Guwahati (), formerly known as Gauhati, is the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is the 10th busiest in India, and the busiest in the Assam and North-East of the country. A major riverine port city along with hills, and one of the fastest growing cities in India, Guwahati is situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra. Guwahati is divided into two separate revenue districts:-Kamrup Metropolitan district and Kamrup Rural district. The city is known as the "gateway to North East India".
The ancient cities of Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya (North Guwahati) were the capitals of the ancient state of Kamarupa. Many ancient Hindu temples like the Kamakhya Temple, Ugratara Temple, Basistha Temple, Doul Govinda Temple, Umananda Temple, Navagraha Temple, Sukreswar Temple, Rudreswar Temple, Manikarneswar Devalaya, Aswaklanta Temple, Dirgheshwari Temple, Lankeshwar Temple, Bhubaneswari Temple, Shree Ganesh Mandir, Shree Panchayatana Temple, Noonmati, and the like, are situated in the city, giving it the title of "The City of Temples". The noted Madan Kamdev is situated from Guwahati.
Guwahati lies between the banks of the Brahmaputra River and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with LGB International Airport to the west and the town of Narengi to the east. The North Guwahati area, to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, is being gradually incorporated into the city limits. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation, the city's local government, administers an area of . At the same time, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is the planning and development body of Greater Guwahati Metropolitan Area. Guwahati is the largest city in Northeast India.
The Guwahati region hosts diverse wildlife including rare animals such as Asian elephants, pythons, tigers, rhinoceros, gaurs, primate species, and endangered birds.Choudhury, A.U. (2002). Big cats, elephant, rhino and gaur in Guwahati. The Rhino Found. NE India Newsletter 4:16-19.Choudhury, A.U. (2003). Guwahati: the city of Adjutants and other endangered birds. The Rhino Found. NE India Newsletter 5:14-17.
Etymology Guwahati derives its name from the Assamese word "Guwa" () derived from the Sanskrit word Guvāka (Devanagari: गुवाक), meaning areca nut and its plant and "Hati" () meaning rows, the rows of areca nut trees.
History
Legends
Naraka, also known as Narakāsura, and Bhaumāsura was an asura king, the legendary progenitor of all three dynasties of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa, and the founding ruler of the legendary Bhauma dynasty of Pragjyotisha."Pragjyotisha and Pragjyotishapura, which are names of the capital city situated about Guwahati, are mentioned for the first time in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in connection with the mythical kings Naraka, his son Bhagadatta and latter's son Vajradatta all of whom bear Sanskrit names." "(I)n the inscriptions issued by the rulers of Pragjyotisa-Kamarupa from the 4th to the 12th century A.D. it has been claimed that the founders of the respective dynasties belong to the Naraka line of kings." Though the myths about Naraka are first mentioned in the Mahabharata,"The earlier stage of the myths of Naraka and his son and his grandson is found in the Mahabharata" later texts embellish them. According to later post-Vedic texts such as the Brahma Purana and Vishnu Purana, he was the son of Bhudevi,"Naraka is not mentioned (in the Mahabharata) as the son of the Earth...so that the said development in other works must be regarded as a later fabrication" fathered by the Varaha incarnation of Vishnu. He is claimed as one who established Pragjyotisha. The pious Naraka became evil due to his association with an asura named Banasura of Śoṇitapura, and hence the suffix 'asura' (demon) was added to his name.Chandra Dhar Tripathi (2008), Kāmarūpa-Kaliga-Mithilā: a politico-cultural alignment in Eastern India : history, art, traditions, p.98, p.p 197 He was slain by Krishna and Satyabhama, who was the incarnate of Bhudevi.
The 10th/11th-century Kalika Purana embellishes the myths further and he is claimed to have come from Mithila and said to have established the kingdom of Pragjyotisha after overthrowing the last of the Kirata kings, Ghatakasura, of the Danava dynasty.Kali Prasad Goswami (2000), Devadāsī: Dancing Damsel, p.28 Pragjyotish can be regarded as a Dravida country that was overthrown by the Mongoloid people. Naraka regained this kingdom and drove away from the Mongoloids. According to the Kalika Purana, when Naraka developed demonic qualities Vishnu was invited to kill him. In due course, he came and killed Naraka and enthroned Bhagadatta. This Bhagadatta again introduced the Saiva cult in Pragjyotisha. It was foretold that he would be destroyed by a later incarnation of Vishnu. His mother, the earth, sought the boon from Vishnu that her son should have a long life, and that he should be all-powerful. Vishnu granted these boons.George M. Williams (2008), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, p.222
The legends of Naraka is important in the history of Assam, particularly Kamarupa; since Narakasura is cited as the progenitor of all three dynasties that ruled Kamarupa in historical times. A hill, to the south of Guwahati is named after him.Siba Pada Sen (1980), Sources of the history of India - Volume 3, p.69 He is also associated with the Hindu belief of the shakti goddess and place of worship Kamakhya.
Narakāsura's son Bhagadatta—of Mahabharata fame—succeeded him. As per the legends constructed in the Yogini Tantra, the tank Dighalipukhuri located in the heart of the city was dug by King Bhagadatta of Kamrup on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Bhanumati with Duryodhan.
