Karimganj district renamed as Sribhumi

Why in news?

• The Assam government has issued an official notification to rename the Barak Valley district Karimganj as Sribhumi.

Key Points:-

• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that more than 100 years ago, Kaviguru Rabindranath Tagore had described the modern Karimganj district of Assam as Sribhumi (land of Maa Lakshmi).

History of Assam:-

• There are several views about the origin of the name Assam.
• In ancient Sanskrit literature, both the names 'Pragjyotish' and 'Kamarupa' were used for ancient Assam.
•  It has also been mentioned in two great epics - Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Puranas.
• Samudragupta's inscriptions on the Allahabad pillar in the 4th century mention Kamarupa and the establishment of the Kamarupa kingdom.
• The name 'Ahom' or 'Asom' was probably given by the Ahoms who came to Assam in 1228 AD.
• The Ahom dynasty was founded by Sukapha, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam crossing the Patkai Mountains.
• The reign of this dynasty ended with the Burmese invasion of Assam and its subsequent annexation by the British East India Company following the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.
• The British monarch took charge of the state and thus began the colonial era of Assam.
• In the year 1874, Assam became a separate province with its capital at Shillong. • The first Governor of independent Assam was Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari and the Chief Minister was Gopinath Bordoloi, who laid the foundation of Gauhati University (1948), Gauhati High Court (1948) and the Guwahati station of All India Radio (AIR).
• The famous language revolt took place in Assam in 1959-60, resulting in Assamese becoming the official language of the state.
• In the year 1974 the capital was shifted to Dispur in Guwahati.
• The Assam Movement (1979-1985) was a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam.
• The Assam Accord (1985) was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement on 15 August 1985 at New Delhi.