

[RLSinghIndia-54] Singh, R. L. (1993), India, A Regional Geography, Varanasi, India: National Geographical Society of India

[55] . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

[56] . Arunachal Tourism. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

[57] Purdue University. . Archived from the original on 5 June 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007.

[Assam_Flood_Toll_Rises_to_13-58] "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[Flood_situation_in_Assam_worsens-59] . Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[60] Borthakur, Ahir Bhairab (15 January 2002), , Down to Earth, archived from the original on 28 September 2007

[61] Birdlife International, UK. "Indo-Gangetic Grasslands" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.

[62] National Mission on Bamboo Applications 2004

[63] Sharma, Pradip (April–June 2003), (PDF), ENVIS Assam, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, 2: 7, archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006.

[64] World Heritage Centre, UNESCO. "World Heritage List". from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2007.

[65] Choudhury, A.U.(1996) Survey of the white-winged wood duck and the Bengal florican in Tinsukia district & adjacent areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India, Guwahati, India. 82pp+

[66] Choudhury, A.U. (2010)The vanishing herds : the wild water buffalo. Gibbon Books, Rhino Foundation, CEPF & COA, Taiwan, Guwahati, India

[67] Choudhury, A.U. (2000)The birds of Assam. Gibbon Books & WWF-India, Guwahati, India

[68] Choudhury, A.U. (1990). Checklist of the birds of Assam. Sofia Press & Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Guwahati, India. 72 pp+

[69] Choudhury, A.U. (1997)The check list of the mammals of Assam. Gibbon Books & ASTEC, Guwahati, India

[70] ENVIS Assam (April–June 2003). (PDF). ENVIS Assam, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council. 2: 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006.

[NEDFiNICminerals-71] NEDFi & NIC-Assam. . Archived from the original on 18 April 2007.

[72] Wandrey 2004, p. 17

[73] "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 12 January 2020.

[GoAStats-74] Government of Assam 2002–03. . Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.

[75] National Commission on Population, Census of India (2006). "Population Projections for India and States 2001–2026". from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.

[AsCensus-76] Government of Assam Census 2011. . Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.

[77] sindia. "centre for development and peace studies". from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.

[78] Director of Census Operations, Census of India 2001

[79] "Muslim-Bodo mistrust exists for many decades". The Times of India. 24 July 2012. from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014.

[80] "Assam govt mulls arming Muslims in Bodo areas". The Times of India. 5 May 2014. from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.

[81] Andre, Aletta; Kumar, Abhimanyu (23 December 2016). "Protest poetry: Assam's Bengali Muslims take a stand". Aljazeera. Aljazeera. from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.

[IBNLive-82] "Assam violence: Four more bodies found, toll rises to 77". IBN. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.

[83] Harris, Gardiner (28 July 2012). "As Tensions in India Turn Deadly, Some Say Officials Ignored Warning Signs". The New York Times. from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.

[84] Taher, Mohammad (1993) The Peopling of Assam and contemporary social structure in Ahmad, Aijazuddin (ed) Social Structure and Regional Development, Rawat Publications, New Delhi

[census2011-85] . Census of India, 2012. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.

[86] . 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.

[87] "India's religions by numbers". The Hindu. 26 August 2015. from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[88] Deka, Kaustubh (12 May 2014). "Bodos and their rights". The Hindu. from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

[89] "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".

[90] "Muslim majority districts in Assam up". The Times of India. from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.

[91] "Assam Muslim growth is higher in districts away from border". 31 August 2015. from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.

[92] "Census 2011 data rekindles 'demographic invasion' fear in Assam". 26 August 2015. from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.

[93] "Distribution of the 22 scheduled languages-India/States/Union Territories - 2011 census" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[94] "Sylheti". Ethnologue. from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.

[95] "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".

[Government_of_India-96] Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. "C-17 POPULATION BY BILINGUALISM AND TRILINGUALISM". Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[97] "Axomiya is the major language spoken in Assam, and serves almost as a lingua franca among the different speech communities in the whole area." (Goswami 2003:394)

[2011census-98] "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[99] "Assamese".

[100] "Assam Assembly Elections 2016: Assamese are minority, Muslims are largest electoral group in this poll battle!". 8 April 2016.

[101] "Assamese speakers in Assam: An insecure future?". 10 April 2021.

[102] "Assamese language: Asam Sahitya Sabha gives government two-month ultimatum on use of Assamese | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[103] "Sabha, Ajmal prod on Assamese".

