In a new book, a journalist investigates how Barpeta in Assam became infamous for insurance scams
· Scroll
Assam is the most accessible state of the seven that make up India’s north-east region. A three-hour flight from Delhi transports you from dull brown farmlands to lush green floodplains. From high up in the sky, you can see rice fields stretching from one end to the other and a river taking up as much space as is practically allowed. Older than the Himalayas, the Brahmaputra is a river of majestic dimensions, passing into Assam from China on its northern border and, after flowing through the state for 600 km, slipping into Bangladesh on its southern end.
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India’s north-east is a patchwork of ethnicities, and its history is one of war, flood and displacement. After the conclusion of the Burmese War in 1826, fought between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Burma (now Myanmar), Assam came under British control. The colonial authorities appointed an officer representing the governor–general to oversee Assam’s administration, and later, in 1838, the region was officially incorporated into British-administered Bengal. In 1946, Assam was granted self-rule by the British Raj, but after India gained independence, it became part of the newly established Dominion of India. The Indian government then redrew the map, further distinguishing...