Brahmaputra Valley

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Brahmaputra Valley
Assam Valley
Delta del Ganges-Brahmaputra (NASA Terra-Modis) (4996898562).jpg
Valley of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India.
Brahmaputra Valley map.png
Map of Brahmaputra Valley districts.
Length600 km (373 mi)North-East
Width80 km (50 mi)
Geography
Location Assam, India
Coordinates 26°35′54″N92°27′02″E / 26.5983°N 92.4506°E / 26.5983; 92.4506 [1]

The Brahmaputra Valley (also Assam Valley) is a region situated between hill ranges of the eastern and northeastern Himalayan range in Eastern India.

Contents

The valley consists of the Western Brahmaputra Valley covering the regions of Goalpara and Kamrup; the Central Brahmaputra Valley region covering Darrang, Nagaon and the North Bank and Eastern Brahmaputra Valley comprising districts of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar. The Teesta River in North Bengal also drains into Brahmaputra River.

The Brahmaputra Valley has a total area of 71,516 km² with containing 27 districts. [2] Brahmaputra Valley with its rainforest-like climate contains some of the most productive soils in the world. The Brahmaputra River flows from Assam to Bangladesh where it meets the Ganges River to form the world's largest delta and finally flows into the Bay of Bengal in the south. [3]

Demography

The majority of the people of the valley are Hindus, mostly speaking the Assamese language. The valley is more populous and prosperous than the rest of the region because of its accessibility to the rest of the country. The Brahmaputra Valley has a population of 27,580,977 as per the 2011 census. [4]

Languages

Languages spoken in Brahmaputra Valley (2011) [5] [6]

   Assamese (Official) (55.66%)
   Bengali (22.1%)
   Hindi (7.6%)
   Bodo (5.13%)
  Others (9.52%)

The population of the Brahmaputra Valley is 27,580,977 according to the 2011 census report by the Assam government. Assamese is the official language of the Brahmaputra Valley and is spoken by 15.1 million people comprising 55.65% of the valley population. Bengali is spoken by 6.09 million people representing 22.1% of the valley, Hindi is spoken by 2.1 million comprising 7.61% of the region, Bodo is spoken by 1.41 million comprising 5.13% of the valley's population and 2.88 million people speak various indigenous tribal languages of Assam, such as Santali, Karbi, Lalung, Hmar, Deori, Rabha, Mishing, Koch, Rajbangshi, Sadri, Garo, Dimasa, Gondi, Savara, Gorkha, Halam, Ao and Motak.

Religion

Religions in the Brahmaputra Valley [7] (2011)

   Hinduism (62.97%)
   Islam (32.29%)
   Christianity (4.01%)
  Others (0.73%)

Out of 27,580,977 people living in the Brahmaputra Valley, a majority of 17,368,618 profess to the Hindu faith, a large minority of 8,934,387 people profess to the Islamic faith, 1,107,192 people profess to the Christian faith and around 170,780 people profess to other faiths such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Animism.

Major cities

The major cities in the valley are Guwahati, the largest city of Northeast India and Dibrugarh, the largest city in Upper Assam.

List of Cities of Brahmaputra Valley by population (2011) -:

  1. Guwahati (metro) – 968,549 (1st rank),
  2. Dibrugarh – 154,296 (2nd rank),
  3. Jorhat – 153,889 (3rd rank),
  4. Nagaon – 155,889 (4th rank),
  5. Bongaigaon – 139,650 (5th rank),
  6. Tinsukia – 126,389 (6th rank)
  7. Tezpur – 102,505 (7th rank).

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Assam</span>

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Jagiroad is a town in the state of Assam. Jagiroad located in Mayong Sub-Division, in Morigaon district. It is situated on the south bank of Kolong river.

Moranhat is a town and a town area committee in Charaideo district in the Indian state of Assam.The town is divided by N.H 37 into Charaideo and Dibrugarh district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Lakhimpur</span> Town in Assam, India

North Lakhimpur is a city and a municipal board in Lakhimpur district in the Indian state of Assam, about 394 kilometres (245 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is the district headquarters of Lakhimpur district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silapathar</span> City in Assam, India

Silapathar is a city in Dhemaji district in the Indian state of Assam. The city is on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River and is 470 kilometres (290 mi) from the city of Guwahati and just six km (3.7 mi) from border of Arunachal Pradesh. The longest rail cum road bridge in India connects Silapathar to Dibrugarh. Historical Malinithan mandir is located around ten km (6.2 mi) from Silapathar.