[104] "Take action against 'Chalo Paltai' propagators, Sabha tells government | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[105] ""Indigenous Muslims Agreed on Checking Population": Assam Chief Minister".

[106] "Declare Assamese our mother tongue | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[107] Saikia, Arunabh. "A new generation of 'Miya' Muslims in Assam may vote for Congress-AIUDF – but only out of compulsion". Scroll.in. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

[108] X, Samrat. "National Register of Citizens: Identity issue haunts Assam, again". Newslaundry. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

[109] "The Economic Basis of Assam's Linguistic Politics and Anti-Immigrant Movements".

[110] "Reference at www.thenewsweb.in". April 2021.

[111] "Help Hindu Bengalis in Assam to save them from becoming refugee again | Milaap".

[censusindia.gov.in-112] "Reference at censusindia.gov.in".

[113] "Battleground Assam a tale of two valleys and the CAA quandary Assam bengal polls 2021 | Opinion News – India TV". 18 February 2021.

[114] Das, Ankur; Deka, Tusmita. "The Allophonic Variation of the Assamese voiceless velar fricative /x/". 13th Annual Conference of South Asian Languages (ICOSAL13).

[115] "Assamese". www.languagesgulper.com. Retrieved 21 July 2019.

[Morey-116] Morey, Stephen. 2005. The Tai languages of Assam: a grammar and texts. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

[117] "North by Northeast: What explains BJP's stunning win in Assam?". 22 May 2016. from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[new_districts-118] "Govt announces 5 new districts". Assam Times. 15 August 2015. from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.

[RDGoA-119] Revenue Department, Government of Assam

[120] "Assam: Majuli becomes 1st river island district of India". Hindustan Times. Guwahati. 27 June 2016. from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.

[121] Desk, Sentinel Digital (13 January 2021). "'Bajali' Becomes the 34th Full-Fledged District of Assam". www.sentinelassam.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.

[DIPRGoA-122] Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Government of Assam. . Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2006.

[123] "GMC Portal". from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[124] Sharma, Anil Kumar (1 January 2007). Quit India Movement in Assam. Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788183242424. from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.

[125] Saikia, Dr Jugal (8 April 2016). Economics of Informal Milk Producing Units in Assam. Notion Press. ISBN 9789352069385. from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016 – via Google Books.

[126] "History – GMC Portal". from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[127] "Municipal Board". from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[128] "Municipal Board-About Us". from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[129] "Dhubri Municipal Board". from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.

[130] . Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2016.

[131] . Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.

[132] . Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[133] "AGP lists civic poll candidates". from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[134] . Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[m.timesofindia.com-135] "Total seven inter-state border disputes in country; Assam has dispute with four states: Govt | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[136] Deb, Debraj (5 August 2021). "Explained: Why did a 150-year-old Assam-Mizoram dispute get violent now?". The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[137] "Assam Nagaland border dispute: Assam signs agreement with Nagaland to diffuse stand-off on eastern front | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[138] "Border dispute with Arunachal at 1,200 places: Himanta Biswa Sarma". The Hindu. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[139] "The Hindu : Assam: accord and discord". Hinduonnet.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.

[140] "Memorandum of Settlement on Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)". Satp.org. 10 February 2003. Retrieved 4 March 2012.

[141] . The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 June 2005. Archived from the original on 15 June 2005.

[142] Dharamsing Teron, "Opium Curse – A Forgotten Chapter", unpublished.

[143] J. I. Kathar (IAS Retd), "1971 Aningkan Kilik Kehai Un:e....", Thekar (5 February 2013); available from . Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

[144] "Home | Karimganj District | Government Of Assam, India".

[145] "Bangla Language - Banglapedia".

[146] Majumdar, Paramananda (2006). "Introduction of the Bengali Language in 19". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 67: 787–792. JSTOR 44147998.

[147] "Welcome to Jamia Millia Islamia - A Central University". › uploadPDF The Bengalis of Assam - Jamia Millia Islamia

[Cachar-148] Baruah, Professor of Political Studies Sanjib; Baruah, Sanjib (29 June 1999). India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8122-3491-6.

