A REMOTE COAL TOWN, A PIZZA AND A QUEEN

The ancient town of Ma-Kum in Assam was renamed by the British Margherita after the Italian Queen Margherita of Savoy



Ma-Kum, translates to the "abode of all tribes" in the local Ahom and Singpho languages. The name Makum still exists today for a separate, neighboring railway junction town about 30 kilometers away.

When massive coalbeds and tea plantation potential were discovered in Upper Assam during the late 1800s, the Assam Railways & Trading Company was formed to mine the area and establish vital transport lines.

Italian engineers, led by Roberto Paganini, were hired by the British to build a crucial railway line and bridge over the Dihing River to open up the local coalfields. When they successfully completed the grueling project in 1884, Paganini named the settlement Margherita as a patriotic nod to his home country’s reigning queen.

A township came up around the tea gardens and coal mines. Today, the historic town is nicknamed the "Coal Queen" of Assam due to its rich collieries, balancing its deep British-era industrial roots with an unexpected touch of 19th-century Italian royal history.

Oh the Italian Pizza Margherita and the town in Assam both share the same historical Queen.

Renowned Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito created a special pizza for Queen Margherita of Savoy. He topped it with red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil to perfectly mirror the colors of the Italian flag. The Queen loved it so much that Esposito named the creation "Pizza Margherita" in her honor.


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