ABSTRACT
That process of consolidation which historically viewed took place over a remarkably short span of time, met with a setback with the collapse of the ruling dynasty because of its own enfeeblement and the emergence of new social forces inspired by Sri Sankaradeva. The credit for this situation goes to an even more remarkable religious leader and reformer, Sri Sankardeva, whose work of consolidation of the people of the state into a nationality constituted both a derivation from the achievement of the ruling dynasty and a dissenting departure from it. Apart from the various hostile interventions in that process from outside forces the uncertainties inherent in the Assamese society itself and the many harsh elements in the history of the people have been no less serious impediments. One of the achievements of the Asom Gana Parishad government has been the initiation of a shift in the sub-regional balances of forces away from Lower Assam.