[149] "Assam NRC LIVE: Not Hindus or Muslims, But Bengalis Being Targeted, Says Mamata". News18. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[150] "Exclusion of Hindu Bengalis from Assam NRC changing political". Business Standard. PTI. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[151] "What the NRC reveals about the challenges of being Bengali in Assam". Hindustan Times. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[152] Daniyal, Shoaib (31 July 2018). "'An expel Bengalis campaign': Opposing NRC in Assam, Mamata makes her strongest identity pitch yet". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[153] "One moment, please..."

[154] Mazumder, Prasanta (12 July 2018). "Statehood demand grows louder in Assam's Barak Valley". New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[155] "Barak organization demands creation of separate state - Sentinelassam". The Sentinel. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[156] "Give up separate Barak state demand: Sonowal to Dutta Roy". Northeast Now. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[157] Saikia, Arunabh (29 December 2017). "A tale of two valleys: What's behind the demand for a separate Union Territory in southern Assam?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[158] "Statehood sought for Assam's Barak Valley". The Hindu. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[159] Saha, Abhishek; Agarwala, Tora (25 August 2019). "Deadline approaching: What it is to be a name on NRC list — or off it". The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[160] India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.

[161] "iussp2005". › ...PDF The Brahmaputra valley of India can be compared only with the Indus ...

[162] "iussp2005". iussp2005.princeton.edu. Retrieved 22 April 2021.

[163] "Adelaide Research & Scholarship: Home". digital.library.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2021.

[164] "Bangladeshi people come to Assam regularly: National Hindu Mahasabha - Pratidin Time". Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[165] "No Hindus will be left in Bangladesh after 30 years: professor". The Hindu. PTI. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[166] "Illegal immigration from Bangladesh a national problem". India Today. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[167] . Hindustan Times. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[168] "Illegal Migration into Assam". www.satp.org. Retrieved 9 September 2019.

[Illegal_Migration_into_Assam-169] "Illegal Migration into Assam". www.satp.org. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

[170] "Martyrs of Assam Agitation | Implementation of Assam Accord | Government of Assam, India". assamaccord.assam.gov.in. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

[171] "Assam: Prafulla Mahanta not to campaign for AGP to protest alliance with BJP". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

[172] . 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

[173] "The National Register of Citizens and India's commitment deficit to international law". LSE Human Rights. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.

[174] "Leave in 15 days, BJP MPs tell illegal immigrants in Assam". Firstpost. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[175] "Assam NRC: What next for 1.9 million 'stateless' Indians?". BBC News. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2020.

[176] "India leaves nearly two million people off citizens' list, fate..." Reuters. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[177] "20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti". The Economic Times. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[178] Saikia, Arunabh (30 August 2020). "Bengali Hindus in this Assam village live the anxious life of 'NRC rejects'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[179] Tewari, Ruhi (5 September 2019). "Bengali Hindus in Assam look at Citizenship Bill to get out of NRC mess". ThePrint. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[180] "Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis". Deccan Herald. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[FP-181] "Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated - India News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[182] Hazarika, Mytithili (12 February 2020). "BJP wants to segregate Assamese Muslims from Bangladeshi Muslims, but some ask how". The Print. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

[183] PTI (10 February 2020). "Assam plans survey to identify indigenous Muslim population". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 November 2020.

[184] "Online census of Assamese Muslims launched". The Hindu. 15 April 2021.

[185] "Hari Shankar Brahma report reveals illegal Bangladeshis dominates 15 out of 33 Assam districts, massive threats to indigenous people | Indiablooms - First Portal on Digital News Management".

[186] "Muslim majority districts in Assam up | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.

[187] "Assam Elections 2021 | How Muslims of the State, One-third of Electorate, Voted in 2016 and 2019".

[188] "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[189] "Flood situation in Assam worsens". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.^{[dead link]}

[190] "Poor infrastructure, stringent policies bottleneck for Assam's growth". The Economic Times. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

[191] "Panel for study of unemployment problem in Assam". Zee News. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

[192] Thakur, Shivasish (17 October 2013). . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

[193] . The Assam Tribune. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

[194] "Don Bosco University – Azara – Guwahati – Welcome to Don Bosco University". Dbuniversity.ac.in. from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[195] "Assam Down Town University". adtu.in. from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[196] . Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[197] "Assam Women's University". Assam Women's University. from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

[198] . bodolanduniversity.org.in. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[199] "Dibrugarh University". Dibrugarh University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

[200] "Gauhati University". Gauhati University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

[201] "Kaziranga University". kazirangauniversity.in. from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[202] "National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam". National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam.

[203] "Tezpur University". Tezpur University. from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

[204] "National Institute of Technology, Silchar". from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.

