Assam
Province of British India Area ( '000 miles ) Population ( in millions ) Chief Administrative Officer
Burma 170 9 Lieutenant-Governor
Bengal 151 75 Lieutenant-Governor
Madras 142 38 Governor-in-Council
Bombay 123 19 Governor-in-Council
United Provinces 107 48 Lieutenant-Governor
Central Provinces and Berar 104 13 Chief Commissioner
Punjab 97 20 Lieutenant-Governor
Assam 49 6 Chief Commissioner
History -- Colonial era
Map of Eastern Bengal and Assam during 1907–1909 A map of the British Indian Empire in 1909 during the partition of Bengal ( 1905–1911 ) , showing British India in two shades of pink ( coral and pale ) and the princely states in yellow . The Assam Province ( initially as the Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam ) can be seen towards the north-eastern side of India . Further information : Colonial Assam and Assam Province The discovery of Camellia sinensis in 1834 in Assam was followed by testing in 1836–37 in London . The British allowed companies to rent land from 1839 onwards . Thereafter tea plantations mushroomed in Eastern Assam , [ 25 ] where the soil and the climate were most suitable . Problems with the imported Han Chinese labourers from China and hostility from native Assamese resulted in the migration of forced labourers from central and eastern parts of India . After initial trial and error with planting the Chinese and the Assamese-Chinese hybrid varieties , the planters later accepted the local Camellia assamica as the most suitable variety for Assam . By the 1850s , the industry started seeing some profits . The industry saw initial growth , when in 1861 , investors were allowed to own land in Assam and it saw substantial progress with the invention of new technologies and machinery for preparing processed tea during the 1870s . Despite the commercial success , tea labourers continued to be exploited , [ clarification needed ] working and living under poor conditions . [ clarification needed ] Fearful of greater government interference , the tea growers formed the Indian Tea Association in 1888 to lobby to retain the status quo . The organisation was successful in this , but even after India 's independence , conditions of the labourers have improved very little . [ 26 ] In the later part of the 18th century , religious tensions and atrocities by the nobles led to the Moamoria rebellion ( 1769–1805 ) , resulting in tremendous casualties of lives and property . The rebellion was suppressed but the kingdom was severely weakened by the civil war . Political rivalry between Prime Minister Purnananda Burhagohain and Badan Chandra Borphukan , the Ahom Viceroy of Western Assam , led to an invitation to the Burmese by the latter , [ 27 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] in turn leading to three successive Burmese invasions of Assam . The reigning monarch Chandrakanta Singha tried to check the Burmese invaders but he was defeated after fierce resistance . And Ahom occupied Assam was captured by the Burmese [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] A reign of terror was unleashed by the Burmese on the Assamese people , [ 34 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] who fled to neighbouring kingdoms and British-ruled Bengal . [ 38 ] [ 39 ] The Burmese reached the East India Company 's borders , and the First Anglo-Burmese War ensued in 1824 . The war ended under the Treaty of Yandabo [ 40 ] in 1826 , with the Company taking control of Western Assam and installing Purandar Singha as king of Upper Assam in 1833 . The arrangement lasted till 1838 and thereafter the British gradually annexed the entire region . Thereafter the court language and medium of instruction in educational institutions of Assam was made Bengali , instead of Assamese . Starting from 1836 until 1873 , this imposition of a foreign tongue created greater unemployment among the People of Assam and Assamese literature naturally suffered in its growth . [ 41 ] [ 42 ] Showing a historical incident at Kanaklata Udyan , Tezpur Initially , Assam was made a part of the Bengal Presidency , then in 1906 it was made a part of Eastern Bengal and Assam province , and in 1912 it was reconstituted into a chief commissioners ' province . In 1913 , a legislative council and , in 1937 , the Assam Legislative Assembly , were formed in Shillong , the erstwhile capital of the region . The British tea planters imported labour from central India adding to the demographic canvas . The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier ' non-regulation province , also known as the Assam Chief-Commissionership . It was incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 after the partition of Bengal ( 1905–1911 ) and re-established in 1912 as Assam Province . [ 43 ] After a few initially unsuccessful attempts to gain independence for Assam during the 1850s , anti-colonial Assamese joined and actively supported the Indian National Congress against the British from the early 20th century , with Gopinath Bordoloi emerging as the preeminent nationalist leader in the Assam Congress . [ citation needed ] Bordoloi 's major political rival in this time was Sir Saidullah , who was representing the Muslim League , and had the backing of the influential Muslim cleric Maulana Bhasani . [ 44 ] The Assam Postage Circle was established by 1873 under the headship of the Deputy Post Master General . [ 45 ] At the turn of the 20th century , British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor . Assam Province was one among the major eight provinces of British India . The table below shows the major original provinces during British India covering the Assam Province under the Administrative Office of the Chief Commissioner . The following table lists their areas and populations . It does not include those of the dependent Native States : [ 46 ]
Assam (/ˈæsæm/, Assamese: [ɔxɔm] (listen)) is a state in northeastern India, situated south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi). The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22 kilometres (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk. The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia. Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds, and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are World Heritage Sites. Sal tree forests are found in the state which, as a result of abundant rainfall, look green all year round. Assam receives more rainfall than most parts of India; this rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a hydro-geomorphic environment.