The 10th—12th century Kalika Purana mentions that Kamrup was inhabited by strong, cruel Kirata people. According to the Kalika Puranaa, 'that country [Kamarupa], inhabited by the strong, cruel and foolish Kirata people, was kept concealed by Siva in the past for using as his own province' (Shastri 1992: chapter 38, 101)
Ancient history
Located within Guwahati is the Shakti temple of Goddess Kamakhya in Nilachal hill (an important seat of Tantric and Vajrayana Buddhism), the ancient and unique astrological temple Navagraha in Chitrachal Hill, and archaeological remains in Basistha and other archaeological locations of mythological importance.
The Ambari excavations trace the period of the city of Guwahati between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE, in the Shunga-Kushana period of Indian history. Descriptions by Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) reveal that during the reign of the Varman king Bhaskaravarman (7th century CE), the city stretched for about 30 li (). Archaeological evidence by excavations in Ambari, and excavated brick walls and houses discovered during construction of the present Cotton College's auditorium suggest the city was of economic and strategic importance until the 9th–11th century CE.
Medieval history
The region was ruled by a chief who styled himself as Herambadhipati (Heramba is another name for Ganesha) in the late 16th century. An inscription mentions that the ruler named Dununtrarāi donated a tank in Pragjyotishpura in the year 1577 A.D."A stone inscription found at Ganeshguri, Beltala-mauza in Guwahati, dated 1499 Śaka (1577 ad), records Dununtrarāi, the Lord of Heḍamba (śrīśrīheḍambādhipati-dununtrarāi), who donated a tank in Pragjyotishpura. Early inhabitants of Guwahati consisted mostly of Garos, Karbis, Lalungs, Rabha and Koch-Kachari, while small numbers of Manipuris, Kalitas and Muslims in Guwahati are settlers of later periods.
Koch King Parikshit had his capital at Pragjyotishpur near the Aswatirtha during the conflicts with Mughals. It came under Mughal occupation between (1633–59, 1662–69, 1679–81); their vestiges were completely removed after the Battle of Itakhuli.
Guwahati was the headquarters of the Borphukan, Ahom governor of Lower Assam till 1824.The Borphukan's residence was in the present Fancy Bazaar area and his council-hall, called Dopdar, was about 300 yards (270 m) to the west of the Bharalu stream.The Majindar Baruah, the personal secretary of the Borphukan, had his residence in the present-day deputy commissioner's residence. During the reign of the kingdom of Ahom, Guwahati was fortified strongly and connected with the country with a number of roads. The Dighalipukhuri was used as a boatyard during this period. During the time of splendor, since the reign of Gadadhar Singha, the Ahom rulers paid their attention to building several temples in various religious sites at Guwahati.
Colonial history
On the cession of Assam to the British in 1826, it was made the seat of the British administration of Assam, and so continued until 1874, when the headquarters were removed to Shillong in the Khasi hills.
Modern history The Gauhati High Court (formerly known as the High Court of Assam) was promulgated on 1 March 1948 by the then Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten, in accordance with the Government of India Act 1935. It became effective on 5 April 1948 and was initially established for the Province of Assam. R.F. Lodge was the inaugural Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, taking office on 5 April 1948.
The Saraighat Bridge, notable for its role in connecting Northeast India with the rest of the country, was constructed between 1959 and 1962 by the Hindustan Construction Company at a cost of approximately 106 million at the time. It was completed in September 1962, and the first engine crossed it on 23 September 1962.
In 1972, due to separation of Meghalaya from Assam, the capital of Assam was moved to Dispur, a neighbourhood in Guwahati from the erstwhile capital of Shillong.
The city's civic administration was reorganised during the same period. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation was constituted in 1974 under the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, following the first election of its councillors. Metropolitan planning was subsequently placed under the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), established in 1992 under the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority Act, 1985. It replaced the Guwahati Development Authority, which had been constituted in 1962, and was entrusted with implementing the city's master plan and regulating its planned development.
The establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in 1994 further strengthened the city's position as an educational and research centre. The institute began its academic programmes in 1995 and later developed its permanent campus at North Guwahati, on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra.
Geography
The Brahmaputra river flows to the north of the metropolis. The city is bordered on the south by the foothills of the Shillong plateau and to the east by the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. The Bharalu River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flows right through the heart of the city. To the south-west of the city lies Dipor Bil, a permanent freshwater lake with no prominent inflows apart from monsoon run-off from the hills to the south of the lake. The lake drains into the Brahmaputra, to the north, and acts as a natural stormwater reservoir for the city. There are also multiple hills within the city limits.
Urban morphology
Guwahati's 'urban form' radiates from a central core with growth corridors radiating and extending towards the south, east, and west. In the past few decades, southern Guwahati areas such as Ganeshguri, Beltola, Hatigaon, Six Mile, and Panjabari began forming a southern sub-center surrounding the capital complex at Dispur. The core area consists of the old city with Pan Bazaar, Paltan Bazaar, Fancy Bazaar and Uzan Bazaar, with each area facilitating unique urban activities.