[205] "Assam Engineering College".

[206] "Central Institute of Technology".

[207] "Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management & Technology". from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

[208] "Indian Institute of Technology".

[209] "Jorhat Engineering College".

[210] "National Research Centre on Pig, (ICAR) in Guwahati". from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.

[211] Indian Tea Association. . Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[212] U.S. Energy Information Administration. "India – Analysis". from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[government2005-213] Government of Assam. . Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2007.

[214] Government of Assam. . Economic Survey of Assam 2001–2002 in Assam Human Development Report, 2003. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.

[215] National Commission for Women 2004

[AHDR2003-216] UNDP 2004, pp. 22–23

[217] UNDP 2004, p. 22

[GoAESA0405-218] Government of Assam (2006). "Economic Survey of Assam 2004–2005 in NEDFi, Assam Profile, NER Databank". from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2007.

[AHDR2003II-219] UNDP 2004, pp. 24–25

[220] "Poor infrastructure, stringent policies bottleneck for Assam's growth". The Economic Times. 9 July 2015. from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[221] "Panel for study of unemployment problem in Assam". Zee News. 26 October 2012. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[222] . The Assam Tribune. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[223] . The Assam Tribune. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[224] "Centre taking steps to check illegal immigration into Assam". The Economic Times. 5 August 2015. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[225] "Soon blueprint to deport illegal Bangladeshis in Assam". Hindustan Times. 10 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[226] "Illegal immigration from Bangladesh a national problem". India Today. 4 June 2014. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[227] "Leave in 15 days, BJP MPs tell illegal immigrants in Assam". Firstpost. 2 June 2014. from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[228] Government of Assam. . p. 32. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.

[AHDR2003III-229] UNDP 2004, p. 33

[230] FAO Statistics Division, 2007, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2006.

[231] Assam Small Farmers' Agri-business Consortium. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2006.

[AHDR2003IV-232] UNDP 2004, p. 37

[Assam_Flood_Toll_Rises_to_132-233] "Assam Flood Toll Rises to 13". NDTV. 23 August 2015. from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.

[Flood_situation_in_Assam_worsens2-234] "Flood situation in Assam worsens". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.^{[dead link]}

[235] "National Handloom Day 2022: How self-help groups sustain Indian handicrafts and handlooms". The Indian Express. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

[236] . Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[237] . Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[238] List of busiest airports in India by passenger traffic

[239] . Guwahati Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013.

[240] "Guwahati". IndiaUnveiled. from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[241] . Dibrugarh Municipal Board. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014.

[242] "Dibrugarh". IndiaUnveiled. from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[243] "New Delhi Dibrugarh Trains". Indiarailinfo. from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[244] "Trains from Dibrugarh". Indiarailinfo. from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[Asian_Development_Bank-245] "ADB $200 Million Loan to Upgrade Services in Key Cities of India's Assam State". Asian Development Bank. 3 October 2011. from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.

[246] . The Assam Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

[247] Government of Assam (18 February 2007). . Government of Assam. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2010.

[248] "Assamco". assamco.com. from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[249] . Investinassam.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

[250] "Assam Economy – Economy of Assam, Business & Economy of Assam India". iloveindia.com. from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.

[BKakatiAIFD-251] Kakati, Banikanta (1962), Assamese, Its Formation and Development, 2nd edition, Guwahati, India: Lawyer's Book Stall

[252] "Bihu – Its Myriad Colours". NORTHEAST NOW. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.

[253] "Beshoma: The 'Rongali Bihu' of Deshi Muslims | The Thumb Print - A magazine from the East". Retrieved 8 September 2019.

[254] "Dances of Assam – Folk Dances of Assam, Traditional Dances of Assam". www.bharatonline.com. from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

[255] "khorisa turns natural preservative". from the original on 11 April 2019.

[256] "Portrait of a poet as an artist". The Telegraph. 13 October 2003.

[257] Paniker, K. Ayyappa (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 9788126003655.

[11]

[12]

[1]

†

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

[62]

[63]

[64]

[65]

[66]

[67]

[68]

[69]

[70]

[71]

[72]

[73]

[74]

[75]

[76]

[77]

[78]

[79]

[80]

[81]

[82]

[83]

[84]

[85]

[86]

[87]

[88]

[89]

[90]

[91]

[92]

[93]

[94]

[95]

[96]

[97]

[98]

[99]