Assam (/əˈsæm/, pronunciation (help·info); Ôxôm, [ɔxɔm]) is a state of India in the north-eastern region. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak river valleys along with the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles (78,438 km²). Assam is surrounded by six of the other Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Geographically Assam and these states are connected to the rest of India via a strip of land in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck".^[2] Assam shares international borders with Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh; and cultures, peoples and climate with South-East Asia – elements in India’s Look East policy.^[3] Assam became a part of British India after the British occupied the region following the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826.

Assam tea is produced here along with petroleum and Assam silk. The state has conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the Pygmy hog, tiger and various species of birds. It provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The economy is aided by wildlife tourism while the Kaziranga and the Manas National Parks are designated as World Heritage Sites. Sal tree forests are found in the state, which as a result of rainfall looks green all year round. This rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

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