Introduction

History of Assam appears to be ambiguous. In the ancient Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, Assam was known as `Kamarupa` or `Pragjyotish`. In the Mahabharata, the Puranas, the Tantras there are references of the kingdom known as Kamrupa kingdom. The inhabitants of Assam comprises of the migrants from Myanmar and China who came from Punjab through Bihar and North Bengal. Assam presents a fusion of Mongol-Aryan culture. The renowned king Narakaxura ruled Kamrupa from his capital at Pragjyotishpura. 

Early History of Assam

Early History of Assam narrates the confluence of different cultures which originated due to the assemblage of people belonging to different regions including the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan and many more. In ancient times, Assam has been politically invaded but it has never been the centre of any external power till 1821 up to the advent of Burmese followed by the advent of British in the year 1826. The history of Assam in ancient times has been deciphered from rock inscriptions, copper plates and royal grants that the kings of Kamarupa kingdom used to issue during their rule. Folklores and epics including Mahabharata, Yogini Tantra and Kalika Purana have also played a key role in reconstructing the early history of Assam.

Paleolithic Age in Assam : People belonging to the Middle Pleistocene period, 781,000 to 126,000 years ago, were considered to be the first inhabitants of Assam. They used to dwell in the Rongram valley of Garo Hills. Handaxe-cleaver tools have been found in the Paleolithic sites and the artefacts are found to be associated with Abbevillio-Acheulean culture. Evidences of microlithic culture have also been found in the Rongram Valley of Garo Hills between the neolithic layers of the soil. The microliths of Assam were made of dolerite, which were different from the microliths of rest of the country. Remains hand-made pottery shows that the people belonging to microlithic culture were food-gatherers and hunters.

Neolithic Age in Assam : Neolithic age in Assam has been evident from flaked hand-axe found in the Garo hills. Affinity of these artefacts has been found with the Hoabinhian culture and the place also shows association of Indian and the Southeast Asian cultures. Late Neolithic age of Assam is dated to 4500 to 4000 BC and many Assam sites including the hills and high grounds have furnished articles related to this era. Shifting cultivation, also known as jhum, was prevalent in that period which is still practiced many several communities. Sites of Neolithic age in Assam are Sarutaru in Kamrup district, Daojali Hading in Dima Hasao and Selbagiri in the Garo Hills.

Megalithic Age in Assam : Evidences of Megalithic age have also been found in Assam which belongs to the period of first millennium BC. Culture of this era still prevails among the people of Khasi and Naga tribes. This culture is also considered as the precursor of the fertility cult, the saktism and the vajrayana Buddhism which followed course.

Mythological History of Assam : The appearance of Assam in prehistoric age has been structured from various epics of India. A non-Aryan Danava dynasty was probably the first political entity of the region and the first king of the dynasty was known as Mahiranga. Narakasura was the eliminator of this dynasty. Naraka was the generic name assigned to the kings of the Naraka dynasty. Legends say that Lord Krishna killed the last king of Naraka dynasty and the throne was succeeded by his son Bhagadatta. Bhagadatta also took part in the Mahabharata war along with the army of kiratas, chinas and dwellers of the eastern sea. This fact also indicates that a part of Bangladesh was also included in his kingdom. Suparua was the last ruler of Naraka dynasty.

Ancient History of Assam : Ancient Assam was marked by the establishment of Varman dynasty of Pushya Varman, in the Kamarupa kingdom in 4th century. The dynasty probably had aboriginal origin but the lineage was drawn from Narakasura. In 7th century under Bhaskar Varman, the kingdom flourished greatly. Bhaskar Varman had no son and thus after his death the authority went to Salasthamba who later established Mlechchha dynasty. In late 9th century this kingdom also declined and Brahmapala was declared as the new monarch who established Pala dynasty. In 1110 the Gaur king, Ramapala eliminated the last king of Pala dynasty. Timgyadeva and Vaidyadeva who were the two subsequent kings ruled independently as Gaur kings. They also issued grants under the old Kamarupa seals. 12th century was marked by the decline of later rulers and the rise of individual kings which led to the end of the Kamarupa kingdom of Ancient Assam.

Medieval history of Assam began with the rule of Khen dynasty, belonging to the Kamata kingdom, over the region. A number of other kingdoms also emerged in this region during the medieval era who ruled over different parts. Medieval history of Assam also records a number of conflicts among different kingdoms which represented their hunger for power. This period was also marked by alliances among dynasties, expansion of territories and evolution of distinct styles of art and architecture. Some of the kingdoms expanded their territory greatly whereas many of them were overpowered by the superior ones. The cultural and social life of Assam was also greatly influenced by these kingdoms who contributed in shaping up the multi ethnic facet of Assam.

Kamata Kingdom : Following the decline of Pala dynasty, Kamata Kingdom emerged in Assam in 13th century which marked the beginning of medieval history of Assam. The khen dynasty of this kingdom was replaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah who was the Turko-Afghan ruler of Gauda. Hussain Shah had implemented strong administration in the kingdom; however he failed to control the kingdom politically. Consequently the kingdom gradually went to the Koch dynasty. The folks of Koch dynasty titled themselves as Kamateshwars. They had such a strong influence and extended their rule to such far extends that they were often called as Koch kingdom.

