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Assam was known as 'Kamarupa' or 'Pragjyotish' in the period of the Epics.
Human inhabitation of this area dates backs to about 2000 BC. The population
of Assam comprises of the migrants from Burma and China. They came into
Assam after the mongoloid migration.
They came from Punjab through Bihar
and North Bengal. Thus Assam presents a fusion of Mongol-Aryan culture.
The early history of Assam is believed to be of the Varman dynasty. The
reign of this dynasty extended from 400 AD to 13th century.
The visit of Huien Tsang is said to have taken place during the 7th
century at the time of Kumar Bhaskar Varman. The Ahoms ventured into Assam
in about 1228 AD. By 15th century the kingdoms of Ahom and
Koch were established. This period witnessed a change in all walks of
life in Assam.
In the later part of the 18th century the
Ahom Kingdom was weakened due to internal strife. The Burmese ran over
the political authority in Assam thus invoking British intervention to
subdue the Burmese. After a conflict between the Burmese and the English,
peace was restored by the treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. The British then
set out to organize the administration, transport and communication. Besides
the various changes, the construction of railways; introduction of tea
plantation, discovery of coal and oil etc. proved fruitful to the British
during the World War II. After Independence of India, Assam witnessed
several separation of territories. In 1948, NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) was
separated. In 1963 Nagaland was separated. In 1972 Meghalaya and in 1987
Mizoram. |
