The North Eastern States

The North Eastern part of India which comprises Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,Tripura and Sikkim is situated on the foothills of the eastern  ridge of the Himalayan mountain range. This area is gifted with picturesque natural landscape,moribund flora and fauna and above all diverse ethnicity.Its lush green natural landscape has always been a point of fascination for tourists all around the world.The north east india in all its aspects, whatever it may be culturally,ethnically,linguistically is distinct from the rest of india. It has cultural affinity to the south asian countries especially Mongolia,Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, and Tibet. Linguistically most of the north eastern region accept Assam and Tripura has predominance of TIbeto- Burmese language group. Anthropologically the peoples of north east belongs to the mongoloid racial group.

It is officially recognized that the eight states form a special category: the North Eastern Council (NEC) was constituted in 1971 as the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the eight states, the North Eastern Development Finance Corpora­tion Ltd (NEDFi) was incorporated on August 9, 1995 and the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DONER) was set up in September 2001. Among the North Eastern states, Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1947 and a full state in 1975. The Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal, with an average width of 21 km to 40 km, connects the north eastern region with the rest of India. More than 2000 km of boundary is shared with other countries: including Nepal, China, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh.

HISTORY

After the Indian Independence from British Rule in 1947, the Northeastern region of British India consisted of Assam and the princely states of Manipur and Tripura. Later independent movements such as Swatantra Tripura Committee were formed against grouping all the north eastern states under Assam. The states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram were formed in the 1960-70s. From Shillong, the capital of Assam was shifted to Dispur, now a part of Guwahati. Shillong became the capital of Meghalaya. Most of these areas had been incorporated into mainstream India during the British Raj when colonial authorities annexed traditionally separate border states into Indian territory to form a buffer between their colony and external powers (i.e.: Assam, Manipur and Tripura in the Northeast, and Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province in the northwest). After independence in 1947, extension of the Indian state and political apparatus has been a challenge.

             The region is known for its unique culture, handicrafts, martial arts, and scenic beauty.

 political map of greater assam before independence






GEOGRAPHY

CLIMATE

 

Northeast India has a predominantly humid sub-tropical climate with hot, humid summers, severe monsoons and mild winters. Along with the west coast of India, this region has some of the Indian sub-continent's last remaining rain forests. The states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have a mountain climate with cold, snowy winters and mild summers.

MOUNTAIN RANGE

THE EASTERN HIMALAYA: The Eastern Himalaya mountain ranges covers an area of 121,300 square kilometers (46,800 sq mi), extending along the north and south faces of the Himalaya Range from the Kali Gandaki Gorge in central Nepal eastwards through Tibet , Bhutan, India's Sikkim state ( including Darjeeling ,WB),Seven sister and northern most Myanmar.The altitude between approximately 4,000 and 5,500 meters (13,000 and 18,000 ft) elevation. Permanent ice and snow lies above 5,500 meters (18,000 ft). The Eastern Himalayan sub alpine conifer forests lie below 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) along the southern slopes of the range, from Central Nepal to Bhutan. The Northeastern  range in Arunachal Pradesh, extending north of the range into the lower valley of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries.

THE PATKAI RANGE: The Patkai or Purvanchal, are situated near India's eastern border with Myanmar. They were created by the same tectonic processes which led to the formation of the Himalayas. The physical features of the Patkai mountains are conical peaks, steep slopes and deep valleys. The Patkai ranges are not as rugged or tall as the Himalayas. There are three hill ranges that come under the Patkai: the Patkai–Bum, the Garo–Khasi–Jaintia and the Lushai hills. The Garo–Khasi range lies in Meghalaya. Mawsynram, a village near Cherrapunji lying on the windward side of these hills, has the distinction of being the wettest place in the world, receiving the highest annual rainfall.

