Majuli

Majuli is a river island in the Brahmaputra in Assam, formed by centuries of floods and shifting channels that reshaped the midstream landscape. Historically, the land corresponding to present-day Majuli was associated with the Chutia kingdom before coming under Ahom rule; Ahom administration organized the area and built defensive works such as the Meragarh rampart in the 17th century.

Majuli’s most celebrated legacy is cultural. From the 15th–16th centuries onward, the Neo-Vaishnavite movement led by Srimanta Sankardeva established satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) that became centres of worship, learning, and performing arts—making Majuli a key heartland of Assamese spiritual and artistic traditions. The island was placed on UNESCO’s Tentative List in 2004, reflecting its heritage value.

In modern administration, Majuli became India’s first island to be declared a district in 2016. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, continuous riverbank erosion significantly reduced the island’s land area and displaced villages and even some satras, shaping contemporary concerns around conservation and resilience.