Kachari Kingdom : Kachari Kingdom was another powerful kingdom that arose in medieval Assam. The rulers of this kingdom were the Dimasa people who belonged to a part of greater Kachari ethnic group. Remnants of this kingdom survived till the advent of British Empire in India. The origin of Kachari Kingdom is shrouded in mystery and some believe that they were the descendents of the son of Bhima, Ghatotkacha. According to the legends, Kacharis also took part in Mahabharata war. Kachari Dimasas had left the Kamarupa kingdom in ancient times owing to political turmoil. While they were crossing the Brahmaputra River, a few of their companions swept away with the flow of the river and later came to be known as Dimasa, sons of the great river Dima.

Sutiya Kingdom : In 1187, Sutiya kingdom was founded by Birpal in the north eastern part of Assam. Sadiya was made the capital of the kingdom. The kingdom comprised of an indigenous ethnic group who used to speak a Tibeto-Burman language but later adopted Assamese language. The most powerful and famed king of the kingdom was Gauri Narayan who was the son of Birpal who brought a number of Sutiya groups to the kingdom. They Sutiyas had formed a marital alliance with the Kamata kingdom by marrying a princess himself. In 1376, Sutiya kingdom entered into a hostile relation with the Ahoms after a Sutiya king killed the Ahom ruler Sutuphaa. This hostility increased till the year 1522 when Ahoms captured their capital Sadiya by executing the then king Nityapal. Sutiyas however continued their raids against the Ahoms. This ceased in the year 1673 when finally the over lordship of Ahoms was accepted by the Sutiyas.

Ahom Kingdom : Ahom kingdom ruled over the Brahmaputra valley of Assam for about 600 years. They had successfully defended the expansion of Mughal territory in north eastern part of India. Ahom dynasty was established by Sukaphaa who was a Tai prince from Mong Mao. The kingdom expanded the most under the rule of Suhungmung in 16th century. Multi ethnicity emerged in the kingdom during this period which had profound impact on social as well as political life of the kingdom. Moamoria rebellion and Burmese invasions in Ahom kingdom played the key roles in weakening the kingdom. After the first Anglo-Burmese war and the treaty of Yandabo in 1826, which led to the defeat of Burmese, the kingdom however passed to the British rule.

Baro-Bhuyan : The landlords and warrior chiefs of the medieval Assam were referred as Baro-Bhuyans who were independent confederacy. They showed great cooperation in times of any aggressions and were known to maintain sovereignty during peace. They used to control a group of villages known as cakala and the people having the highest power referred themselves as raja. The system of Baro-Bhuyan has been derived from the former Kamarupa kingdom. They occupied the regions towards the west of Kachari kingdom and west of Sutiya kingdom. They were successful in defeating the remnants of the administration of Alauddin Husain Shah. Baro-Bhuyans were squeezed between the Kamata kingdom and the Kachari kingdom and their rule was gradually faded away by the expansion of Ahom kingdom. They did not follow any particular religion or ethnicity.

Modern History of Assam

Modern history of Assam encompasses the political appearance of the Eastern Indian state of Assam, which went through a transformation since Indian independence in the year 1947. Separatist groups were created in Assam since 1947, which resulted in demands for sovereignty and political autonomy. Finally, it encouraged the division of Assam. The Government of India divided Assam into various states like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

In the period post 1817, the Government of India under the British Raj invited European entrepreneurs to grow plantations since the regional inhabitants of Assam were rich. Tribal people from the southern portions of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar were employed for this task. Assam was separated from Bengal in the year 1874 and became a new province which had its capital in Shillong. However, today, Shillong is Meghalaya`s capital. The province of Assam was joined with East Bengal in 1905, following the rules laid down by some important British Viceroys of British India like Lord Curzon during the Swadeshi Movement. However, in 1911, Bengal`s partition was nullified and it was declared that Assam would be a separate province. Inhabitants of Nepal worked in the plantations of Assam. Merchants as well as small scale industrialists migrated to Assam and contributed to the growing economy of this Indian state.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the inhabitants of present-day Bangladesh have been shifting to Assam. The Government of Assam passed a legislation which made the use of Assamese language mandatory in the year 1961. However, this legislation was later withdrawn when the Bengali speaking community residing in Cachar rebelled against this law.

After the era of the 1970`s, armed separatist groups like National Democratic Front of Bodoland or NDFB and United Liberation Front of Assam, ULFA started to gain prominence. In November 1990, the Government of India stationed the Indian army in Assam, following which military conflicts and assassinations have been bombarding Assam for over a decade. Today, Assam is witnessing the emergence of some militant groups who are based on ethnicity. The Bodo Kachari community belonging to the Bodoland Territorial Council Areas (BTC), people of Dima Hasao District and the Karbis in Karbi Anglong have been granted regional autonomy.

During the Pakistan Civil War which took place in 1971, about two million Bengali Muslim refugees moved to Assam. During the latter portion of the 1970s and the earlier part of 1980s, there were constant political conflicts which occurred between the Assamese students and government of India. The argument was over whether the illegal immigrants of Assam would be granted the rights of citizenship. The Central Government of India and the State Government utilized force, in retaliation, to suppress this movement. Historical records claim that this incident was the worst instance of communal violence since the Partition of Bengal. In the year 1985, the Government of India and the Bodo tribes of Assam signed a peace treaty. Thereafter, an election was held wherein the Asom Gana Parisad or AGP was elected. Charges of corruption resulted in the loss of power of this political party, though they were again elected in 1900.

During the 1980`s, the Assam Agitation occurred in the Brahmaputra Valley. An abrupt rise in legalised voters in this region led to this incident. The government was pressurised to identify foreigners and also check foreigners from unlawfully moving from the neighbouring nation of Bangladesh. However, the agitation concluded after a peace accord was established between the Union Government and its leaders.