The Tai Buddhist Communities of Assam

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Assam is situated in the northeast of India. Its geographical boundary had never been the same as it is today. Its history has ever been, as of every country, determined by its geography. One- millennium years ago it was called Kamrupa. It had an extensive area and its boundary included the eastern part of modern Bangladesh. It had four provinces called Swarnapith, Ratnapith, Kampith and Soumarpith. The Soumarpith was the eastern most province and was composed of the present day upper Assam, lower part of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The mighty river Brahmaputra flows through its plains from the east to the west. According to the nature of the land and inhabitants, culture and civilization developed. Here the Mongoloid, the Austric, the Dravidian and the Aryan people lived side by side together. According to the Tai nomenclature, it is the Kula, the Kha and the Tai. The Kula includes all the Indians, Aryans and the Dravidians alike; the Kha includes the Tibeto-Burman race and the Tai all the includes of Tai.

The Kula (Indians) entered Assam from the west by the land and the river, the Kha people from the north and east mountain passes and the Tai in the similar way from the northeast and the southern mountain passes. All of them entered Assam two milliniem years ago, and even before, and have continued to live in the area upto the present century.