History of Assam

Assam's history goes back to the ancient times. The base of this history can be found in Vedic literature, Tantric literature, Assamese folklore and Buddhist literature.

However, first reference of Assam is found in the epics and the religious legends. The Aryans belonging to the priestly (brahmin) and warrior classes found their way into Assam in very early times. Numerous places referred in the epics, like Mahabharata etc. are now identified with sites in this state.

Known as 'Kamarupa' or 'Pragjyotish' in the period of the Epics, Assam is inhabited by human civilisation since about 2000 BC. The people of Assam consists of the migrants from Burma and China. They settled in Assam after the mongoloid migration. Mongoloids came from Punjab through Bihar and North Bengal. Henceforth, Assam presents a blend of Mongol-Aryan culture. It is believed that, the early history of Assam belonged to be of the Varman dynasty. The reign of this dynasty extended from 400 AD to 13th century. Huien Tsang is said to have visited Assam during the rule of Kumar Bhaskar Varman in the 7th century BC. The Ahoms are said to have 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 the sections of life in Assam.

Ahom Kingdom weakened in the later part of the 18th century, due to internal conflict. 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 regained by the treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. The British then set out to organise the administration, transport and communication. Besides the various changes, the British constructed the railways; introduced of tea plantation, discovered of coal and oil etc.. All this proved fruitful to the British during the World War II. In the post Independence period 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.

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.

Paleolithic cultures: The earliest inhabitants of the region are assigned to the Middle Pleistocene period (781,000 to 126,000 years ago) in the Rongram valley of Garo Hills. The Paleolithic sites, which used handaxe-cleaver tools, have affinities to the Abbevillio-Acheulean culture. Other Paleolithic sites include those in the Daphabum area of Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh which used stone tools from metamorphic rocks. The cave-based Paleolithic sites at Khangkhui in Ukhrul, Manipur, is placed in the Late Pleistocene period.

There exists evidence of a microlithic culture in the Rongram Valley of Garo Hills that lie between the neolithic layers and virgin soil. The microliths here were made of dolerite, unlike those from the rest of India. Shreds of crude hand-made pottery indicate that the microlithic people were hunters and food-gatherers.

Neolithic cultures: Early Neolithic cultures based on the unifacially flaked hand-axe in the Garo hills have developed in line with the Hoabinhian culture, and it is conjectured that this region was the contact point for the Indian and the Southeast Asian cultures.

The Late neolithic cultures have affinities with the spread of the Mon Khmer speaking people from Malaysia and the Ayeyarwady valley and late neolithic developments in South China. Since these cultures have been dated to 4500-4000 BCE, the Assam sites are dated to approximate that period.

These neolithic sites, though widely spread, are concentrated in the hills and high grounds, due possibly to the floods. These cultures performed shifting cultivation called jhum, which is still practiced by some communities in the region. Some typical sites are Daojali Hading in North Cachar hills, Sarutaru in Kamrup district and Selbagiri in the Garo Hills.

Metal age: There exists no archaeological evidence of Copper-Bronze or Iron age culture in the region. This might seem as an impossibility given that corresponding cultures have been discovered in Bengal as well as Southeast Asia. It can only be conjectured that metal age sites in the region exist but have not yet been discovered.

Megalithic cultures: Though the metal age seems to be missing in Assam, the Iron Age Megalithic culture of South India finds an echo in the rich megalithic culture in the region, which begins to appear earlier than the first millennium BCE,[1] and which continues till today among the Khasi and the Naga people. The affinity is with Southeast Asia. The megalithic culture was the precursor of the fertility cult and the saktism and the vajrayana Buddhism that followed.