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WHY ASSAM TO BE ASOM?
M. Burhanuddin Qasmi
[EMAIL PROTECTED] rif.org
In the early nineties BJP politically aired a new sloganIndianization of
big cities since old names, to them were, symbolic to either Mughals or
British slavery. The idea later became cheaper for all political parties with
much vote bank credits.
And in the process Indian politicians spread a new virus in the worldevery
one has to redo or delete old data. The commercial capital of India Bombay
became Mumbai, Madras changed into Chennai, the first British capital of India
Calcutta became Kolkata and the hi-tech capital of India Bangalore followed to
be Bengaluru.
Whats to be Delhis new name?
In December 2005 the Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixit announced that the
capital of the country would change its name back to what it was in the
pre-colonial, pre-mughals, pre-sultanat, pre-everything- else except
Mahabharata days. However there is no consensus on the exact name that should
be chosen for Delhi till today.
After the renaming of all major Indian cities in the last decade, Delhi is
feeling left out, Dixit said. She then added while quoting the renamed cities
that the process of renaming made everyone focus their sights on Delhi , since
it was the oldest city in India . The Congress proposed that Delhi be renamed
Hastinapur, since it was the capital of the dynasty of the Kurus from
Mahabharata.
" Delhi is a name that indicates our mental slavery at the hands of our former
colonialists and conquerers. The oldest name of the city is Hastinapur and we
shall initiate the legislative procedure to effect the name change immediately"
, Dixit, the Congress led CM of Delhi, said.
However controversy erupted after the BJP strongly opposed the choice of the
name. Senior BJP leader from Delhi , Madanlala Khurana said,
"We support the idea of a name change. In fact the idea for a name change was
originally BJP's. However we think that the city should be renamed
Indraprastha, since there is historical, archeological and mythological
evidence to prove that Delhi was actually the site of the Pandavas' new
capital."
The Left in the meantime opposed both the names.
"The BJP's communal intentions are clear from their support for the name
Indraprastha, which refers to a Hindu god. To preserve the secular nature of
this country, we will never allow it to be named Indraprastha" , thundered
Sitaram Yechury of the CPI (M). He was not very enthusiastic about the name
Hastinapur either.
Mr. Yechury, on the other hand, added a third and to him a secular name.
"If anything, we propose the name be changed to Leningrad . The great Vladimir
Ilyich is now no longer respected in his own country Russia . At the same time
his idelogical contributions to the cause of the Indian people is immense."
It will be interesting to see which name is finally chosen for Delhi . But the
run of renaming for the capital of India Delhi seems not as easy as was for
other cities. Earning cheap credits out of non-issue is a hallmark of Indian
political parties and no party will allow go bonus credit out of hand without
tough fights.
Assam becoming Asom
The northeastern state of Assam is becoming the second state, after Karnataka
( Mysore ) to change its name following a state cabinet decision on 27 February
2006 , one month before the general election in the state on April. It was
resolved by the Congress led Assam cabinet to in cash votes through tribalized
emotions. Chief Minister Trun Gogoi ultimately earned some cheap benefit in the
general election and came in to power for a consecutive second term.
The Times of India quotes the then cabinet spokesman Mr. Himanta Biswa Sharma
and minister of state for finance who triumphantly said, "It is now Asom.
President of Assam Sahitya Sabha, Kanaksen Deka said, " Madras has changed to
Chennai, Bombay has become Mumbai, Calcutta became Kolkata and Gauhati has
already changed to Guwahati. This is a good move by the state government to
change Assam to Asom."
The newspaper also quotes Mr. Priyam Goswami, head of Guwahati University 's
History department who argued, "The word Assam was coined during the colonial
period. Historically, it was Asom, but during British rule Assam Tea became so
famous as a brand that colonial rulers did not attempt to correct the state's
name."
Who knows which history Mr. Goswami and Mr. Deka were speaking about?
However, the state cabinet could not implement a change of name after the
cabinet decision in February 2006 because the move had to be approved at
various levels at the Centre as well as in the legislative assembly. The state
government was supposed to first pass a name change bill in the Legislature,
issue a gazette notification and then approach the Centre for a name change.
Following the cabinet decision on 15 December 2006 the state assembly has
passed a name change billAsom from Assam without allowing a debate by the
apposition partiesAGP and AUDF in the assembly. AGP leader Brindaban Goswami
said it was, an undemocratic and unconstitutional exercise by the government.
AUDF MLA and a scholar of Bangla literature Maulana Ataur Rahman Majarbhuiya
expressed his disagreement on the process and said that the honourable Speaker
of the house cried out No debate at all in response to Mr. Brindaban
Goswamis demand.
I myself requested the Speaker to follow a scholarly approach and at least
facilitate fair discussions amongst academicians out of assembly, since the
important bill must pass on scholarly argument based on available literatures
but in vain said AUDF General Secretary Maulana Atur Rahman.
Origin of Assam
Simply go through the pages of history and various encyclopedias and you will
find that the fact about origin of Assam is other than what Mr. Priyam Goswami
and Mr. Kanaksen Deka were trying to teach to the people of Assam . One may
ignore politicians and of course, it is not their burden to study thick history
books before legislating any new bill but one should not ignore statements
given by a head of a history department of the stats biggest university, a
president of the most prestigious Assam Sahitya Sabha and scholar of Assamese
literature and culture.
According to online encyclopedia wikipedia the land of Assam was known by
various names in the pastPragjyotishpura , in ancient Hindu scriptures such as
the Mahabharata; and Kamarupa in the early Middle Ages. After the decline of
the Kamarupa kingdom in the 12th century, the land that included a part of the
old Kamarupa kingdom and regions to the east of it was ruled by the Shan
people, who called themselves Tai, but who were called Ahoms by the others.
