Assam – The land of blue hills, green valleys and the mighty Brahmaputra is one of the most accessible North-Eastern States of India. Guwahati (Dispur) is the capital city of Assam and is regarded as the gateway to North-East India. The State is synonymous with incredible natural beauty and greenery, rich wildlife and picturesque tea gardens. Assam has total 33 Districts: Biswanath, Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Dhubri, Dima Hassao, Dibrugarh, Dhemaji, Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Hojai, Jorhat, Karbi Anglong East, Karbi Anglong West, Karimganj, Kamrup Metro, Kamrup, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara-Mankachar, Tinsukia, Udalguri. The largest city of Assam is Guwahati and other important cities and towns are Silchar, Tezpur, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, etc.
About Assam
| Information About Assam | |
|---|---|
| Established | 26-January-1950 |
| Area | 78,438 km2 |
| Density | 400/km2 |
| Total Population (2011) | 31,205,576 |
| Males Population | 15939443 |
| Females Population | 15266133 |
| Districts | 33 |
| Capital | Dispur |
| Largest City | Guwahati |
| High Court | Gauhati High Court |
| Rivers | Brahmaputra |
| Forests & National Park | Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park |
| Languages | Assamese |
| State Animal | One horned rhinoceros |
| State Bird | White-winged wood duck |
| State Tree | Rhynchostylis retusa |
| State Flower | Dipterocarpus macrocarpus |
| Literacy Rate (2011) | 73.18% |
| Females per 1000 males | 954 |
| Lok Sabha constituencies | 14 |
| Assembly constituency | 126 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Official Website | www.assam.gov.in |
History
The name of this State “Assam” was earlier known as Kamrupa or Pragjyotishpura during the ancient times. But the name “Asham” or”Assam” was used by the Mughals and British respectively. Moreover, historians also mentioned that this region has been named after the powerful rulers “Ahoms” who ruled Assam. Assam and its adjoining areas have traces of Stone Age civilization. Moreover, Assam also has its mentioned in the Kalika Purana and Mahabharata since this is the place believed to be the land of the Asuras and demon where the legendary last King Narakasur was killed by Lord Krishna. During the ancient times Assam was ruled by the dynasties of Gupta Empire, Varmanas, Mlechchhas and Kamrupa Palas. During the medieval times it was ruled buy Ahoms, Sutiya, Koch and Kacharis but the most dominant among them was the mighty Ahoms. The Mughals could never capture Assam since they were repeatedly defeated by the Ahom rulers. Finally, during the British Rule this region went to the hands of colonial rule of British. Assam province was formed in 1912.
Geography
The geographical background of Assam consists of 6 physiographic divisions: The Northern Himalayas (Eastern Hills), The Northern Plains (Brahmaputra plain) and Deccan Plateau (Karbi Anglong). Due to the mighty Brahmaputra and Barak River, Assam is divided into two valleys- the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley. Most of the time this State has cooler climate and gets lots of rainfall and primarily Assam has the climate of tropical monsoon rainforest. Every year during the rainy season water level of Brahmaputra and other rivers goes up causing severe floods and fatalities caused by the rivers overflowing. The total area of this State is 78,438 sq. km. Assam has a rich population of various flora and fauna and its forests consists of tropical rain forests, deciduous forests, riverine grasslands, bamboo orchards and wetlands. All these are protected in form of national parks, sanctuaries and other reserved forests. The fauna of Assam consists of the incredible endangered one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, Asiatic elephants, hoolock gibbon, capped langurs, Ganges river dolphins and sharks, Burmese python, white-winged wood duck, wild water buffalo, etc.
Demographics
According to the Census 2011, Assam has a population of 31,205,576. Population of Assam increased greatly during the mid 1950’s because it saw migration of various peoples from other parts of India as well as Bangladesh (East Pakistan) migration.
