If there is one "melting pot" in the Himalayan region, it is the north-eastern region of India, particularly the "mother state" of Assam. Here, six different demographic strands are identifiable. The indigenous tribes, whose origins are lost in time. The Ahom, who invaded the area from the southeast in 1228 and ruled for nearly 600 years. The caste Hindus who arrived two or three centuries later from today´s Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The remnants of Muslim contingents of Mughal power. East Bengalis, whose influx began with the British occupation of 1826 and continues to this day. The tea-garden tribal labour with origins In Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. And lastly, migrant Nepalis and others from as far afield as Rajasthan, attracted by economic opportunities of the Indian Northeast.
About a million people inhabited the northeastern region as a whole when the British annexed Assam in 1826. At the turn of the century, the number was up to about 3.3 million and the region as a whole still sparsely populated. The last 90 years, however, has seen a phenomenal jump in population — to more than 31 million today.
Immigration has had a profound effect on the region—first and foremost on the psychology of the indigenous people and locals, as successive alien groups arrive to dispossess them of land and forests. The impact of immigration, is evident everywhere — in the culture, the economy, administration and politics of the region.
When long-mirsed grievances are not addressed by ruling majorities, these blossom into full-blown movements. The most potent fuels for such movements are the dispossession of land and forests, discrimination in education and employment, indifference and even contempt for cultural and linguistic aspirations, lack of respect for equality before law, and unfair administration. The right of indigenous people over common property resources—land, water, forests — based on the doctrine of historical prerogative have received scant respect. Unfair psycho-social treatment has caused anguish and deep discontent.