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About Assam |
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There are evidences that support the existence of stone age people in Assam, and the hills surrounding the region were probably their most favorite dwelling places owing to the availability of materials used by them for tool-making. There are references of kings and rulers who took part in the legendary war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas as mentioned in the greatest epic of the world, the Mahabharata. Historically known as Kamarupa, its subsequent rulers in the later part of its history claimed to be the descendants of Naraka, an ancient king mentioned in Kalika Purana.
The evidences also support the prominence of Mahayana Buddhism, which is supposed to have taken roots during the visit of the famous Chinese travelers Huen Tsang. We have found relics at Tezpur, Kamakhya, Malini Than and Madan Kam Dev Temples that leave no doubts regarding the popularity of Mahayana Buddhism in ancient Assam.
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The dynasties that arose in Assam at different periods of time were powerful enough to have ruled it in continuity for several centuries. The earliest we know of them were the Varmans (350-650 AD), and it was during the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskaravarman (600-650 AD) that the Chinese traveler Huen Tsang visited Kamarupa. The Varmans were followed by Salstambhas who ruled between 655 AD and 900 AD and then by the Kamarupa-Palas whose rule ended in about 1100 AD. Before the accession of the Ahom Kings, the region was also ruled, though briefly, by Lunar I and Lunar II dynasties.
No dynasties have impacted the historical traditions and cultural values of Assam and Assamese people more than the Ahoms who ruled the region for nearly six hundred years at a stretch. They came on the horizon of Assamese politics in the early part of the thirteenth century and continued to shine, with sparkling brilliance, till they were eclipsed by a Burmese expansionist ruler in 1821. The period of Ahoms was marked by their recurring battles against the Mughals. Finally they put an end to this continuance of war with a decisive victory over the imperial armies forcing them to leave the region once and for all in 1682. Though the Ahoms were the master of the region, there arose some other dynasties that ruled over some of its other parts. Among them included the Koch who remained a force in the Western Assam till the disintegration of their empire in 1581 AD. Other dynasties were the Chutiyas in the north-eastern Assam and the Kacharis in the central and southern Assam.
The invasion by a Burmese ruler in 1821 proved fatal to the perpetuity of Ahom dynasty and it was replaced by a puppet king. As the Burmese had by now reached the border of the region held in possession by the British East India Company, a war between these two ambitious powers could not be avoided. Thus the first Anglo-Burmese War occurred, which ended in the victory of the British, and the fate of Assam came into the hands of the foreign power. It was annexed finally in 1838 and was made a part of the Bengal Presidency. Subsequently, it was made a part of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province and then was reconstituted into a Chief Commissioners' province, with its capital at Shillong.
After independence, the region comprising the present Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya was given the status of a state under the Republic of India. Later, the region was disintegrated to make each of the constituents a separate state. With Shillong no more with the state of Assam, Guwahati was chosen as its immediate capital, only to be replaced by a new city known as Dispur.
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