Brief History & Demographic Information- Assam

Assam  is located in the northeastern part of the country and is bounded to the north by the kingdom of Bhutan and the state of Arunachal Pradesh, to the east by the states of Nagaland and Manipur, to the south by the states of Mizoram and Tripura, and to the west by Bangladesh and the states of Meghalaya and West Bengal. The name Assam is derived from the word asama, meaning “peerless” in the now extinct Ahom language. The neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya were once part of Assam.

The ancient name of Assam was Pragjyotisha. Its antiquity can be established from the fact that it has been mentioned in the two great epics- The Mahabharata and the Ramayana and also in the Puranas.The other name of ancient Assam was Kamarupa. This name is regarded as younger than the name Pragjyotisha. References of Kamarupa are found in literature as well as in many epigraphs. Kamarupa has been mentioned in the two great epics- The Mahabharata and the Ramayana and also in the Puranas and Tantras. The name Assam is of recent origin. There are several opinions to the origin of the name Assam. The name ‘Aham’ or ‘Asom’ was probably given by the Ahoms who came to Assam in 1228 A.D. 

The history of Assam has passed several stages of development to reach to its present state.  The history of Assam can be divided into four eras. The ancient era began in the 4th century with the mention of Kamarupa in Samudragupta's inscriptions on the Allahabad pillar and the establishment of the Kamarupa kingdom. The medieval era began with the attacks from the Bengal Sultanate, the first of which took place in 1206 by BakhtiyarKhilji as mentioned in the Kanai-boroxiboa rock inscription, after the breakup of the ancient kingdom and the sprouting of medieval kingdoms and chieftain-ships in its place. The colonial era began with the establishment of British control after the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826, and the post-colonial era began in 1947 after the Independence of India.

Demographic Information

Total numbers of physios – 3000 – 3500 (approx.)
Total Numbers of colleges : 11
Total number of students: 1050 (approx.)
Total districts in Assam : 33