Assam

Assam is a state in northeastern India. It is one of the eight states comprising the Northeast India to which it serves as a gateway. Much of the state lies in the valley of the Brahmaputra River. Dispur is its capital city. It has an area of 78,438 sq km and population 31169272 as per census 2011. Literacy rate in the state is 73.18 %. Assamese is the principal and official language of the state. The state is noted for its production of tea.

There are 27 districts in the state.

History and Geography

The word 'Assam' as interpreted by some scholars is derived from the Sanskrit word Asoma meaning peerless or unparalleled. But the widely accepted opinion of the academic circles today is that the term has come from the original name of the Ahoms , who ruled the land for about six hundred years prior to its annexation by the British. The races like Austric, Mongolian, Dravidian and Aryan that came to this land long-long ago have contributed to its composite culture. Thus, Assam has a rich legacy of culture and civilization.

Assam was known as Pragjyotisha or the place of eastern astronomy during the epic period and later named as Kamrupa. The earliest epigraphic reference to the kingdom of Kamrupa is found in the Allahabad pillar inscription of king Samudragupta. Kamrupa is mentioned as a Pratyanta or frontier state outside the Gupta empire but with friendly and subordinate relation to it Hiuen Sang, the Chinese scholar pilgrim who visited Kamrupa in about 743 AD on an invitation of its monarch, Kumar Bhaskar Varman, left a record of the kingdom he called Kamolupa. Kamrupa also figured in the writings of the Arabian historian Alberuni in the eleventh century. Thus, from the epic period down to the twelfth century AD, the eastern frontier kingdom was known as Pragjyotisha and Kamrupa and kings called themselves ‘Lords of Pragjyotisha'.

The advent of the Ahoms across the eastern hills in 1228 AD was the turning point in Assam history. They ruled Assam nearly for six centuries. The Burmese entered through the eastern borders and overran the territory at a time when court intrigues and dissensions were sapping the vitality of the Ahom royalty. It became a British protectorate in 1826 when the Burmese ceded Assam to the British under the provision of the Treaty of Yandabo.

Assam is the sentinel of north-east India and gateway to the North-Eastern States. The State is close to India's international borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan. Assam is surrounded by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh on the north, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh on the east and Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram on the south.

There are 14 Lok Sabha and 126 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the state.

Districts

Baksa District, Barpeta District, Bongaigaon District, Cachar District, Chirang District, Darrang District, Dhemaji District, Dhubri District, Dibrugarh District, Goalpara District, Golaghat District, Hailakandi District, Jorhat District, Kamrup District, Kamrup Metropolitan District, Karbi Anglong District, Karimganj District, Kokrajhar District, Lakhimpur District, Marigaon District, Nagaon District, Nalbari District, North Cachar Hills District, Sivasagar District, Sonitpur District, Tinsukia District and Udalguri District.

Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituencies and their Vidhan Sabha Constituencies as per delimitation order of 1976

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Assam

History and Geography

Districts

Lok Sabha Parliamentary Constituencies and their Vidhan Sabha Constituencies as per delimitation order of 1976