Assamese people might look ‘Indian’, but Assamese culture is proudly distinct: the neo-Vaishnavite faith is virtually a ‘national’ religion and the gamosa (a red-and-white embroidered scarf worn for prayer by most Assamese men) is a subtle mark of ‘national’ costume. Despite similarities between Bengali and Assamese alphabets, Assam is vehemently NOT Bengal. Indeed the influx of Bengali migrants to the state remains one of Assam’s hottest political issues. The Assamese have long bemoaned a perceived neglect and imperial attitude from Delhi for failing to stem that tide of immigration.
However, by no means all of Assam is ethnically Assamese. Before the Ahom invasions between the 13th and 15th centuries, much of today’s Assam was ruled from Dimapur (ironically now appended to Nagaland) by a Kachari-Dimasa dynasty. The Chutiaya (Deori-Bodo) kingdom was an important force further west. While this might seem of minor historical interest, the Dimasa and Bodo peoples didn’t just disappear. During the 20th century, increasing ethnic consciousness led their descendents to resent the Assamese in much the same way as the Assamese have resented Bengal and greater India. The result was a major Bodo insurgency that was only settled in 2004–05 with the creation of a partially self-governing ‘Bodoland’ in northwestern Assam. In the Cachar Hills around Haflong, the Dimasas continue a violent campaign for autonomy.
Don’t let that put you off. Assam is a delightful, hospitable and deeply civilised place that you can easily grow to love. Its national parks protect a remarkable range of wildlife. And don’t miss the delicious Assamese food: fruity, mild and finely pH-balanced using a unique banana-alkaline extract called khar.
Assam’s beautiful rice fields look their emerald best in October. However, the national parks rarely open before November and, even then, the state’s iconic rhinoceroses will remain hard to spot amid elephant-height grasses. These grasses have burnt off by February, but by that stage the plains will have turned a relatively drab brown. (Source)
Regions
Present Assam can be divided into four distinct regions. The regions and the specific tourist interests in these are:
The Upper Assam (Ujoni Oxom) Region - Kaziranga National Park, historical old capital city of Rongpur (Xiwoxagor/Sibsagar - Gaurixagor/Gaurisagar), ancient capital city and royal burial mounds at Charaideo the first capital of the Ahom rulers, Majuli - claimed to be the largest river island in the world, centre of Vaishnav monasteries and typical villages and cultural life of the Mishing ethno-cultural group, several other wildlife sanctuaries and habitats including the Joydihing rainforest and DibruSaikhowa with its population of feral horses (Brahmaputra's) close to Dibrugarh, cultural life of ethno-cultural groups such as Taiphakes, Taikhamtis, Singphos, Morans and of general Assamese population, Digboi - first Asian petroleum refinary with oil museum and the heritage wells, the WW-II famous Stillwell Road and the natural and cultural environment along it, archaeological site of Deopahar near Numaligarh refinery.
The Central Assam Hills Region (Karbi Anglong and North Cachar) - the historic Maibong, scenic Haflong, fabled Jatinga (known for the bird suicide myth), hotwater spring at Umrangshu, cultural life at the villages of Karbi, Dimasa and Tiwa ethno-cultural groups, etc.
The Southern Assam or Barak Valley Region -
The Lower Assam (Namoni Oxom) Region - the historic and the largest city Guwahati, wildlife habitats such as Manas National Park, Pobitora, Chakrasila, etc; traditional silk industry at Soalkuchi (Xuwalkuchi), bronze and bell metal industry at Sarthebari (Xorthebary), archaeological sites such as Ambari (Guwahati), Madan Kamdev, Suryapahar, Hajo, etc; cultural life at the villages of general Assamese and of Bodo, Rabha, Hajong, Garo, etc ethno-cultural groups, rafting at several rivers, the religious places such as Hajo, etc.
Cities
History of urban development goes back to almost two thousand years in the region. Existence of ancient urban areas such as Pragjyotishapura (Guwahati), Hatapesvara (Tezpur), Durjaya, etc and medieval towns such as Charaideu, Garhgaon, Rongpur, Jorhat, Khaspur, Guwahati, etc are well recorded.
