Assam is one of the hilly states of the Republic of India Just as Kashmir occupies an important place in the north-west, so does Assam have its own significance in the north-east. Like Kashmir, it is also beautiful state and for India, it has a peculiar position. India cannot afford to apart with it.
Assam lies on the eastern end of the Himalayan range and is surrounded by some other Indian hilly states. Being close to China, it plays a very strategic role from the military point of view. Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal, Meghalaya, Nagaland situated as they are, add to the political significance of the country.
From the economic and financial point of view, one cannot forget its natural rich oil fields and oil refineries with meet the needs of the country in Kerosene oil, diesel, petroleum and other products, to a very large extent. Politically, the state has its own legislative assembly and like other states, it is a part of the Republic of India. Its abundance in oil, petroleum etc, makes it very useful to India. The people of the state are mostly backward and illiterate. They live on rice, fish and meat, and possess forests of bamboos as a divine boon. They use bamboo for making each and everything. Even houses are built of bamboos and plastered with mud or cement. Toys, hats, baskets, thatched roofs, decorative articles-all are made of bamboos. Every family, of course, a small one, has its own pond full of rainy water. Ducks, fish etc, are tamed in the pond which is also a source of water supply for the local people. Their rice-fields are small and irrigated from these ponds if natural rains fail. In Assam, the days are clear and bright but the nights are cloudy and rainy. The climate is specially suited and useful for its paddy fields and tea gardens.
The people have generally, of course of recent origin. schools, but the people are conservative and superstitious and look upon the educated persons of other states with suspicion, However, civilization is progressing there by leafs and bounds as buses, trains, aeroplanes have brought the people in contact with the other states of India. standard of living of the Assamese is not high. They are simple, meek and hospitable, but they are brave, alert and hard working.
Cherapunji has the highest rainfall. One cannot keep eatables for long, as the moist climates spoils them. Rainfall is also a blessing to supply water of the ponds and the paddy fields. Formerly, the state suffered frequently from earthquakes and hence the so-called houses or bunglaws were made of bamboos and thatches with long grass.
The industrial prospects of the state are very bright and if the Government of India is sincere, no young man or woman can be allowed to remain unemployed. Education is the need of the hour. No community can prosper materially without a sound technical education that may cater to the industrial needs of the population. Patience and perseverance can make the states as advanced as any other in India or Europe Dignity of manual lobour is the key to the prosperity and material well-being of the masses. Mills, factories refineries, schools, hospitals, dairies, farms, fisheries-they all have to be supplied to the state if one is anxious to put the masses on the road to advancement and civilization. Road and electricity are prerequisites in this direction.