|
I am not responding to this topic ad seriatim but rather in comparison
or contrast with Bangaldesh. I am taking just one aspect: Population. It is
a great strength. In 1905 Assam and certain areas of East Bengal were
united. In 1912 Assam reverted to a Chief Commissionership while East
Bengal was tagged to West Bengal till partition in 1947, Assam losing some areas
at the same time. The rest is history. Comparison ought to be made between
equals. But it has so happened that now Bangladesh is compared with India
as a separate independent sovereign country asserting its equal status among the
comity of nations. Just think,and that particular area happened to be only
a part of former Assam! A few years ago a Bangladeshi Minister proudly
stated that his country enjoyed a higher per capital income than
India. I doubted it but later found out it to be a fact. Also I had to
believe that Bangladesh paid more customs duty than all the aid together she
received from foreign donors. In recognition the Deputy Chairmanship of the
British Chamber of Commerce went to a UK citizen of Bangladeshi origin. By
the sheer strength of their numbers, a hard-working lot I must admit, they have
done so well today their restaurant trade outdid the mining industry (a dying
one) and their cuisin (usually called Indian) labelled as part of British
culture.
Now the statistics: In 1950 there were about 300 Bangladeshis in UK (nearly
the same number of Assamese families at present in UK). By 1962, their
population increased to 5,000. In 2000, it rose to 106,200. Lack of a homogenous
population is such a weakness of the State that Assam is most likely to be
a minority community in their own State in the not too distant
future.
At present there are three Bengali television channels in UK, all
commercially run. What a tremendous boost it has given to Bengali
education, religion, culture, literature, trade and commerce! In addition to it
the BBC Bengali Service has contributed to the development of Bengali education,
culture and literature for the last sixty years or so by employing very able
journalists from that country including India. Other foreign broadcasters have
joined in worldwide recognising Bangladesh as a nation to be reckoned with.
But this includes West Bengal also partially. One can hear these broadcasts from
the websites in a limited way, in addition to the extensive shortwave radio
network.
In UK itself there are several Bengali periodical newspapers. Thousands of
new books have been published in Bangladesh. Bengali books are available in the
City of London public libraries.They are actively participating in international
sports and games too.
The rise of this population is of course a threat to the indigenous
population of UK. Since Bangladeshis are cent percent Muslims, it has been
predicted that the country could become predominantly Muslim within 30 years if
not checked.
This is just to show how an industrious population could achieve
propsperity in a short time.
Let me add a few words about international awards. Bengali is indeed a
developed language. Hindi was not developed as Bengali at one time. After
Independence the Hindi language got a veritable and enviable
boost. Awards depend on a number of factors. Merit is one. Circumstances
are another. It has been said of Rabindranath Tagore that his introduction
to the world scene was made possible because of his friendship with the Irish
Nobel-laureate W B Yates. Secondly, the Nobel committee thought the
Geetanjali, the prize-winner, was in praise of Christ. The Indian
novelist R K Narayan received very useful hints from his close
friend Graham Greene, a very distinguished English novelist.He
was certainly a candidate for the Nobel prize, a fact well-known to
the critics of his time. Religious hatred catapulted Taslim
Nasrin to international fame. Modern marketing strategy employed
by mainstream publishers is subtle, innovative and daring. Critics of
Bengali literature maintain that there are many Bengali authors whose work
has more merit that of cerain recipients of the Nobel prize. One
may write well but that writing has to reach the judges' table in a
language they can follow.
Bhuban
|
_______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
