Assam – History, Cultural, Geography, Economy

Assam is the gateway to North East India, a green valley state shaped by the mighty Brahmaputra River. It is famous for its tea gardens, its one horned rhinos and the joyful Bihu festival. Assam was home to the Ahom kingdom, which ruled for nearly six hundred years and held off the Mughals. This guide covers the history, geography, culture and economy of the state in plain English, with facts checked against standard references.

Our old post on this topic was written in confusing spun language, used outdated ideas about early settlers and quoted income figures from the 1990s. We have rewritten it completely.

Assam at a Glance

• Capital: Dispur, within the Guwahati metropolitan area. Dibrugarh is called the second capital.
• Largest city: Guwahati.
• Area: 78,438 square kilometres.
• Population: About 31.2 million at the 2011 census, the largest in the North East.
• Official languages: Assamese and Bodo, with Bengali used in the Barak Valley.
• Neighbours: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal, plus Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Where the Name Comes From

The exact origin of the word Assam is not clear. The British first used it in the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, and it is linked to the Ahom people, who were once called Shyam or Shan. In ancient times, the region was known as Kamarupa or Pragjyotisha.

History of Assam

Kamarupa

The region is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea in the first century and by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in the second. In the fourth century, the Allahabad pillar inscription of the Gupta emperor Samudragupta named Kamarupa and Davaka as frontier kingdoms. Kamarupa later grew into a large kingdom covering the whole Brahmaputra Valley and parts of Bengal, ruled by several dynasties until about the twelfth century.

Many Kingdoms

After Kamarupa declined, power split among several states. The Chutia kingdom ruled eastern Assam, the Kachari kingdom held the south, and the Kamata and later Koch kingdoms ruled the west. These states fought one another and also faced attacks from Bengal and, later, the Mughals.

The Ahom Kingdom

In 1228, a Tai prince named Sukaphaa crossed the Patkai hills from Mong Mao, in present day China, with about 9,000 followers. He settled at Charaideo in 1253 and founded the Ahom kingdom, which lasted until 1826. Sukaphaa ordered that events of his reign be written down, and these chronicles, called Buranjis, became a rare tradition of history writing in India. The Ahoms slowly took over the Chutia lands between 1512 and 1524 and came to rule most of the Brahmaputra Valley.

Instead of a large standing army, the Ahoms used the paik system. Adult men from ordinary families had to serve the state as soldiers or workers for about three months each year. In 1609 the system was reorganised into professional groups called khels.

Wars With the Mughals

The Mughals invaded Assam several times. In 1662, Mir Jumla even occupied the Ahom capital at Garhgaon. Nine years later, in 1671, the Ahom general Lachit Borphukan defeated a Mughal force led by Raja Ram Singh I in a river battle on the Brahmaputra at Saraighat, near today’s Guwahati. The victory pushed the Mughals west beyond the Manas River.

Decline and British Rule

The Moamoria rebellion in the late eighteenth century badly weakened the kingdom. Fights between royal claimants then invited Burmese invasions after 1817. The British drove the Burmese out in the First Anglo Burmese War, and on 24 February 1826 the Treaty of Yandabo handed Assam to the East India Company. In 1874, Assam was separated from Bengal as its own province, with Shillong later serving as its capital.

After Independence

When India became independent in 1947, most of the Sylhet district went to East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Over the following decades, several new states were carved out of Assam: Nagaland in 1963 and Meghalaya, first as an autonomous state in 1970 and then as a full state in 1972. In 1972, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram were also separated as union territories, and both later became full states.

Geography

The Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys

Assam lies south of the Eastern Himalaya. Its heartland is the long Brahmaputra Valley, while the Barak River waters the smaller Barak Valley in the south. The Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao hills lie between them. Heavy rain feeds the Brahmaputra and its many tributaries, which often flood the plains.

Majuli

Majuli, in the Brahmaputra, is the largest river island in Assam. In 2016 it became the first island in India to be made a district. It is home to Mising, Deori and Sonowal Kachari people and is a centre of Assamese Vaishnavite culture, with many monasteries called satras.