Guwahati with its more than two thousand years of history is the largest urban centre and a million plus city in Assam. The city has experienced multifold growth during past three decades to grow as the primate city in the region; the city's population was approximately 0.9 million (considering Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) area) during the census of 2001.
Major urban areas are:
- Guwahati
- Dibrugarh
- Jorhat
- Silchar
- Tezpur
- Tinsukia
- Sibsagar (a.k.a. Xiwoxagor or Sivasagar)
- Nagaon
- Bongaigaon
- Digboi
Golaghat, Nalbari, Mangaldoi, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Dhubri (Dhubury), etc are other towns and district head quarters. On the other hand Duliajan, Digboi, Namrup, Moran, Bongaigaon, Numaligarh, Jogighopa, etc are major industrial towns. Currently, there are around 125 total urban centres in the state, with Rangia amongst them.
Other destinations
Assam has several attractive destinations; majority of these are National Parks, Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries, areas with archaeological interests and areas with unique cultural heritage. Moreover, as a whole, the region is covered by beautiful natural landscapes.
National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries:
Kaziranga National Park - a World Heritage Site of UNESCO is roughly a 400sq.km. wild life park is the largest habitat for one horned rhinoceros and several other unique flora and fauna. Kaziranga is a grassland situated in the central Assam region on the bank of the Brahmaputra; roughly 200km. east of Guwahati.
Manas National Park - the wildlife park is situated on the foothills of Eastern Himalayas, where the river Manah flows with picturesque turns and clean water and sandy beaches. Although Manas is primarily a tiger reserve, it possesses numerous other valuable flora and fauna; the park is situated roughly 150km west of Guwahati.
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park- is a wonderful habitat of numerous birds; there are feral horses on the islands of the Brahmaputra close to the park.
Nameri National Park - One of the most scenic national park of Assam, Nameri comes as a delight for the nature loving and bird watching traveler. The bird-life is particularly superb. Also, chances of spotting a Tiger is very high.
There are several other wildlife sanctuaries across the length and breadth of Assam.
Archaeological:
Guwahati archaeological region - Guwahati is an ancient city; there are several archaeological sites with temples, tanks, ramparts, etc. The Assam State Museum located close to historic Dighali Pukhuri (a large tank) is worth visiting.
Hajo archaeological region - the ancient city of Apunarbhaba; there are remains of several ancient temples and other structures.
Madan Kamdev - a 10th century ancient city close to Guwahati; A large site of architectural, sculptural remains with numerous objects. Excavations are still going on.
Sibsagar archaeological region - the nerve centre and the capital of the Kingdom of Assam under the Ahom Dynasty - earlier known as the city of Rongpur; the region has several palaces, temples, large tanks, ramparts, etc.
Charaideo - the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Assam with hundreds of burial mounds called Moidams for kings and nobles.
Surya Pahar Goalpara archaeological region
Tezpur archaeological region include Da Parbatia ruins and the Bamuni hills
Kapili Valley archaeological region
Dhansiri/Dhonxiri Valley archaeological region
Maibong
Heritage, Cultural and Others:
- Majuli
- Sualkuchi
- Sarthebari
- Digboi oil town
- Ledo and Stilwell Road
- Haflong and Jatinga
- Umrangshu hotwater spring
Understand
Assam and surrounding regions have to be a paradise for the nature lovers and researchers. The region's uniqe natural settings, hydro-geomorphic environment and biodiversity have no parallel in Asia. Within a eighty to hundred kilometres of journey by land, one can travel from a flat flood plain with tropical rainforests and wet paddy fields to mountainous regions of Alpine-Himalayan climatic conditions at very high altitude. Geomorphic studies conclude that the Brahmaputra, the life-line of Assam is a paleo-river; older than the Himalayas. The river with steep gorges and rapids in Arunachal Pradesh entering Assam, becomes a braided river (at times 16 km wide) and with tributaries, creates a flood plain (Brahmaputra Valley: 80-100 km wide, 1000 km long). The hills of Karbi Anglong, North Cachar and those in and close to Guwahati (also Khasi-Garo Hills) now eroded and dissected are originally parts of the South Indian Plateau system. In the south, the Barak originating in the Barail Range (Assam-Nagaland border), flows through the Cachar district with a 40-50km wide valley and confluences with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.
