Assam's Geography for the Assam Police Constable Exam
Geography is one of the most rewarding sections of the General Knowledge paper, because the facts are stable, the questions are factual, and the whole subject can be held in the mind as a picture of the map. The SLPRB Assam Police Constable (AB & UB) paper asks about the rivers, the hills, the forests, the climate, the mineral wealth, the tea gardens and the famous wildlife of the state, and it expects the candidate to place each of these in its correct part of Assam. If the places are learnt on the map rather than in a list, even the trickiest question becomes easy. This chapter sets out the geography of the state in the order of a journey, from its position on the map to its rivers, its climate, its forests and its resources. The facts follow publicly available official sources and the standard reference material used for the Assam recruitment examinations.
Location, Extent and Size
Assam lies in the north-east of India, roughly between twenty-four and twenty-eight degrees north latitude and between ninety and ninety-six degrees east longitude. The state covers an area of about seventy-eight thousand square kilometres, and by population it is the largest state of the north-eastern region. It is a landlocked state, but it touches two neighbouring countries: Bhutan lies to the north and Bangladesh to the south-west. Within India, Assam is surrounded by Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal, and this ring of territory, joined to the rest of the country by the narrow corridor of West Bengal, gives Assam its important position in the north-east.
The Two Valleys and the Central Hills
Physically, Assam is divided into three distinct parts. The largest is the Brahmaputra valley, which runs across the northern part of the state from the east to the west and holds the great majority of the population and of the cultivated land. To the south of this valley stand the central hills, the Karbi Anglong plateau and the North Cachar Hills, which is now called Dima Hasao. Farther south lies the Barak valley, a smaller plain that is quite different from the Brahmaputra valley in its landscape and in its culture. A candidate should be able to say, for any town or river, which of these three regions it belongs to.
The Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra is the river that gives the state its shape. It rises in the highlands of Tibet, where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo, and it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called the Siang and then the Dihang. It enters Assam near Sadiya and flows across the whole length of the Brahmaputra valley, a distance of several hundred kilometres within the state, before turning south into Bangladesh, where it is known as the Jamuna. The river is wide, shifting and braided, and it carries a huge quantity of silt. Its most famous island is Majuli, the largest river island in the world, which is also the centre of the Sattriya religious tradition and became a district in its own right. The great braided character of the river makes it both a lifeline and a threat, and this double nature is a favourite question of the examiners.
The Barak Valley and the Other Rivers
The Barak valley lies in the southern part of the state and takes its name from the river Barak, which rises in the hills of Manipur and flows through Cachar before passing into Bangladesh, where it splits into the Surma and the Kushiyara. Besides the two great rivers, Assam has a large number of tributaries, and the name of a tributary attached to the wrong bank is a common cause of lost marks. On the north bank of the Brahmaputra the important tributaries include the Subansiri, the Manas, the Jia Bharali and the Dhansiri, while the Kopili and the Krishnai join it from the south. Learning the two banks as two separate lists prevents confusion.
Climate and Rainfall
Assam has a tropical monsoon climate, with hot and very humid summers, a heavy rainy season and a short, mild winter. The south-west monsoon arrives around June and continues to September, and the rainfall is among the heaviest in the country, because the moisture-laden winds are forced to rise by the hills. The combination of heat and moisture produces dense vegetation and makes the state green throughout the year. Occasional disturbances in winter bring light rain, and the temperature rarely falls low enough for frost in the plains. For the examination, the key points are the type of climate, the season of the monsoon and the reason for the very heavy rainfall.
Forests and Natural Vegetation
The natural vegetation of Assam includes tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, deciduous forest and extensive grasslands. The evergreen forests grow in the areas of heaviest rainfall, while the deciduous forests lose their leaves in the dry season. The grasslands, with their tall elephant grass, are found along the flood plains of the Brahmaputra and provide the habitat for the rhinoceros of Kaziranga. The forests of the state are a source of timber, bamboo and cane, and many of them are reserved or protected. Questions in this area usually ask which type of forest grows where, or which animal is associated with which forest.
National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries
Assam is famous for its wildlife, and this is one of the most reliable sources of marks. Kaziranga National Park is the best known, and it protects the largest population of the one-horned rhinoceros in the world; it was declared a national park in 1974 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Manas National Park, on the Manas river, is also a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve, and it is known for the tiger and the rare pygmy hog. Among the other national parks are Nameri, which is famous for the white-winged wood duck, Orang, which is sometimes called a miniature Kaziranga, Dibru-Saikhowa, which is known for its feral horses, and the recently added Raimona and Dehing Patkai. The sanctuaries include Pobitora, which has the highest density of rhinoceros, and Hollongapar Gibbon, which protects the hoolock gibbon.
