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Aspect	Information
Location	Assam is a state located in northeastern India, positioned south of the eastern Himalayas, along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys.
Geographical Area	The total area covered by Assam is 78,438 square kilometers (30,285 square miles).

How Many States of India Share Border with Assam? In this regard, Assam shares its boundary with seven Indian states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and West Bengal. These borders bring into sharp focus the strategic geographic importance of Assam in northeastern India.

State	Border Description
Arunachal Pradesh	Located to the north, shares a significant boundary with Assam.
Nagaland	Positioned to the east, it has a long history of border disputes with Assam.
Manipur	Shares a shorter border with Assam, located further southeast.
Mizoram	Situated to the south, involved in ongoing border disputes with Assam.
Tripura	Shares a southern boundary, although geographically distant.
Meghalaya	Lies to the south, with a significant boundary shared, including the Khasi and Jaintia hills.
West Bengal	Connected via the Siliguri Corridor, a narrow strip linking Assam to the rest of India.
Bhutan	International boundary to the north of Assam.
Bangladesh	Shares an international border to the southwest, though not a state boundary.

Aspect	Information
Official Languages	Assam recognizes Assamese and Boro as its official languages. Additionally, Bengali holds official language status in the three districts of Barak Valley.
Connectivity	Assam is connected to the rest of India in the west through the Siliguri Corridor, a narrow strip of land spanning 22 kilometers.
Rivers	Assam is geographically situated along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys.
Unique Corridor	Siliguri Corridor: A distinct feature, this 22-kilometer-wide land strip links Assam to the rest of India, traversing through West Bengal.

Border Direction	Neighboring Region(s)
North	Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh
East	Nagaland, Manipur
South	Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Bangladesh
West	West Bengal (connected via Siliguri Corridor)

Inter-state dispute

Inter-State Dispute	Details
Assam-Mizoram Dispute	Mizoram, formerly a district of Assam, shares a border with the districts Cachar, Hailakandi, and Karimganj in Assam’s Barak Valley region. Dispute arises from differing perceptions on demarcation. Mizoram advocates using an Inner Line Permit from 1875, protecting tribals, while Assam prefers demarcation based on district boundaries drawn later. Recently, Assam and Mizoram agreed to maintain peace and harmony along their inter-state border.
Assam-Meghalaya Dispute	Meghalaya has identified multiple areas in dispute with Assam over state borders. Recent discussions between Chief Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya’s Conrad Sangma aim to assess claims for all identified areas. The Union Government’s role is described as a facilitator, emphasizing resolution through cooperation between the concerned State Governments
Assam-Nagaland Dispute	Ongoing since Nagaland’s formation in 1963, the dispute involves the claim to Merapani, a village near Assam’s Golaghat district. Violent clashes have been reported since the 1960s, indicating the long-standing and contentious nature of the border disagreement between Assam and Nagaland.
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh Dispute	Assam shares an 804.10 km inter-state boundary with Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal, created in 1987, claims that land traditionally belonging to its residents was given to Assam. A tripartite committee suggested territorial transfers, leading to legal battles in the Supreme Court of India. Local violence incidents have been reported from the disputed borders.

Developmental Efforts in Assam and Mizoram

• Hailakandi, Karimganj and Cachar lie in Assam, which share borders with Mizoram in the south of Assam. There has been a dispute for land between Assam and Mizoram historically which is to be resolved.
• Assam chief minister Hemant Biswa Sarma invited Mizoram counterpart for discussions and both leaders expressed their commitment to finding an amicable solution. Hailakandi and Karimganj are economies with agriculture being a significant part.
• The regions are known for their Tea, Rice, Jute among their main crops. Whereas Cachar which contains the major city of Silchar acts as commercial hub for Barak Valley.
• The region has a more diversified economy with significant contributions from agriculture, tea plantations and trade. Efforts are being made in these areas to improve infrastructure, small scale industries, IT sector and educational infrastructure.
• Assam has been a significant exporter of tea since long. Tea is distributed to various parts of the country, and, internationally there have been imports of tea from this state.
• Hence protecting the vision of such a huge tea distributer state, is important for the center government. Efforts are being made to bring stabilization to the economy of Assam for the population here to live productively and, with prosperity and happiness.