Climate and disasters
The region is prone to natural disasters with annual floods (in specific areas) and frequent mild earthquakes. Floods usually occur during monsoon (mid June till late August) and many a times can create trouble by destroying roads and railway linkages at places. Strong earthquakes are rare; three of these were recorded in 1869, 1897 (8.1 on the Richter scale); and in 1950 (8.6).
Cultural heritage
Assam is also a region, which can be termed as a crucible of cultures. It is a true meeting place of South Asian and South East Asian cultures, where the principal language Assamese (Oxomeeya) exhibits hybridity between Indo-Iranian, Tibeto-Burman and Tai-Kadai group of languages. Apart from the hybrid Assamese population, there are several distinct ethno-cultural groups such as Bodo, Karbi, Mishing, Dimasa, Tiwa, Rabha, Hasong, Taiphake, Taikhamti, Taiaiton, Singphow, Bru, Garo, etc with distinct languages, dialects, food habits, architecture and settlement pattern, textile design, dance, music, musical instruments, beilef, etc.
History and archaeology
State of tourism
Talk
Assamese is the principal language and the lingua-franca in the region. Assamese and Bodo are the local official languages in Assam and Bengali is also used as the same in Barak Valley. There are several other local languages such as Mishing, Karbi, Dimasa, Garo, Hmar, Bru, Taiphake, Taikhamti, etc used by the specific ethno-cultural groups in different pockets. However, most educated people speak English and Hindi with local tunes. Bengali is also spoken in many parts of Assam especially Guwahati and Silchar where Bengali community resides in large numbers. Moreover, there are also large numbers of other Indian language and dialect speakers such as Punjabi, Marwari, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, etc particularly in the urban centres.
Usually, all official signs and documents are written in both Assamese and in English, using British spelling. The Government of India establishments Indian Railways, ONGC, etc will have sign-boards in all three languages - Assamese, English and Hindi. Commercial and street signs are usually written in Assamese and English and in Bengali in Barak Valley. As English has a wider base, foreigners need not to worry about not knowing Assamese or any other local language; however, it is an additional advantage for a tourist to know few sentences of a local language.
Get in
By plane
There are good air-connectivity to Assam from the major cities in India. Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is the businest in Assam and other major airports are in Dibrugarh, and Silchar. Air India and Indian Airlines along with several other private airlines operate daily services from all the major cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc. Moreover, there are other airports in Tezpur, Jorhat, etc with less frequent flights connecting cities such as Kolkata and other cities of North East Region. Arriving by plane, however, gives a wonderful welcome aerial view of the green valley surrounded by blue hills in Assam. The major airlines operating in the region are:
- Jet Airways
- Kingfisher Airlines
- Indian Airlines
- Jetlite
- Spicejet
- Air Deccan now known as Kingfisher Red
- Indigo Airlines
By rail
Assam is also well connected through Rail Services to Indian cities. Three major routes of North East Frontier Railways (NF Railways) covers entire Assam and provides linkages to principal zones and cities in north, east and south India. Guwahati railway station is the largest in Assam and is served by direct trains from most of the major cities in India. The Rajdhani Express (fully airconditioned) from New Delhi (takes 27 hours) and Saraighat Express from Howrah in Kolkata (takes 17 hours) are the fastest ones. There are many direct trains from Delhi (including the Rajdhani Express) and Kolkata for Dibrugarh in Upper Assam. Usually, Dibrugarh is an additional nights journey (12hrs) from Guwahati.
By car
There are highways from Indian states in the west and buses run between Siliguri (to Siliguri buses are available from Kolkata, Darjeeling and Gangtok) and Guwahati; However, travelling by bus may not be comfortable in this patch and travel time is usually longer than that of trains. Road connectivity to surrounding Seven Sister States is good, however may take different durations depending on the location of the state.
Tamu in western Myanmar is connected to a reasonably good highway to Assam via Manipur; Tamu in Myanmar border is closer to Mandalay. The historic Stilwell Road between Assam-Myanmar-China from Ledo in Upper Assam to Myitkina in Myanmar and further to Kunming in China is right now not fully operationalised.
There are also roads connecting Bhutan.
Source
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