town, north-central Assam state, northeastern India. Situated along the Brahmaputra River, it is a trade centre for tea, rice, and other crops grown in the surrounding agricultural area. There is also some tea processing. The town is served by a rail line and nearby Salani airport. In World War II Tezpur was the western terminus of an Allied airlift to Kunming, China, over the “hump” of the Himalayas in the China–Burma (Myanmar)–India theatre of war. It is the site of Tezpur University, Darrang College, Tezpur Law College, and the Centre for Electronics Design and Technology of India (CEDTI). The capital of part of the ancient Pala kingdom about the 9th century CE, the town contains carvings and ruined temples from that period. Pop. (2001) 80,575.