Tea Distribution affected by dispute between Assam and Mizoram

• The disputes can lead to hesitance of the investors to invest in tea industry, which will affect the overall long-term growth and development. any conflict or tensions can lead to temporary shutdowns of tea gardens, affecting the overall output.
• Transporting tea products from the Barak valley(which includes Cacher, Hailakandi and Karimganj) to other parts of India or for export can become challenging during periods of high tension.
• Many a time the violence of the disputes destroy the shipments of tea which results in losses of owners. During such situations, running small businesses of tea becomes difficult and hence the small scale businessmen there remaining unsatisfied.

Assam-Meghalaya dispute

• During the British rule there were boundaries drawn between the two states. Assam was a major province, and Meghalaya was a part of it until 1972. But after this year Meghalaya became a separate state. The demarcation lines were often arbitrary and did not consider the ethnic and cultural landscapes of the region.
• When Meghalaya moved out of Assam, the boundaries were not clearly defined. This lead to overlapping regions of the two states belonging to communities with strong ethnic connections to both states. The disputed states are home to various indigenous tribes who have historical and cultural connections to both states. This makes the demarcation of boundaries complex and sensitive.
• The tribes of this areas have emotional, historical and cultural connections to both states. Historically the lands belonging to their forefathers now overlaps for these Assam and Meghalaya boundaries.
• Historically, both state governments administered the disputed overlapped regions. This led to both states claiming the Assam-Meghalaya boundaries, and governance issues also arose in these disputed regions.
• Both states claimed the natural resources in some of the disputed regions for their own economies, leading the dispute to grow boundlessly.

How have local communities been affected by Assam- Meghalaya dispute?

• Residents in the disputed areas face uncertainty regarding state affiliation i.e., to which parties or organizations these areas belong. This leads to displacement and instability and affects their access to state resources and services.
• The dispute disrupts the economic activities including agriculture and trade. Farmers and traders do not understand to which legal authority their regions belong, leading to occasional conflicts.
• Sometimes, it is not clear who has the administrative control, which leads to a loophole in the provision of some services like health, education, and infrastructure. The community may be finding it hard to receive these services continuously.
• The community tensions can heighten into normal conflicts and situations of insecurity; there has been violence and clashes which make it hard for the community relations to be followed to the core.
• This conflict involves cultural and social structuring of the region. Administrative boundaries sometimes divide communities of shared ethnic and cultural affiliation into opposing sides, which can have further implications for their social cohesion.
• The unending uncertainty and sporadic conflicts create psychological distress among citizens, which pervades their lives and wellbeing in general.

Assam-Nagaland Dispute

• The dispute between Assam and Nagaland has been on grounds since long time. Many a time, because of the dispute between the people of both states innocents are being killed or many are being injured. In anger, people are destroying public property and transportation systems.
• Many people during disputes are being killed in police firings, as police are called to stop outbreaks of violence. In areas like Golghat, protests against police have resulted in many deaths due to police firings. Thousands of innocents who have lost their dwelling places have been moved to relief camps because of violences.
• The dispute between Assam and Nagaland has been in the news since 1925. In 1925 stretches of forests were transferred from Nagaland to Assam. The people of Nagaland said these forests should have been transferred to Nagaland until 1947.
• The issue was raised in 1960 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India. This led to the signing of the 16-point Agreement between the center and the Naga Peoples. As a result, the state of Nagaland was formed in 1963.
• Nagaland wants the formation of boundaries on historical lines.’Nagalim’ or Greater Nagaland was formed as the militants put forward the principal demand of Nagaland’s formation.
• On the other hand, Assam stays 591 km of land belonging to Assam, which Nagaland took over. Assam maintains the costitutionally made demarcations.
• Later, in the year 1988, the issue of the lands between Assam and Nagaland was moved to the Supreme Court. The decision is still pending in the Supreme court.
• In 1979, the boundary between Assam and Nagaland was posted as a neutral group. Law and order along the boundary which is divided into six sectors, is under the Central Government.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh dispute.

• In 1993, the dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh began escalating as the Arunachal Pradesh government accused Assam of encroaching on and constructing in their territory. The official and the residential buildings were targeted.
• In 2005, The court ordered many residential tenants of Arunachal Pradesh to leave the property where they reside.
• In 2007. villagers from Arunachal Pradesh, opened fire during a peace meeting, in Assam resulting in eight injuries.
• In 2020, the clashes ensued as the Assam-based-NGOs surrounded the borders to prevent goods or people from reaching them.
• On July 15, 2022, in Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh, an agreement was signed between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, in which Arunachal Pradesh reduced its claimed 123 villages. They were reduced from 123 to 86.

How many Official languages in India?