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Assam lays between Indian sub-continent and Burma Myanmar. The name Assam is most likely a corrupt translation of the sanskrit word of similar pronouncation, meaning a hilly region. The Indo-Burmese corridor consist of a number of mountanious chains of the lower Himalayan region, and a few valleys between them. The largest valley is called Brahmaputra valley, named after the 10th longest river in the world, Brahmaputra (Sangpo) that cuts through it. The region was annexed into India after the British left the sub-continent in late 1940s. Today it is called a state in the "north-eastern" part of India. It is bordered by Bhutan,and Bangladesh. Other regions of this Eastern Himalayan foothills were also annexed by the Indian government between the late 1940s and late 1970s. These regions are now incorporated as "Indian states" of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim.
Assam state's administrative capital is Dispur (Guwahati). Assamese is the official language of the state spoken by the ethnic Assamese people, who constitute almost half of this region's population. Other than the Assamese, there are over 100 ethnic nationalities living in this region. Each of these tribes have their own distinct language, culture and tradition. Since the turn of the last century (1900s), ethnic Bengalis from Bengal region on the west and south of Assam has been migrating to this region, and the British were sponsoring this migration because they needed cheap laborers to work in their plantations and factories. After Indian annexation of this region, this Bengali influx has become a flood, as each successive state government owing allegiance to the Indian republic has continued "importing" these Bengalis and using them as vote bank to secure their position in their house of representatives. Like indiginous people in other parts of the world, the 100 plus ethnic tribes of these region will become extinct within the next 50 years.
Assam's biggest contribution to the world is its tea. Assam produces some of the finest teas in the world. Other than the Chinese tea variety camellia sinenses, Assam is the only region in the world that has its own variety of tea called camellia assamica. Unlike the majority of black teas grown around the world, Assam tea is grown at elevations near sea level, giving it a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as opposed to the more floral aroma of highland (e.g. Darjeeling, Taiwanese) teas.
Assam also produces crude oil and natural gas. Assam is the second place in the world (after Titusville in the United States where petrolium was discovered. The second oldest oil well in the world still produces crude oil. Most of the oilfields of Assam are located in the Upper Assam region of the Brahmaputra Valley.