This kingdom lasted for nearly 600 years.
Satyendra Nath Sarma the famous scholar of history and Assamese literature
writes in Banikanta Kakati: Assamese: Its Formation and Development:
While the Shan invaders called themselves Tai, they came to be referred to
as Âsâm, Âsam and sometimes as Acam by the indigenous people of the country.
The modern Assamese word Âhom by which the Tai people are known is derived from
Âsâm or Âsam. The epithet applied to the Shan conquerors was subsequently
transferred to the country over which they ruled and thus the name Kâmarûpa was
replaced by Âsâm, which ultimately took the Sanskritized form Asama, meaning
"unequalled, peerless or uneven"
Historical evidence shows that the Britishers did not introduce the word
Assam nor they changed it from Asom and even the word Assam is older
than word Ahom. Assam was in use long before the British signed the
Treaty of Yandaboo on February 24, 1826 . The Britishers also used the word
Assam in that treaty.
Early documented mentions of Assam
An encyclopedia reference book shows that one of the first unambiguous
references come from Thomas Bowrey in 1663 about Mir Jumla's death: "They lost
the best of Nabobs, the Kingdome of Achamused for Assam.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605 1689), a French traveller and pioneer of
trade with India, in his "Travels in India", published in 1676, nearly two
century before arrival of British in Assam, uses the spelling "Assen" for Assam
in the French original. Moreover, the official chronicler of Mir Jumla too
calls the place "Asam" in the early 16th century.
Most of the scholars of history and literature accept that the first known
mention of the word Assam today is in a stanza from the Bhagavat of Sankardeva
composed and translated in this region about the middle of the 16th century
which described the ethnic groups of the region transcribed in iTrans
kiraTa kachhaari khaachi gaaro miri
yavana ka~Nka govaala |
asama maluka dhobaa ye turuka
kubaacha mlechchha chaNDaala ||
Even from the Ahom Buranjis (histories), it is found that the Mughals also
used the name Ashyam or Asham for the State. The same is also evident from
various historical documents of the Mughal period and the Dutch chronicles of
the pre-British era.
In the Persian publications of the Mughal period, like the Akbarnama
(1542-1605), Pashah-Namah (1627-1647), Alamgir-Namah (1657-1667) and Tarikh I
Mulk-I Asham, the name Asham is mentioned. On the other hand, the name Asom is
not found anywhere in the pre-British period
In the map of the Kingdom Bengale ( Kingdom of Bengal ), drawn by a Dutch man
named John van Leenen, who was in Bengale in 1661, also recorded the name
Assam . The map was published around 1662 and currently preserved in the
Maritime Museum , Rotterdam .
There is also a diary of a Dutchman published in 1675, which mentions the
name of Assam and described its people as Assamer. The Dutchman fought
alongside the army of Mirjumala in 1662. These are some of the written
historical records of the existence of the spelling Assam for the name of the
State long before the advent of the British to it in 1826.
Later adoption
It has been found that the phonetic name Assam has been in record with
little changes for the past 700 years and has a strong connection with the
coming of the Tai-Ahoms to the State.
After the fall of the Tai Ahoms and the conquest by the British in 1826, "
Assam " was used to denote first the principality of the erstwhile Ahoms, and
later the British province. Soon, the province was expanded to include regions
that were not part of historical Tai Ahom kingdom. The boundaries of Assam have
been redrawn many times after that, but the name Assam remained. Today, the
boundary of Assam contains roughly the historical Ahom, Koch Hajo, Kachari
kingdoms and part of old Sylhet kingdom (now a district of Bangladesh).
Reactions
According to a report published recently in Assam Tribunes, the largest English
daily from the state, 150 professionals living in different parts of the state,
country and abroad have made an appeal to the Chief Minister of the state to
rescind the state Assembly resolution on the change of the name of the state to
Asom. The professionals have shown their disagreement to the process of name
changing and advised the Chief Minister to set up an advisory commission with
eminent citizens, academicians, historians, linguists, literary figures and the
like and the members of the Assamese Diaspora, to have a transparent debate on
the issue with public participation.
They have also written a petition to the Chief Minister, who identified
themselves as friends and well wishers of Assam living in and outside the
State and forwarded the copies of the petition to the President and Prime
Minister of the country.
Assam Tribune reports that the group of friends of Assam expressed their
shock at the decision of the Assembly on 15 December 2006 and registered their
strong opposition to this entirely unwarranted and undemocratic move on the
part of the State Legislature.
On behalf of the professionals Rajen Barua of Texas , USA signed the
petition. The list of the professionals has also been enclosed with the
petition, mentions the newspaper.
When Mr. Adit Phokan editor in chief of a prominent Assamese dailyAdin was
contacted by this author to comment on the bill passed by Assam Legislature for
a name change, he observed it was unnecessary and a decision based on
unauthentic evidences.
For, the States name is not something for changing in as casual a fashion
as it has been done, without a thorough and informed public discussion and
debate. It has never a mandate of the people, argue most experts. Why should
we change the name of our state when it is famed globally as Assam without
any legitimate reason, what benefit the commoner or our state will have by this
name change?? are some of the audible questions during gossips in tea-stalls,
in front of Pan shops and in the streets of major cities of Assam.
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(A Darul Uloom Deoband graduate and Editor Eastern Crescent, English
monthly, M. Burhanuddin Qasmi a poet and is also Director of Mumbai based
institute Markazul Maarif Education and Research Centre.) (C) Rights MB.
Qasmi
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