Economy
Agriculture and oil are the Assam’s economic giants while more than 50 % of total tea production of India is produced by the tea gardens of Assam. Rice, Jute and tea are the main crops produced in Assam. Oil production in Assam consists of about a quarter of India’s oil reserves. Moreover Assam generates income from sectors like agriculture and farming, tea production, tourism, oil production, timber, silk production and weaving. Assam also has economic shares from its industries including Assam Oil Company Limited, Oil India, Chemical fertilizer plants, Paper mills at Jagiroad, Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. Township Area Panchgram and Jogighopa, sugar mills at Barua Bamun Gaon, Chargola, Kampur, Cement plant at Bokajan and Badarpur, cosmetics plant of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) at Doom Dooma, Herbal and Pharma plants of Emami and Patanjali. Moreover, there are other industries such as jute mill, textile and yarn mills, Assam silk and silk mills and other handicrafts industries.
Transportation
The state owned Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) operates fleet of 585 bus services within Assam and adjoining states. Deluxe buses, mini buses both AC/Non-AC ply within the city and adjoining rural areas. Cities and towns of Assam also include transportation in forms of private cabs, autos and rickshaws. In Assam there is extensive network of rails and this falls under the category of Frontier Railway zone (NFR) with its main headquarters in Maligaon (Guwahati). Moreover, NFR also has its headquarters in Alipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangiya and Tinsukia divisions. Guwahati the capital city of Assam has trains connecting Guwahati to other States of India. Since Assam is the main gateway to North-East India it also has 6 airports – Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport of Guwahati serves international destinations. Mohanbari Airport, Lilabari Airport, Salonibari Airport, Rowriah Airport and Kumbhirgram Airport serve as domestic airports.
Sports
Assam is the land known for its sports loving people where both traditional and contemporary sports are loved and played by the Assamese people here. Enthusiastic Assamese youngsters play traditional games like Dor (Running), Tarual Khel (Fencing), Kaar khel (Archery), Rosi Tona (Rope Pulling), Hatur (Swiming), Nau Khel (Boat Racing), Hoi Kobadi (Kabaddi), etc. Apart from this adventure sports like river rafting, boat racing, angling, para sailing and mountaineering are also encouraged here. Contemporary sports like cricket, football, badminton, archery, boxing and other Olympic games are played here by the youths. Assam has its own sports association which extensively works for the development sports. These are Assam Olympic Association, Guwahati Sports Association, Assam Badminton Association, JKA Shotokan Karatedo India, Assam Football Association and Assam Cricket Association. Assam also has its own cricket team and football team which are known as North East United Football Club which is owned and operated by Bollywood actor John Abraham and I-League club, Shillong Lajong. Some of the noted sports personalities of Assam are Dipankar Bhattacharjee (Badminton), Jayanta Talukdar (Archery), Shiva Thapa (Boxing), Monalisha Baruah (Table Tennis) and Holicharan Nazary (Football). Indira Gandhi Stadium and Nehru Stadium are the important stadiums in Assam located in Guwahati. Moreover, there are also other stadiums for outdoor and indoor sports located in parts of Assam.
Tourism
Assam has attracted visitors from different parts of India and also enthusiastic tourists around the world for its wildlife, cultural, and historical destinations. Some of the important destinations to spot Assam’s wildlife especially the One-horned Rhino are Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Orang National Park, Nameri National Park, Majuli, jatinga, etc. Historical and Religious destination of Assam includes the famous Shakti Peeth – Maa Khamakhya Temple, Vishnu Dol, Shiva Dol, Tezpur, Rang Ghar and Kareng Ghar of Ahoms, Mayong, Madan Kamdev, Sualkuchi, Satras and many more on the tourism list of Assam.
