Coorinates: 26°09′N 91°46′E / 26.15, 91.77 Assam pronunciation (help·info)) (Assamese: অসম Ôxôm [ɔxɔm]) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, a suburb of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills. With an area of 78,438 square kilometres (30,285 sq mi) Assam currently is almost equivalent to the size of Ireland or Austria. Assam is surrounded by the rest of the Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. These states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck". Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh; and cultures, peoples and climate with South-East Asia—important elements in India’s “Look East” Policy. Assam along with rest of the seven sisters states became part of India in 1828 when the British invaded.