WATER BODIES:

RIVERS

THE BRAHMAPUTRA :The Brahmaputra also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a nada in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence. All other Indian rivers are referred to as 'nadī.From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh (India) where it is known as Dihang. It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna (not to be mistaken with Yamuna of India). In the vast Ganges Delta it merges with the Padma, the main distributary of the Ganges, then the Meghna, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

About 1,800 miles (2,900 km) long, the Brahmaputra is an important river for irrigation and transportation. The average depth of the river is 124 feet (38 m) and maximum depth is 380 feet (120 m). The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt. The average discharge of the river is about 19,300 cubic metres per second (680,000 cu ft/s), and floods can reach over 100,000 cubic metres per second (3,500,000 cu ft/s).It is a classic example of a braided river and is highly susceptible to channel migration and avulsion.It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore. It is navigable for most of its length.

The Brahmaputra's upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Yarlung Tsangpo was only established by exploration in 1884-86. This river is often called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river.The lower reaches are sacred to Hindus. While most rivers on the Indian subcontinent have female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit (putra means "son").

The Brahmaputra enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called Siang. It makes a very rapid descent from its original height in Tibet, and finally appears in the plains, where it is called Dihang. It flows for about 35 kilometres (22 mi) and is joined by the Dibang River and the Lohit River at the head of the Assam Valley. Below the Lohit the river is called Brahmaputra, enters the state of Assam and becomes very wide—as wide as 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in parts of Assam. It is joined in Sonitpur by the Kameng River (or Jia Bhoreli).Between Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur districts the river divides into two channels—the northern Kherkutia channel and the southern Brahmaputra channel. The two channels join again about 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream forming the Majuli island, the largest river island in India. At Guwahati, near the ancient pilgrimage center of Hajo, the Brahmaputra cuts through the rocks of the Shillong Plateau, and is at its narrowest at 1 kilometre (1,100 yd) bank-to-bank. Due to the river's narrow width, the Battle of Saraighat was fought here. The first rail-cum-road bridge[clarification needed] across the Brahmaputra was opened to traffic in April 1962 at Saraighat.

           

The environment of the Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam have been described as the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests ecoregion

THE BARAK RIVER:The Barak River is one of the major rivers of southern Assam and is a part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It is the biggest and the most important of all the rivers in the Manipur hill territory, from where it originates. From its source in the Manipur Hills of India, near Mao Songsang, the river is known as the Barak River. Near its source, the river receives a lot of little hill streams, including the Gumti, Howrah, Kagni, Senai Buri, Hari Mangal, Kakrai, Kurulia, Balujhuri, Shonaichhari and Durduria. It flows west through Manipur State, then southwest leaving Manipur and entering Mizoram State.In Mizoram State the Barak flows southwest then veers abruptly north when joined by a north flowing stream and flows into Assam State where it turns westward again near Lakhipur as it enters the plains. It then flows west past the town of Silchar where it is joined by the Madhura River. After Silchar, it flows for about 30-odd kilometres & near Badarpur, it divides itself into the Surma River and the Kushiyara River and enters Bangladesh. The principal tributaries of the Barak in India are the Jiri, the Dhaleshwari (Tlawng), the Singla, the Longai, the Madhura, the Sonai (Tuirial), the Rukni and the Katakhal.

The depth of river is 15 feet (0.0013 h). 60 hours (710,000 ft) 100 feet (0.0085 h) 90 feet (0.0076 h) 85 feet (0.0072 h

LAKES

LOKTAK LAKE

LOKTAK LAKE:Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in India, also called the only Floating lake in the world due to the floating phumdis (heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic matters at various stages of decomposition) on it, is located near Moirang in Manipur state, India.The etymology of Loktak is Lok = "stream" and tak = "the end".The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of the endangered sangai or Manipur brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldi eldi), one of three subspecies of Eld's Deer, covering an area of 40 km2 (15 sq mi), is situated in the southeastern shores of this lake and is the largest of all the phumdis in the lake.This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply. The lake is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live in the surrounding areas and on phumdis, also known as “phumshongs”. Human activity has led to severe pressure on the lake ecosystem. 55 rural and urban hamlets around the lake have a population of about 100,000 people.


COMMUNITIES
These are the main communities of north east india:
Assamese, Bengali, Bishnupriya Manipuri , Chakma, Bodo, Dimasa, Garo, Karbi ,Khasi, Kuki, Meitei people, Mizo, Naga, Rabha, Koch Rajbongshi, Mishing, Sylheti, Tiwa, Nepali, Hmar, Zeme Naga, Adivasi.