Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra is a major river in South Asia, extending about 2,900 kilometers from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the largest rivers by annual discharge and forms a central part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system.

Name and course: In Tibet it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo; in the Indian subcontinent the river is known as the Brahmaputra in Assam and Jamuna in Bangladesh. The name Brahmaputra derives from Sanskrit, meaning “son of Brahma.”

Source and path: Its headwaters lie in the Angsi Glacier on the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet. From there it flows eastward across southern Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo, enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Dihang or Siang, and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam. In Assam it gathers volume from tributaries before crossing into Bangladesh, where the river is called the Jamuna.

Delta and hydrology: In Bangladesh the Brahmaputra joins with the Ganges (Padma) and Meghna to form a vast delta that drains into the Bay of Bengal. The river’s flow is highly seasonal, with monsoon floods shaping the fertile plains but also posing flood risks downstream.

Significance and issues: The Brahmaputra basin supports agriculture, transportation, and livelihoods across India, Bangladesh, and the Tibetan region of China. Transboundary water management, dam construction, and flood control on the upper reaches in Tibet and downstream areas have raised regional cooperation and dispute concerns among the countries sharing the river.