Climate

Assam has a tropical monsoon climate with heavy rainfall and high humidity. Monsoon downpours cool the summers, while winter mornings and nights are often foggy. Spring, in March and April, and autumn, in September and October, are the most pleasant seasons.

Wildlife

Assam is one of India’s richest wildlife regions. More than half of the world’s wild one horned rhinoceroses live in the state. Kaziranga and Manas national parks are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Kaziranga began as a proposed reserve forest of 232 square kilometres in 1905 and became a tiger reserve in 2006. Besides rhinos, it shelters Asian elephants, wild water buffalo, swamp deer and tigers. Yearly floods are a serious danger for the animals: in 2012, about 540 animals, including 13 rhinos, died in floods. Read more in our post on Kaziranga National Park.

Economy

Tea

Assam tea comes from a local variety of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis var. assamica. The state is the largest tea growing region in the world by production and produces more than half of India’s tea. The Scottish adventurer Robert Bruce came across the local tea plant in 1823, when Singpho people showed him how they used it. British planters then spread tea gardens across eastern Assam. Learn more in our post on the history of tea in India.

Oil

Oil is the other pillar of the economy. The Assam Arakan basin holds about a quarter of India’s oil reserves and produces about 12 percent of its petroleum. At Digboi, the first well was drilled in 1889, and a refinery opened in 1901. Digboi still has the oldest working oil well in India.

Other Sectors

Most people still depend on farming. Assam silk is famous across India. Sualkuchi, near Guwahati, is the traditional centre of silk weaving, and rural households across the Brahmaputra Valley also make silk cloth. Wildlife tourism brings visitors to Kaziranga and Manas.

Culture

Bihu

Bihu is the heart of Assamese culture and comes three times a year. Rongali or Bohag Bihu in April marks the Assamese New Year and is the most joyful. Kongali or Kati Bihu in October or November is a quiet, thrifty festival, and Bhogali or Magh Bihu in January is a harvest feast. See our post about Bihu dance.

Sattriya and Sankardev

The saint and scholar Srimanta Sankardev led a Vaishnavite movement in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that shaped Assamese religion, drama and music. The Sattriya dance, first created for his plays, was recognised as one of India’s classical dances on 15 November 2000. Read about Sattriya.

Temples and Music

The Kamakhya temple on Nilachal hill in Guwahati is one of the oldest centres of goddess worship in India and hosts the yearly Ambubachi Mela. The present structure dates from the eighth or ninth century, with many later rebuildings. Modern Assamese music owes much to artists such as Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bhupen Hazarika.

Places to Visit

• Kaziranga: Rhinos, elephants and tigers in tall grasslands.
• Majuli: River island life and Vaishnavite satras.
• Guwahati: The Kamakhya temple and the Brahmaputra riverfront.
• Charaideo: The royal burial mounds of the Ahom kings, called moidams, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 26 July 2024.
• Digboi: India’s oldest oil town.

Getting There

Guwahati is the main entry point, with the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and good rail links to the rest of India. From there, roads lead east along the Brahmaputra to Kaziranga, Jorhat for Majuli, and Sivasagar and Dibrugarh in Upper Assam.

The Dimasa Kachari kingdom survived in the south until 1854.

Many Assamese Hindus follow the Ekasarana Dharma founded by Sankardev.

What We Changed From the Old Post

We rewrote the post in plain English and expanded it with history, wildlife, culture and places to visit.

We removed outdated racial labels for early settlers, the wrong claim that the Brahmaputra makes Assam icy, unchecked landform and temperature claims, and income figures from the 1990s and 2000s. We corrected the dates for new states carved out of Assam.

We added the Ahom victory at Saraighat and the Charaideo moidams.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the capital of Assam?

Dispur, within the Guwahati area, is the capital.

Who founded the Ahom kingdom?

Sukaphaa, a Tai prince, founded it in 1228.

Why is Assam famous?

For its tea, its one horned rhinos in Kaziranga, the Bihu festival and its oil.

Who won the Battle of Saraighat?

The Ahoms under Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughals in 1671.