Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi). It is the second largest state in northeastern India by area and the largest in terms of population, with more than 31 million inhabitants. 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-kilometre-wide (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam. Meitei (Manipuri) is the official language of Hojai district and the entirety of the Barak Valley region, while Bengali is an official language in the three districts of Barak Valley.
Bihu is of three types and it is an important cultural festival unique to the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October or November, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The festivals present an admixture of Tibeto-Barman, Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan traditions entwined so intricately that it is impossible to separate them—festivals which are uniquely Assamese to which all communities of Assam had contributed elements. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival.
The Bihu dance is an indigenous folk dance from the Indian state of Assam related to the Bihu festival and an important part of Assamese culture. Performed in a group, the Bihu dancers are usually young men and women, and the dancing style is characterized by brisk steps and rapid hand movements. The traditional costume of dancers is centered around the red color theme, signifying joy and vigour.
Zubeen Garg is an Indian singer–songwriter, composer, lyricist, music director, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, poet and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assamese, Bengali and Hindi-language film and music industries, but has sung in 40 other languages and dialects, including Bishnupriya Manipuri, Boro, English, Goalpariya, Kannada, Karbi, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Mising, Nepali, Odia, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tiwa. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and plays 12 instruments including anandalahari, dhol, dotara, drums, guitar, harmonica, harmonium, mandolin, keyboard, tabla and various percussion instruments. He is Assam's highest-paid singer.
Assamese cinema is the Indian film industry of Assamese language. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti. Since then the Assamese cinema has developed a slow-paced, sensitive style. In the beginning the industry were called Jollywood, for Agarwala's Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio.
Bhabendra Nath Saikia was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Dr. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader in the Department of Physics, University of Guwahati. He later played an important role in the publication of college level textbooks in the Assamese language during his tenure as the Secretary of the Co-ordination Committee for production of textbooks in regional languages.
Paresh Baruah, also known by aliasesParesh Asom is an Indian separatist militant who is the army chief of the ULFA, which is seeking Independence for Assam from the Indian Union. He is the vice-chairperson and the commander-in-chief of the United Liberation Front of Assam – Independent. Baruah lives in Yunnan, China where he receives funding and patronage from MSS. He has also insisted that Han Chinese are friends of the Assamese and want to help them become independent, even though his influence has largely diminished.
Raju Baruah (Assamese:, alias Anees Ahmed, is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of military operations, military spokesperson and the head of the near-autonomous 'Enigma Force' of the banned outfit ULFA in Assam. When the outfit's Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah was said to be critically ill, Raju Baruah was reportedly assumed to be the new military head.
Sashadhar Choudhury or Sasha Choudhury is the Foreign Secretary of the outlawed group ULFA, Assam. His predecessor was Javed Bora. He hails from Helosa gaon in Nalbari district of Assam. He is married to Runima Choudhury and they have a daughter Shishir.
Kaberi Kachari is a writer, poet, political and economical speaker and the wife of Arabinda Rajkhowa, the chairman of the peace talks process outfit called the United Liberation Front of Assam ULFA. She was known for her poetic excellence from her college days.
Joi Barua is an Indian singer and music composer. Born in Digboi, Assam, he started his career by singing advertising jingles and later did playback singing for Hindi, Assamese and Telugu films. He is also the lead vocalist of the band Joi. Barua has a mixed musical style incorporating elements of rock, soul, jazz, folk and world music.
Pabitra Kumar Deka was a progressive writer, columnist, publisher and editor of monthly magazine, film critic and screenwriter of the State of Assam in India. He is the winner of the Best Film Critic Award in 1988 from the Eastern India Motion Picture Association. The Government of Assam has instituted the State Best Film Critic Award in the name of Pabitra Kumar Deka Award from 2010 after his death.
Ko Yad is a 2012 Mising drama film, written, directed and produced by Manju Borah. The movie is based on Anil Panging's novel Ko: Yad, published in the weekly Assamese Xadin. The film portrays the life of ordinary Mishing people through the protagonist, Poukam, struggle to make a living, in a small village by the Brahmaputra, in Assam.
Dau Huduni Methai is a 2015 Bodo language drama film directed by Manju Borah; based on the Assamese novel Dao Hudur Gaan written by Rashmirekha Bora and adapted as screenplay by the director herself. It was produced by Shankar Lall Goenka and stars Reshma Mushahary, Ahalya Daimary, and Nita Basumatary in the lead roles. The film was premiered at Montreal World Film Festival on 1 and 2 September 2015.
Ratnakar: A New Myth of Love is a 2019 Indian Assamese-language action thriller film directed by Jatin Bora and produced by Bora and Navanita Sharma's J.B. Production. The film stars Bora and Barsha Rani Bishaya, with Nishita Goswami, Pabitra Bora, Chetana Das, and Sanjeev Hazarika in supporting roles and features young Ashramika Saikia. It is the adaptation of 2016 Tamil film Theri.
Benjamin Daimary is the first openly gay Indian actor to win a national film award. He got the Jury's special award for his role in the Assamese film Jonaki Porua (Fireflies) in 2021. He also received the best actor award at the Asian Queer Film Festival in 2020.
Ranjan Kumar Bezbaruah is an Indian singer, lyricist, translator and academician engaged in promoting Modern Sanskrit Lyrical Literature. He is a vocal artiste of ‘Sanskrit songs’ contributing to All India Radio, Delhi Doordarshan & other regional & national platforms. He was honoured with 'Rashtriya Sanskrit Geetikavi' in 2020 by an international organisation.
Ellora Vigyan Mancha is a non- profitmaking, non-governmental organization established in May 2004 in Assam, India, to Spread scientific temper and to fight superstition and blind belief, launch campaigns and movement for health awareness, climate change, encourage blood donation/ eye donation/ other human organ(s) donation/ whole body donation after death for transfusion, transplantation or medical research., and to Instill a sense of fraternity in people through selfless humanitarian service.
Baghjan is an Assamese-Moran bilingual film directed and written by filmmaker Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia and produced by MAYAMARA art & culture. The film is about the biggest industrial disasters; oil-leakage tragedy of 2020 at Baghjan.
Hem Chandra Goswami is an Indian mask-making artist from Assam's Majuli district. He received the India’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2023 for his contributions in the field of art.
