It has been remarked that what has been happening in Assam over the past few decades in the matter of the widening of the parameters of the Assamese nationality as a result of swift demographic change, may be said to be unique not only in relation to the other Peace and Democracy in South Asia, Volume 2, Numbers 1 & 2, 2006. 122 states or regions of India but also in relation to most other regions of the world where cross border migration is a problem. This article takes a closer look, with the aim of reviewing some of the existing literature on the formation and evolution of Assamese identity.

According to Guha, it was the colonial state that provided the initial stimuli for the growth of community consciousness among the Assamese by first encouraging immigration into Assam from neighboring Bengal and then by imposing Bengali as the official language of the province. The need to induct outsiders into Assam first arose apparently owing to the acute manpower shortage in Assam, the problem being magnified by the demand for labour coming from the tea plantations. The easy availability of educated personnel from Bengal and the consequent redundancy of building an expensive educational infrastructure in Assam encouraged the employment of Bengalis in government offices. The inclusion of the Bengali speaking district of Sylhet in 1874 for colonial administrative reasons further increased the number of Bengalis in Assam. In the 20th century the government encouraged immigration from overpopulated East Bengal to work the cultivable wasteland with an eye to increasing the revenue yielding capacity of the Peace and Democracy in South Asia, Volume 2, Numbers 1 & 2, 2006. 123 province. Having first settled in the jungle infested riverine belt, the Mymensinghias, as the immigrants were popularly called, gradually spread out to claim areas held by the autochthones. Being better cultivators they could offer higher prices to induce Assamese peasants to sell off portions of their land holdings.

While the tea garden labourers did not add to the pressure on land in rural Assam because they more or less confined themselves to the tea plantations, the Nepalis settled down in villages and thus there was every possibility of their coming into conflict with the Assamese peasants. But what saved the situation was that the Nepalis slowly got assimilated with the Assamese. So did the tea garden Peace and Democracy in South Asia, Volume 2, Numbers 1 & 2, 2006. 125 labourers so much so that a new dimension was added to the Assamese culture by the tea garden labourers …The conflict that exists between the indigenous Assamese population and the immigrant Bengali in Assam is generated because of the resistance of the latter to the process of assimilation.

The Australoids are taken as the first to come into this land. They were followed by the Mongoloids migrating from Tibet and South China, Dravidians and Aryans from North India. The anthropologists has divided the whole population of Assam into two units such asa. Caste unit b. Tribe unit The caste unit includes those social or language units who are follower of Hindu Varnashram religion or main religious sect. It includes Brahman, Kshatrya, Baishya and Shudras called as Chaturbarna in ancient Hindu religion. Various people of different professions comprise these four varnas such as Bamun or Brahmin- Gosain or dwija, Daibagyas, Kayastha- Kalita, Sudir etc. The Indian constitution has recognised those ethnic groups as scheduled tribe who are backward in comparison to other caste and ethnic groups and who have abled to keep their old traditions till today. Due to lack of technical, economic and educational development these peoples like to live in an isolated area with their old traditional rites and customs.

Bodo Kacharis, the Morans, the Barahis and the Ahoms are all Mongoloids. The Buddhists Khamtis, Phakials, Aitonias, Turungs, Syams and the Khamjangs have been living mainly in eastern Assam. The Mishings are Mongoloid people. Some Manipuris, Singphos, Adis, Karbis, Garos and Nagas are also included in the population of Assam. Sheikh, Saiyad, Mughal and Pathan- these four classes of Muslim people are permanent settlers of Assam. Settlement of the Sikh population in Assam dates back to the middle of the 17th century. Marwari and Panjabi traders, Bengali clerks and tea garden labourers penetrated Assam during British rule. A lot of Christian people also have been living in Assam. The Nepalis began to come to Assam since the early part of the 19th century.