Jorhat is and has been a vibrant place and is a perfect mixture of tradition and modernity. It was the hub of anti-British struggle of Assam. Before that it was the last capital of the Ahoms, the dynasty which ruled over Assam for six centuries. The cultural environment which prevails in Jorhat is the result of untiring effort of people trying to preserve its culture.
In the year 1915, Jorhat Sahitya Shabha was established in Jorhat followed by Asam Sahitya Sabha was established on 27 December 1917 in Sibasagar. The Chandrakanta Handique Bhavan, donated by late Radhakanta Handique, is the Headquarters of the Asam Sahitya Sabha in Jorhat.
Jorhat has been able to produce many creative writers, historians, journalists, et cetera. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, the first Assamese to win India's highest literature award, the Jnanpith Award, was from Jorhat. Jorhat is the home of internationally reputed ideologists and educationalists like Krishna Kanta Handique, founder Vice Chancellor ofGauhati University. In the building of modern Assam, Jorhat has played a vital role as a sizable section of Assamese intelligentsia has always been from Jorhat.
Jorhat Town Hall is the administrative building located in the centre of the City. The Elyee Talkies, presently known as Elyee Cinema, was the first cinema theatre in Gar Ali, the heart of the city