Culture
Assam has a rich cultural history which is hybrid and assimilated of various cultural groups. The lines kings and dynasties have enriched the rich heritage of Assam with its unique contribution and developments. A renewed Hindu culture called Vaishnava movement led by Shrimanta Shankardeva provided a new dimension to Assamese culture. This movement established social institutions like Namghars and Satras and also contributed a lot of development to language, literature, performing and fine arts. Assam celebrates various festivals and Bihu is the main festival celebrated with great enthusiasm with Bihu dance, authentic food and merriment. Assam celebrated four types of Bihu i.e. Magh, Bhogali, Rongali and Kati. Assam is also known as the land of silk and various types of silk are produced from Muga and Eri silk. Sualkuchi is known as the Silk Capital of Assam where almost every people are weavers weaving beautiful mekhela chadors, Assam silk and Muga sarees and other attires. Other traditional handicrafts produced here are Gamoocha, Japis (traditional hats), clay, wood and bamboo products. Assam is also rich in music and regional films and other performing arts. Noted personalities influencing the entertainment industry of Assam are Late Bhupen Hazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnuprasad Rabha, Parvati Prasad Baruwa, Zubeen Garg, Angaraag Mahanta, etc.
Literacy and Education
In 2011 Census, the literacy rate in the state was 73.18%. The male literacy rate was 78.81% and the female literacy rate was 67.27%. The education sector of Assam is excellent and is developing very quickly at an advanced level. Assam has various government and private schools which are administered by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) syllabuses. Assam has some of the best Universities of India namely Tezpur University (Tezpur), Gauhati University (Guwahati), Assam University (Silchar), Assam Agricultural University (Jorhat), Dibrugarh University (Dibrugarh), Indian Institute of Technology (Guwahati), Indian Statistical Institute (Tezpur), National Institute of Technology (Silchar), Silchar Medical College and Hospital (Silchar), Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (Guwahati), Assam engineering College (Guwahati), Jorhat Engineering College (Jorhat) and many more esteemed educational institutes and colleges.
Health and Health Care
Assam has some of the best hospitals in its cities of Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Dispur and Nagaon. These are International Hospital (Apollo), Nemcare Hospital, Hauhati Medical College, Shankar Netralaya, Dispur Polyclinic, East Point Hospital, J.J.Memorial Diagnostics & Hospital P Ltd, and many more advanced hospitals and clinics.
Assam Districts List
| S.N. | District Name | Code Name | Headquarter Name |
| 1 | Baksa | BK | Mushalpur |
| 2 | Barpeta | BP | Barpeta |
| 3 | Biswanath | BS | Biswanath Chariali |
| 4 | Bongaigaon | BO | Bongaigaon |
| 5 | Cachar | CA | Silchar |
| 6 | Charaideo | CD | Sonari |
| 7 | Chirang | CH | Kajalgaon |
| 8 | Darrang | DR | Mangaldai |
| 9 | Dhemaji | DM | Dhemaji |
| 10 | Dhubri | DU | Dhubri |
| 11 | Dibrugarh | DI | Dibrugarh |
| 12 | Goalpara | GP | Goalpara |
| 13 | Golaghat | GG | Golaghat |
| 14 | Hailakandi | HA | Hailakandi |
| 15 | Hojai | HJ | Sankardev Nagar |
| 16 | Jorhat | JO | Jorhat |
| 17 | Kamrup Metropolitan | KM | Guwahati |
| 18 | Kamrup | KU | Amingaon |
| 19 | Karbi Anglong | KG | Diphu |
| 20 | Karimganj | KR | Karimganj |
| 21 | Kokrajhar | KJ | Kokrajhar |
| 22 | Lakhimpur | LA | North Lakhimpur |
| 23 | Majuli | MJ | Garamur |
| 24 | Morigaon | MA | Morigaon |
| 25 | Nagaon | NN | Nagaon |
| 26 | Nalbari | NB | Nalbari |
| 27 | Dima Hasao | NC | Haflong |
| 28 | Sivasagar | SV | Sivasagar |
| 29 | Sonitpur | ST | Tezpur |
| 30 | South Salmara-Mankachar | SM | Hatsingimari |
| 31 | Tinsukia | TI | Tinsukia |
| 32 | Udalguri | UD | Udalguri |
| 33 | West Karbi Anglong | WK | Hamren |