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Assam is the main and oldest state in the North-East Region of India and as the gateway to the rest of the Seven Sister States. The land of red river and blue hills, Assam comprises three main geographical areas: the Brahmaputra Valley which stretching along the length of the Brahmaputra river, the Barak Valley extending like a tail, and the intervening Karbi Plateau and North Cachar Hills. Assam shares its border with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal; and there are National Highways leading to their capital cities. It also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh and is very close to Myanmar. In ancient times Assam was known as Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotishpura, and Kamarupa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Assam division</span> Division in Assam, India

Upper Assam is an administrative division of the state of Assam comprising the undivided Lakhimpur and Sivasagar districts, of the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra valley. The other divisions are: Lower Assam, North Assam and Hills and Barak Valley. The division is under the jurisdiction of a Commissioner, stationed at Jorhat.

Bongal Kheda was a xenophobic movement in India, which aimed at purging out non-native job competitors by the job-seeking Assamese. Soon after the Independence of India, the Assamese Hindu middle class gained political control in Assam and tried to gain social and economic parity with their competitors, the Bengali Hindu middle class. A significant period of property damage, ethnic policing and even instances of street violence occurred in the region. The exact timeline is disputed, though many authors agree the 1960s saw a height of disruption. It was part of a broader discontent within Assam that would foreshadow the Assamese Language Movement and the greater Assam Movement.

Assam – 16th largest, 15th most populous and 26th most literate state of the 28 states of the democratic Republic of India. Assam is at 14th position in life expectancy and 8th in female-to-male sex ratio. Assam is the 21st most media exposed states in India. The Economy of Assam is largely agriculture based with 69% of the population engaged in it. Growth rate of Assam's income has not kept pace with that of India's during the Post-British Era; differences increased rapidly since the 1970s. While the Indian economy grew at 6 percent per annum over the period of 1981 to 2000, the same of Assam's grew only by 3.3 percent.

The Assamese Language Movement refers to a series of political activities demanding the recognition of the Assamese Language as the only sole official language and medium of instruction in the educational institutions of Assam, India.

The Brittial Bania/Bania is an ethnic community in Assam, India. The group traces its roots to a merchant community who reached Assam in ancient times. Some historians claim that after the Austric group migrated to ancient Assam, the next group of people who arrived was the Dravidian group, who are represented by the Bania and Kaibbartas today. Unlike the mainland Baniya community, this community of Assam is recognized as Schedule Caste by the government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Assam</span>

Hinduism in the state of Assam, in Northeast India is the home to some of the most complex and poorly understood traditions in Hinduism. People follow traditions belonging to Shaivism, Saktism, Tantricism and an indigenous form of Vaishnavism called Ekasarana dharma; and taken together the practitioners constitute around 61% of the state population as per the 2011 Census. Hindus form a majority in 17 out of the 29 districts of Assam. By region, there is a significant diversity among the ethnic groups that profess the Hindu faith, traditions and customs. As per as 2011 Census, In Brahmaputra valley of Assam, Hindus constitute 62% of the population, most being ethnic Assamese. In the autonomous Bodoland region of Assam, Hindus constitute 71.3% of the region's population, most being of the Bodo tribe. In the Barak valley region of southern Assam, Hindus constitute 50% of the region's population, most being ethnic Sylhetis, a subgroup of Bengalis. The Hill Tribes of Assam, particularly the Karbi people of Karbi Anglong and Dimasa people of Dima Hasao are mainly Hindus.

The population of Assam consist of tribal ethnic groups, and linguistic groups such as Assamese, Bengali, Hindi speakers and Nepali.

References

  1. "Brahmaputra River System". Government of Assam, Water Resources.
  2. "Home | Assam State Portal". Assam.gov.in. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. Goswami, Homeswar (1985). Population Trends in the Brahmaputra Valley, 1881–1931. Mittal Publications. p. 206.
  4. Goswami, Homeswar (1985). Population Trends in the Brahmaputra Valley, 1881–1931. Mittal Publications. p. 10.
  5. Census data censusindia.gov
  6. "Battleground Assam a tale of two valleys and the CAA quandary Assam bengal polls 2021 | Opinion News – India TV". 18 February 2021.
  7. Census data 2011 censusindia.gov

Further reading