assam

            
            
             The state lies beneath the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas and is bounded on the north by Bhutan (the land of the Bhutiyas) and Arunachal Pradesh (formerly known as NEFA and the land of Adis, Dafflas, Miris, Mishimis and Appatanis---all hill tribes of mongolian origin); to the east by Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur (an ancient Hindu kingdom); to the south by Mizoram (the land of Mizos) and Meghalaya (the land of Khasis with Shillong, "the Scotland of east" as her capital); and to the west by Bangladesh and Tripura (the native land of the Tripuri tribes of Mongolian origin). Except for a narrow corridor running through the foothills of the Himalayas that connects the state with West Bengal, Assam is almost entirely isolated from India. It is located between 900-960 East longitude and 24-38 North latitude. The capital of Assam, is Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati in 1972.
             Surrounded by a ring of blue hills, Assam has two largest valleys, the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley where the main body of the people of Assam live, the people with history dating back to ancient vedic era. In ancient days, Assam was known as Kamrup where according to legend, Kamdeva, the Hindu God of love was reborn. The state capital of Assam, Guwahati, known in ancient time as Pragjyotishpura or The Eastern City of Light, was the capital of Kamrup which finds frequent mention in the Mahabharata and other Sanskrit epics and historical lores.
             Assam comprises an area of 78,523 square kilometers (30,318 square miles). Except for the districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills, Assam is generally composed of plains and river valleys. It can be divided into three principal geographical regions: the Brahmaputra Valley in the north; the Barak Plain in the south; and the Mikir and Cachar Hills that divide the two regions.
             The Brahmaputra Valley is the dominant physical feature of Assam. It enters Assam near Sadiya at the extreme northeast corner and runs westward for nearly 450 miles before turning south to enter the plains of Bangladesh.