Development of Administration in Assam

The Development of Administration in Assam between 1874-1920 is a significant study in the growth of government in the smallest north-eastern state of India. This province was tagged along with the Bengal Government in 1826 after the first Anglo-Burmese War; it contained in its territory the present constituents of the North Eastern Council barring Tripura. The province was the habitat of many colourful but most primitive tribes around highly developed populations on the two river valleys of the Brahmaputra and the Barak. Though the people in the valleys were culturally more advanced than those on the surrounding hills they belonged to distinct linguistic communities, tribes and sub-tribes which numbered not less than a thousand and spoke separate dialects. The topography and climatic conditions varied as much as did the kaleidoscopic tribes. It presented a microscopic view of the Indian civilization the most distinctive feature of which is unity in variety.