POPULATION STRUCTURE AND ETHNIC BASE OF NORTH EAST INDIA: A BRIEF STUDY OF DIBRUGARH AND TINSUKIA DISTRICTS (UNDIVIDED), ASSAM. Dr. Sangeeta Boruah Saikia Assistant Professor Dept of Geography Digboi College. saikiasangeeta@yahoo.com M: 08638936853 ABSTRACT:- Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts are located in the extreme North-Eastern part of Assam and are a veritable cauldron of ethnic stocks having diverse socio-cultural backgrounds that entered the region from different directions at different stages and made the region their permanent abode since the prehistoric time. In the process of peopling of the region, one can discern the hordes of the east and southeast of Mongolian immigrants in successive waves, since time immemorial. According to the 2011 census, the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts have a population of 26, 44,696, the comparative size of the population in the region is 4.25% of the total population in Assam. All the groups and tribes, who came into the region, got assimilated and every one of them contributed enough towards the composition of the present population. Therefore to understand the population sub-structure of the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts, an attempt has been made to examine the origin of different ethnic groups and their process of peopling in the region. The study reveals that over time, a composite population has grown up in the region with demographic and social characteristics rarely found in any other region of India. KEYWORDS: - Ethnic, Socio-cultural, Prehistoric, Mongolian, Immigrants, Composition, Tribes, etc INTRODUCTION:- The population of the undivided Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts is composed of various racial elements, located in the extreme northeastern part of Assam. The History of the early human occupancy of the district is not available till the early part of the 13th century A.D. It is only after the invasion of Assam by the Ahoms in 1228 A.D., that some authentic pieces of information were recorded chronologically. It is difficult to ascertain when these people entered the district of Dibrugarh and established their hegemony. Due to the lack of proper historical evidence, their origin is also highly controversial. The population of the district can broadly be divided into two groups. The first one is the indigenous people those who settled before the annexation of the district by the British and the second one is those who settled after annexation. These two population groups gave more or less impetus to the present population composition in the region. The incoming of people from erstwhile East Pakistan (present Bangladesh), graziers and cultivations from Nepal, defense personnel, service holders, and supporting businessmen during the Post Independence period have played a significant role in the changing pattern of population distribution and occupancies in the region in recent times. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:-