Assam

Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. Located just below the eastern Himalayan foothills, it is surrounded by the other northeastern states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. Assam and its commercial capital Guwahati form the gateway to the northeastern states, together called the seven sisters. These states are connected to the rest of India via Assam's border with West Bengal and a narrow strip called the "Chicken's Neck." Assam shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh.

History

Pre-historic and ancient Assam

Assam and adjoining region have evidence of human settlement from all periods of the Stone Ages. That the hills settlements belonged to earlier periods suggests that the valleys were populated later.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The earliest ruler, named Naraka, mentioned in the Kalika Puran, Mahabharata and Ramayana were probably different rulers from the same dynasty. Kalika Purana, a sanskrit text compiled in Assam in the 9th and 10th century, mentions that the last of the Naraka rulers, Narakasura, was slain by Krishna. His son Bhagadatta, mentioned in the Mahabharata, fought for the Kauravas in the battle of Kurushetra with an army of kiratas, chinas and dwellers of the eastern sea. The Naraka rulers are frequently mentioned in the royal inscriptions made by later rulers.

Related Topics:
Mahabharata - Ramayana - Kalika Purana - 10th century - Krishna - Kaurava

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other rulers mentioned are the mlechchha (non-Aryan) rulers, Mahiranga (sanskritized form of the Tibeto-Burman name Mairang), Hatakasura, Sambarasura, Ratnasura and Ghatakasura.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Medieval Assam

Medieval Assam was known as Kamarupa or Kamata, and was ruled by many dynasties. Chief among them was the Varman Dynasty (350-650). During the rule of the greatest of the Varman kings, Bhaskarvarman (600-650), a contemporary of Harshavardhana of Kanauj, the Chinese traveler Xuanzang visited the region, and recorded his travels. The other dynasties that ruled the region were the Kacharis, the Chutias etc. that belonged to the Indo-Tibetan groups.

Related Topics:
Kamarupa - 350 - 650 - 600 - Harshavardhana - Xuanzang

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two later kingdoms left the biggest impact in the region. The Ahoms, a Tai group, ruled eastern Assam for nearly 600 years (1228-1826). The Koch, a Tibeto-Burmese/Dravidian group, established their sovereignty in 1510 which later extended to western Assam and northern Bengal. The Koch kingdom later split into two. The western kingdom became a vassal of the Moghuls whereas the eastern kingdom became an Ahom satellite state.

Related Topics:
Ahom - Tai - 1228 - 1826 - Koch - Tibeto-Burmese - Dravidian - 1510 - Moghul

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In spite of numerous invasions from the west, mostly by Muslim rulers, no western power could establish its rule in Assam until the advent of the British. The most successful invader was Mir Jhumla, a governor of Aurangzeb, who briefly occupied Gargaon the then capital of the Ahoms (1662-1663). He found it difficult to control the people, who carried on guerilla attacks on his forces and forced his army to leave the region. The last attempt by the Moghuls under the command of Raja Ram Singh resulted in the victory for the Ahoms at Saraighat (1671) under the Ahom general Lachit Borphukan.

Related Topics:
Aurangzeb - 1662 - 1663 - Guerilla - Saraighat - 1671 - Lachit Borphukan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

British conquest

Ahom palace intrigue (and political turmoil resulting from the Moamoria rebellion) aided

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

the expansionist Burmese ruler of Ava to invade Assam and install a puppet king in 1821. With the Burmese having reached the doorsteps of the East India Company's borders, the First Anglo-Burmese War ensued, in which Assam was one of the sectors. The war ended with the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826, and the East India Company took control of the region.

Related Topics:
1821 - East India Company's - First Anglo-Burmese War - Treaty of Yandaboo - 1826

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under British Administration, Assam was made a part of the British India province called the Bengal Presidency. Sometime about 1905-1912, Assam was separated and erected as a separate province of Assam.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the time of independence of India, it consisted of the original Ahom kingdom, the present-day Arunachal Pradesh (North East Frontier Agency), Naga Hills, original Kachari kingdom, Lushai Hills, and Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Of the Assam province on the eve of Independence, Sylhet choose to join Pakistan in a referendum; and the two princely states Manipur and Tripura became Group C provinces. The capital was Shillong.

Related Topics:
Garo - Khasi - Jaintia - Sylhet - Shillong

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Post independence

After the independence from British rule in 1947, Assam spawned four more states to become one of the seven sister states in the 1960s and 1970s. The new states were Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. The capital of Assam, which was in Shillong, had to be moved to Dispur, now a part of an expanding Guwahati.

Related Topics:
1947 - Arunachal Pradesh - Nagaland - Mizoram - Meghalaya - Shillong - Dispur - Guwahati

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1961, the Government of Assam passed a legislature making the usage of Assamese language compulsary. The legislature resulted in widespread protest across Assam. In one such incident, 11 people were killed due to police firing in Silchar in southern Assam. Coming under intense pressure, the Government withdrew the legislature.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1980s the Brahmaputra valley saw a six-year Assam Agitation that began non-violently but became increasingly violent. The movement was triggered by the discovery of a sudden rise in electorates in electoral rolls. The movement tried to force the government to identify and deport foreigners who, the natives maintained, are illegally inundating the land from neighboring Bangladesh and changing the demographics. Critics called it a xenophobic reaction of a racist people. The agitation ended after an accord between the leaders of the agitation and the Union Government. Most of the accord remains unimplemented today, a cause for a simmering discontent.

Related Topics:
Assam Agitation - Non-violently

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was followed by demands for greater autonomy especially by the Bodos in the later 1980s and 1990s. The period also saw the growth of armed secessionist groups like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The union government responded by deploying the Indian army to control the situation in November 1990, leading to claims of human rights violations. The Indian army deployment has now been institutionalized under a Unified Command. Worsening inter-ethnic relationships also marked this period.

Related Topics:
Bodo - ULFA - NDFB

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 2000s saw inter-ethnic killings, especially in the Karbi and Cachar hills (e.g the Hmar-Dimasa conflict).

Related Topics:
Hmar - Dimasa

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~