ASSAM

Lead of the Red Rives and Blue Hills

- C. JOSEPH

Assam is one of the Eight Sister States of Northeastern India. Known for its rich culture and diverse population, the culture of Assam is a fusion of Indo-Burmese, Mongolian and Aryan influence. It is bounded to the north by the kingdom of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, to the east by Nagaland and Manipur, to the south by Mizoram and Tripura, and to the west by Bangladesh and the States of Meghalaya and West Bengal.

The name Assam is derived from the word asama meaning “peerless” in the now extinct Ahom language. The neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya were once part of Assam. The capital, formerly Shillong (now the capital of Meghalaya), was shifted to Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati, in 1972. The beautiful land, known as the ‘land of red rivers and blue hills’ is a little paradise with untouched natural landscapes worth traversing for its pristine beauty

Major tribes of Assam

Ahom or Tai-Ahom: They are the admixed descendants of the Tai people who reached the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam in 1228.

Karbis: They are one of the major ethnic communities in Assam and especially in the hill areas of Assam.

Bodo-Kacharis (also Kacharis or Bodos) are an anthropological and a linguistic group living predominantly in Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Mising is an indigenous community inhabiting parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Nyishi community is the largest ethnic group and they live in the Sonitpur and North Lakhimpur districts of Assam.