India is so vast and diverse a country that it becomes impossible to know everything about its places and people. Every few hundred kilometres, one is bound to find a new culture, language, cuisine and landscape. There is room for infinite exploration when it comes to our country and especially northeast India because of how little is known about it. There are certain facts about the northeast that will blow your mind right off.
1. The seven north-eastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Nagaland are all connected to the mainland of the country by a thin stretch of land popularly known as the “Chicken’s Neck”. It’s officially known as the Siliguri Corridor and is just 21 – 40kms wide.
2. While the rest of the country struggles to deal with the evils of the dowry system, the northeast India entertains no such thing. No dowry is given when a north – eastern girl gets married, instead, on many occasions the groom is expected to give gifts to the bride and her family.
3. Arunachal Pradesh experiences the sunrise earlier than the rest of the country due to being the eastern most part of India. The state is also known as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ because of the very same reason.
4. Tripura and Mizoram are one of the most literate states in the country. It is ironic because of the widespread bias and prejudice against the people from the northeast as being tribal and backward. Even though the 2011 census shows Kerala to be the most literate state, Tripura was declared the new holder of that title in 2013 with an astounding literacy rate of 94.65%.
5. The only part of India which never became a part of the Mughal reign was the northeast. The map and the rule of the Mughal Empire extended up to present- day West Bengal in the east. It was only with the coming of the British that the north – eastern states were brought together within the British Empire.
6. Mawsynram is a small village in Meghalaya. It holds a Guinness World Record for being the wettest place on the Earth. Mawsynram receives an average of about 10,000 millimetres of rainfall in a year. In 1985, it received approximately 26,000 millimetres of rainfall, thus winning the record in its name. The months from December until February are the ‘drier’ season because the monthly rainfall dips down to 30 millimetres.
7. There are a total of around 220 languages spoken in the 7 north – eastern states of India. Bengali and Assamese are the most prominent out of all of them. The northeast part of the country has a mind – boggling linguistic diversity out of which the Indian Constitution sadly recognises only 18 languages as a part of Indian Languages.
The northeast is a land full of abundant surprises that could make anyone stand back with awe. In spite of being such a rich part of the country in terms of culture, heritage, biodiversity, nature and language, it is a shame that so little is known about it.
