PHYSICAL FEATURES, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, ECONOMY, AGRICULTURE AND EDUCATION OF ASSAM

PHYSICAL FEATURES,  HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, ECONOMY, AGRICULTURE AND EDUCATION OF ASSAM

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Governor : Janki Ballab
 Chief Minister : Tarun Kumar Gogoi
 Capital : Dispur
 Legislature : Unicameral
 Lok Sabha seats : 14
 Judicature : Guwahati High Court
 No. of districts : 27
 Languages : Assamese, Bangla
 Dances : Bihu, Bamboo dance
 Main crops: Tea, jute, rice, cotton and
 silk
 Minerals : Petroleum
 River : Brahmaputra, Barak, Sonai
 Industries: Tea processing, oil refineries, coal, silk and plywood
 Airports : Guwahati, Tezpur and Jorhat
State Overview
PHYSICAL FEATURES
Assam can be broadly divided into three geographical units: the alluvial Brahmaputra Valley covering large parts of the state in the north, the Barak Valley in the southern part of the state, and the hilly region that separates the two valleys.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The word ‘Assam’ is derived from the Sanskrit word Asoma meaning peerless or unparalleled, also 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.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

 Assam was known as Pragjyotisha or the place of eastern astronomy during the epic period.

 Named as Kamrupa during the kingdom of Kamrupa as in the Allahabad pillar inscription of king Samudragupta.

 Hiuen Sang, the Chinese scholar pilgrim who visited Kamrupa in about 743 AD on an invitation of its monarch, Kumar Bhaskar Varman.

 1228 AD - advent of the Ahoms across the eastern hills, they ruled Assam nearly for six centuries.

 The Burmese entered through the eastern borders.

 1826 - Became a British protectorate when the Burmese ceded Assam to the British under the provision of the Treaty of Yandabo.

ECONOMY
AGRICULTURE The principal food crop is rice. Noteworthy horticulture items are orange, banana, pineapple, arecanut, coconut, guava, mango, jackfruit and citrus fruits. The State has an estimated 39.44 lakh hectares gross cropped area of which net area sown is about 27.01 lakh hectares. FORESTS Assam is known for her rich forest wealth. The total area under forests is 20.24 lakh hectares, out of which, area under reserved forests was 17.42 lakh hectares. This constitutes 22.21 per cent of the total forest area. BOUNDARIES : South: Tripura, Mizoram; South east: Manipur; North: Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh; West: West Bengal and Bangladesh; S
INDUSTRY
Tea is an important industry in the state. Presently four oil refineries have been working in the State including the one at Digboi. Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Amingaon near Guwahati is nearing completion. A Software Technology Park will be constructed at Borjhar near Guwahati. A Central Institute for Plastic Engineering Technology (CIPET) has been established at Amingaon near Guwahati. Cottage industries include handloom, sericulture, cane and bamboo articles, carpentry, brass and bell-metal crafts. Assam produces varieties of silk, Endi, Muga, Tassar, etc., Muga silk is produced only in Assam in the world.

IRRIGATION
Irrigation potential created up to 1999-2000 was about 8.98 lakh hectares of which the Irrigation Deparatment had covered an area of 4.95 lakh hectares.

EDUCATION
Prominent educational institutions are Gauhati University (Guwahati), Dibrugarh University (Dibrugarh) Tezpur University (Tezpur), Assam University (Silchar), Assam Agriculture University (Jorhat), Indian Institute of Technology (Guwahati) and National Institute of Technology (Silchar).