Who are the Seven Sisters of India?

It is fairly well-known that the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura are called the 7 Sisters of India. We loosely refer to them as the North Eastern states. But why do we group these states together? This is what we will be looking at below.  

How did the 7 Sisters get their name?  
In January 1972, Jyoti Prasad Saikia, a civil servant from Assam was giving a radio talk show. He used the term 7 Sisters there for these states to emphasise their similarity, interdependence and how they are all accessed from India through the same route. He later compiled a book on the commonness of the 7 Sister States, and named it ‘The Land of Seven Sisters’. The nickname caught on after this publication and became part of our vocabulary.  

How are the 7 Sisters related?  
The map shows us that all 7 states are isolated from India. The only way to reach them is via Siliguri Corridor, also called the Chicken's Neck since it is so thin. This corridor leads into Assam. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh and approachable through Assam. On the other hand, all the rivers flowing into the plains of Assam originate in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Mizoram and Manipur are connected to Assam through the Barak Valley, their only connect with India.  

Sikkim is not a part of the 7 Sisters of India because it is on the other side of the Siliguri corridor. So, it is called the Brother to the Seven Sisters.  

What are some interesting facts about the 7 Sisters?  
All 7 states have breath-taking hilly terrain, exotic flora and fauna, and rich, shared cultural heritage. Of these, Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state. Assam has Majuli, the largest river island in the world on River Brahmaputra. Meghalaya has Mawlynnong, Asia’s cleanest village. The sport of polo originated as a tribal game in Manipur. Mizoram is the second most literate state in the country after Kerala. Nagaland is 90% Christian with a rich culture. And 91% of cultivated land in Tripura produces rice.  

Given how fascinating the 7 Sisters are, planning a holiday there can be truly wonderful.