Minerals and Natural Resources
Assam is rich in mineral wealth. Crude oil is the state's most important mineral, and the oil fields at Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran, Rudrasagar and Lakwa are well known; Digboi is associated with the earliest days of the oil industry in India. Natural gas is found along with the oil, and coal is mined in the eastern part of the state, notably around Ledo and Margherita. Limestone and other building materials are also available. Tea, though it is an agricultural product and not a mineral, is the resource for which Assam is most famous throughout the world, and it is treated as part of the state's wealth in most question banks.
Tea and Agriculture
Assam is the largest tea-producing region in India, and the tea gardens of the Brahmaputra valley are a distinctive feature of its landscape. The tea plant was noticed in the state in the early nineteenth century by Robert Bruce, and the first commercial gardens were established a little later; the Assam Company, formed in 1839, was among the earliest. The state's tea carries the protection of a geographical indication and is exported around the world. Besides tea, the agriculture of Assam produces rice, which is the staple crop, along with jute, sugarcane, pulses and mustard, and the fertile plains of the Brahmaputra and the Barak support a dense farming population.
Population, Districts and Boundaries
According to the census of 2011, Assam had a population of a little more than three crore, and it is one of the more populous states of the north-east. The state is divided into many districts, and the number has been changed more than once by reorganisation. The capital is Dispur, a locality within Guwahati, which is the largest city. Assam shares an international boundary with Bhutan and Bangladesh, and its interstate boundary touches all the other states of the north-east except Sikkim. The candidate should know the capital, the largest city and the direction of each neighbouring state, because these are asked directly.
Earthquakes, Floods and Erosion
Assam lies in a zone of high seismic activity, and this has shaped its history. The great earthquake of 1897 and the Assam earthquake of 1950 are the two events most often mentioned, and the second is remembered for changing the courses of several rivers. Because of the heavy monsoon and the silty bed of the Brahmaputra, the state also suffers from recurring floods and from bank erosion, and erosion has steadily reduced the area of Majuli. Floods and erosion are a recurring theme in the current affairs linked to the state's geography, and a candidate should be able to link the cause to the effect in one sentence.
Common Traps in Geography Questions
- Attaching a tributary to the wrong bank of the Brahmaputra.
- Mixing up the names of the Brahmaputra in different countries, and forgetting that it becomes the Jamuna in Bangladesh.
- Confusing the Barak valley with the Brahmaputra valley.
- Matching a national park with the wrong animal, such as placing the feral horses in Kaziranga.
- Forgetting that the capital is Dispur and not Guwahati, even though Dispur lies within Guwahati.
A Revision Plan for This Chapter
- Draw a rough outline of Assam and mark the two valleys and the central hills.
- Mark the Brahmaputra and the Barak, and list their important tributaries on the two banks separately.
- Mark the national parks and sanctuaries with the animal they are known for.
- Mark the mineral belts and the tea-growing districts.
- Finish with the climate, the earthquakes and the floods, and revise the map twice a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three physiographic divisions of Assam?
The Brahmaputra valley in the north, which is the largest and most populous; the central hills of Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills, now called Dima Hasao; and the Barak valley in the south. Almost every place in the state can be placed in one of these three regions.
What is the Brahmaputra called in different places?
It is the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, the Siang and then the Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh, the Brahmaputra in Assam, and the Jamuna in Bangladesh. It enters Assam near Sadiya, and Majuli, the largest river island in the world, lies in it.
Which national parks of Assam are World Heritage Sites?
Kaziranga National Park, inscribed in 1985 and famous for the one-horned rhinoceros, and Manas National Park, also inscribed in 1985 and known for the tiger and the pygmy hog. Manas is additionally a Biosphere Reserve.
Why does Assam receive such heavy rainfall?
The south-west monsoon carries moisture from the Bay of Bengal and is forced to rise by the hills of the region, which produces very heavy rain between June and September. The state has a tropical monsoon climate, hot and humid, and the rainfall makes its forests dense and green.
What are the main minerals of Assam?
Crude oil is the most important, with the oil fields of Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran, Rudrasagar and Lakwa, along with natural gas found with the oil. Coal is mined in the east around Ledo and Margherita, and limestone is also available. Tea, though agricultural, is treated as a leading resource of the state.