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History
The first references to Assam are in the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Tantras (ancient Indian books). On a firmer historical footing, references to the kingdom, then called Kamrup, are found in archaeological remains of the Gupta Empire in north India. In the 7th century, the Chinese scholar pilgrim Huien Tsang wrote about Kamrup after he visited the court of its king, Bhaskar Barman. Kamrup also finds a mention in the 11th century writings of Al-Beruni, the Arab historian.
The Ahoms, a Shaan tribe from Myanmar, conquered the region in 1228. They embraced Hinduism and established a dynasty, which ruled for nearly six centuries. During this period they repulsed 17 invasions by the Mughals (Muslim rulers of India), thus enabling Hinduism to flourish in relative peace. The kingdom of the Ahoms reached its height under Rudra Xingha who reigned between 1696 and 1714. He established extensive trade with Tibet and built the great city of Rangpur.
Following internal dissensions and court intrigues the Ahom dynasty became weak by the turn of 18th century and was overrun by the Burmese in 1822. Fearing incursions on their own territory, the British rulers of India drove the Burmese from the Brahmaputra Valley and annexed the Ahom kingdom in 1826. By 1838, the entire northeast of India became part of the Bengal Presidency of British India.
After India’s independence from British rule, in 1947, most of the North Eastern region came under the Assam State, with some areas being centrally administered. With the passage of time, tensions between various ethnic groups came to the fore and the Union Government recognised the need to grant greater autonomy. Gradually the northeast region separated into the seven states of today. Assam is one of the ‘seven sisters’ and is the largest of all of them.
In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, there were disputes between Assamese students and the Central Government. The students led a movement demanding the interests of the natives who supported it whole-heartedly. In 1985, the Assamese and the Government of India signed a treaty to check illegal immigrant population. Asom Gana Parishad (the state’s first indigenous political party) came to power in the subsequent elections.
The 1990s were another period of strife. Demands for the independence of Assam from the centralized Indian government were made by organizations such as the militarized group called ULFA (the United Liberation Front of Assam). Many other groups, such as the Bodos (Bodoland Agitation Movement) have also demanded autonomy.
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Economy
Assam is basically an agrarian and rural economy. Its major industries are tea, exploration and refining of petroleum, cement production, handlooms and sericulture, cane and bamboo crafts. Tea is cultivated in the hill regions: Assam is India’s largest tea producer. The other major cash crop is rice, grown in the fertile well watered Brahmaputra River valley. Other agricultural products include jute, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, oranges, and potatoes.
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