Assam Year book 2023: Chapter 1 note, Download PDF

The first chapter of the “Assam Year Book 2023” takes readers on a captivating journey through Assam’s diverse landscape. This chapter serves as the starting point for a year-long journey into the state’s sociocultural, economic, and political realms. It lays the groundwork for an in-depth understanding of Assam’s rich heritage, contemporary challenges, and promising prospects by combining insightful analysis and factual reporting. Please see the crisp notes of the first chapter below for a concise overview.

ASSAM

• 2nd largest after Arunachal Pradesh of the seven sisters
• Known as the land of red river and blue hills
• Area: 78,438 sq. km. (2.39% of total land area of the country)
• International boundaries extending up to nearly: 3.200 km

Origin of the name

• The word Assam is derived from the Sanskrit word Asoma, meaning “peerless or unequalled.“
• Assam was known in the epic age as “Pragjyotisa,” or the place of eastern astronomy. Also known as Kamrupa
• These names were found in “Kalika Puran” (10th century) and the “Yogini Tantra” (16th Century)
• According to historian Raj Mohan Nath, an ancient race, the Chouthius, settled in this part of India, and they came to be known as Pragjuthis. After their name, this part of India was named Pragjyotishpura.
• According to Dr. Banikanta Kakoti, in the Austric language, Pragjyotishpura meant a wide hilly terrain.
• Ahom entered the Brahmaputra valley at the beginning of the 13th century.

Location

• Latitude: 24⁰ 10^‘ N to 27⁰58^‘N
• Longitude: 89⁰49^‘ E to 97⁰26^‘ E
• The state Assam lies between the foothills of eastern Himalaya and the Patkai and Naga Ranges

Boundaries

• North: Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh
• East: Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh
• South: Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya
• West: West Bengal, Bangladesh and Meghalaya
• Assam is connected with the rest of the Indian Union by a narrow corridor (called the chicken’s neck or bottle neck) in west Bengal that runs for 56km below the foothills of Bhutan and Sikkim.

Physiography

Assam, as it is today, may be divided into three important physical regions:

1. Brahmaputra valley
2. Barak or Surama valley and
3. The hilly areas of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hill districts

Brahmaputra Valley

This almond-shaped alluvial valley commands the lion’s share of the state. The length and breadth of this valley are 725 km and 80–100 km, respectively.

Barak Valley:

The second natural division of Assam is the Barak or Surama Valley, which is surrounded by North Cachar, Manipur, and Mizoram. This valley is dominated by the Barak River. It flows through the valley and finally empties itself into the old bed of the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.

Karbi Hills and the North Cachar Hills

The two valleys are separated by a long range of hills. The Karbi Hills and the North Cachar Hills are located in the south of the Brahmaputra valley. Karbi Hills are part of the Meghalaya plateau. These hills are dotted with plain areas. The average height of this plateau is 600 metres, with occasional peaks like Dambukso (1,363 m) and Singhasan (1,359 m) merging with the Borail range, which is the highest hill range in Assam. The elevation of the Borail Range varies from 1,000 to 1,200 metres above sea level. The south side of the Borail range is very steep. It attains a maximum height of 1,959 metres in Laike Peak to the east of Haflong. Laike is the highest peak in Assam. Assam is located about 79.5 m above sea level.

Climate

It is humid, tropical type in the plains and subalpine in the hills.

Assam at a Glance

Rainfall

Rainfall in Assam is one of the highest in the world. It varies between 178 and 305 cm. In general, the hills and foothills receive more rainfall. The lowest rainfall in the Lanka-Lumding area (average annual rainfall of 129 cm) is due to its location on the leeward side of the Meghalaya plateau and Karbi Hills.

Earthquake

January 10, 1869: An earthquake with its epicentre probably at North Cachar Hill had ravaged the area between North Cachar and Assam Valley and had made the bank of the Barak sink about 15 feet.

June 12, 1897: A forested foothill area about 40 km. to the south-west of Guwahati sank down to give rise to the present Chand Dubi Lake.

15 August 1950:  8.6 Richter scale

River

The main rivers of Assam are:

Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra is the main river in Assam. Assam is dominated by this river. The source of this river lies towards the east of the ‘Manas Sarovar’, a lake in the Himalayas, in an ice glacier called ‘Tamchuk Khambab‘. The total length of the river from the source to the sea is 2,880 km and its drainage area is roughly 9,35,000 sq. km. the river sweeps gracefully through the entire length of the Brahmaputra valley After a 725 km sweep through Assam, it turns south-west beyond Meghalaya and then south, joining the easternmost branch of the Ganga—the Padma—and empties together with the Ganga into the Bay of Bengal.

Bridges over Brahmaputra

Tributaries of Brahmaputra

• The Brahmaputra River is the volume–wise largest river in India, whereas the lengthwise Ganga is the longest river in India.
• The Rango Tsangpo is the major right bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River in Tibet.
• Subansiri is the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra River, with a length of about 442 km.

Barak

The Barak is another important river in the Cachar district of the state. The Barak originated in the Naga Hills, flowing through Manipur, getting bifurcated near Badarpur into Surama and Kushiyara, and ultimately entering Bangladesh and the margin, with the Brahmaputra (the Padma) taking on the name Meghna. The total length of the Barak is about 900 km.

• The principal tributaries of Barak are the Jiri, Dhaleswari, Singla, Longai, Sonai and Katakhal

Islands on Brahmaputra

One is the Majuli, and the other is Umananda in Guwahati. These islands are believed to be one of the largest (Majuli) and smallest (Umananda, area: 13 bigha,, 3 katha) river islands in the world. Majuli was originally 1,256 square kilometres (485 square miles) in size. But due to constant annual erosion, there has been considerable shrinkage in its size. Now Majuli has an area of only 880 sq km. (According to Guinness World Record, 2016)

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Chapter 2 👉 Biodiversity