thats good coverage!!
***The suggestion that Assam was a foreign word coined by the British was
countered by the group. They furnished documentary evidence to prove that the
name was in use long before the British annexation of the state.
"Even in the Ahom Buronjis, we find that the Mughals used the name Ashyam for
the state. The name appears in various historical documents from the Mughal
period and in Dutch chronicles dating to the pre-British period. Persian
publications like the Akbarnama (1542-1605), Padshah-Namah (1627-1647),
Alamgir-Namah (1657-1667) and Tarikh-i-Mulk-i-Asham mention Asahmais. On the
other hand, we do not find the name Asom anywhere in documents from the
pre-British days," the appeal said.
Umesh
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070104/asp/northeast/story_7215910.asp
NRIs move Gogoi on 'Asom'
A STAFF REPORTER
Guwahati, Jan. 3: The debate triggered by an Assembly resolution to change the
name of the state to Asom has forced a group of Assamese people from across the
globe to rally together to "save the name of Assam."
In a petition to chief minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday, the group appealed
against a change in nomenclature, supporting its contention with historical
documents.
The group includes the president of Asam Sahitya Sabha, four past presidents of
the literary body and several non-resident Assamese people from the country and
abroad.
Expressing "strong opposition" to the proposal, the petitioners said the
resolution was "unwarranted and undemocratic" as it was adopted without any
debate in spite of requests from the Opposition.
"The state's name is not something that should be changed in as casual a
fashion as it has been done, without a thorough and informed public discussion
and debate. It was never a mandate of the people. Even the Opposition's demand
for a debate was summarily cut off in a highly undemocratic fashion," the
document, signed by 139 petitioners, said.
"The legislature did not give a credible set of reasons for the change from the
internationally-recognised name Assam to Asom. In these days of globalisation,
to dilute Assam's international name recognition is entirely
counter-productive," the group alleged.
The suggestion that Assam was a foreign word coined by the British was
countered by the group. They furnished documentary evidence to prove that the
name was in use long before the British annexation of the state.
"Even in the Ahom Buronjis, we find that the Mughals used the name Ashyam for
the state. The name appears in various historical documents from the Mughal
period and in Dutch chronicles dating to the pre-British period. Persian
publications like the Akbarnama (1542-1605), Padshah-Namah (1627-1647),
Alamgir-Namah (1657-1667) and Tarikh-i-Mulk-i-Asham mention Asahmais. On the
other hand, we do not find the name Asom anywhere in documents from the
pre-British days," the appeal said.
Quoting several historians, the group stressed on a strong indigenous
connection for the name Assam, claiming that it has been in use for the last
800 years.
"The word Assam offers a wider international recognition for the state. It is
easier to identify the state from such associations as Assam tea, Assam oil or
even Assam silk," said one of the signatories of the petition, Rajen Barua, who
now lives in Texas.
The petitioners appealed to Gogoi to revoke the resolution passed in the
Assembly. If that was not possible, the group said an advisory committee,
comprising eminent citizens, academics, historians, linguists and other members
of the Assamese diaspora should be formed to decide whether it was the public's
prerogative to alter the name of the state.
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Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park,
(Washington D.C. Metro Region)
MD 20740
1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep
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