Rajib Baruah raised the issue of Xonkordew and his creation of Brajabuli to write the religious tomes he translated from Sanskrit. Rajib also tried to compare Xonkordew's use of Brajabuli to the omnipresence of Hindi--a foreign language to Assam, in the drawing rooms, porticos, bed rooms, and bihutolis of current Assam.
The main difference between the two situations the way I see it is the order of magnitude. In Xokordew's time, maybe, 1 in a 1000 or 1 in 10,000 could read and write. The outlets for visual medium for the comoon folk consisted of singing and dancing and theaters. For this also, one had to go to a performance of some kind, maybe, go to a namghor to see a bhawna. Now-a-days, electronic media---TV/cable and the Internet are all-pervasive. TV/cable in Assam have already assumed omnipresence, being everywhere. Assamese is missing more or less completely from this medium in all places, in Assam itself. It's all Hindi/Hindi/Hindi, 20-40 channels of Hindi in cable TV in Guwahati/Nagaon/Tezpur/etc., and all over Assam and not one single full-time Assamese or local language channel. And, this medium of TV comes to ones intimate environs such as the drawing room, the bedroom, the pakghor, the portio; one doesn't usually have to go to a namghor or a place of performance to see these. In the electronic medium of Internet, which is going to become all-pervasive in Assam also soon like in the rest of the world, Assamese as pointed out by Saurav and me several times earlier, Assamese more or less doesn't exist. Compared to Brajabuli of 550-600 years ago and Hindi on TV and cable, the differences are orders of magnitude of pervasiveness and ease of access. If Brajabuli could make so much of differnce to Assam's society in the course of a few decades or a few centuries, imagine how much change all-pervasive TV/cable and Internet could do to Assam's society in the course of a few decades or a century. If the onslaught of foreign language (Hindi/English) media in the all-pervasive and instantly-available electronic space is not coutered swiftly and in a decisive manner, Assam's identity is in peril since this identity derives from a language. Jugal --- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thanks Saurav for another immensely informative, > educational and > thoughtful piece. For a historically challenged > person like myself, > it was extremely illuminating. > > > > > > > > > > > At 2:49 PM -0500 1/28/06, SP wrote: > >dear himendra-da, > > > > > >Himendra Thakur said on AssamNet: > > > > > >+ Dear Saurav, > >+ > >+ I never mentioned that the attack in Saraighat > was made by Muslims. Please > >+ check it out carefully. Please also find out why > you missed this very vital > >+ point. > >+ > >+ I was very definite to point out that the attack > was made by Invaders . the > >+ same invaders who attacked India in 1193 (& > again in 1526.) These were > >+ Islamic invaders from outside India. Nothing is > "muddled up" in this > >+ statement. > >+ > > > >though you assert you mentioned invaders and not > muslims, the rest of > >your post was fixated on muslims. you seem to be > pointing at the muslims > >not by name but by implication. and believe me, > the implication is very > >transparent. > > > >still, "invader" too has serious problems. the > muslims came to be > >called yavana, but the word was originally used for > the greeks and > >the scythians (origin: ionia). the rajputs and > other militant groups > >in northwest india are descendents of the scythians > (sakas), and they > >too were invaders at some point and were called > yavanas. > > > >btw, "thakur" comes from the scythian subgroup > thukarian!! > > > >atan burhagohain, in whose name you want to build a > xako, was a descendent > >of "invaders" who came in 1228. just as aurangzeb > was a descendent of > >"invaders" who came in 1526. > > > > > >+ After the 1193 attack, the invaders, having the > advantage of excellent > >+ cavalry equipped with Arab horses, spread over > the Indo-Gangetic > >plains at a > >+ very high speed. Defeating all local rulers, > they arrived in Bihar by 1200 > >+ AD (about 1400 miles in 7 years, @ 200 miles per > year) and, after beheading > >+ the Buddhist scholars, they burnt down Nalanda > University. They proceeded > >+ further to the East. They occupied Bengal in > 1205. They were stopped in > >+ Assam. These are historical records. > > > > > >invasions are common occurances in historical times > and are legitimate > >steps in new nation building. they do not negate > legitimacy. the most > >beautiful example is assam. > > > > > >+ Under the early Islamic rule, a new custom, > called Jawhar-Vrata, > >got started > >+ in the Indo-Gangetic plains: groups of Hindu > women would jump > >into a bonfire > >+ to evade molestation. The historical record of > Jawhar Vrata ( not > >present in > >+ pre-Islamic India) proves the degree of atrocity > by the Islamic invaders. > >+ > > > >jauhar is a custom and ritual found exclusively in > the desert regions of > >rajasthan and not in the indo-gangetic plains. the > most celebrated incident > >involved the rajput queen padmini. but that tells > only half the story. > >in the 13th century a rajput army cornered by turks > decided to > >immolate all those who could not fight, women, > children and the infirm, > >ground to dust the diamonds in their possession, > melt the gold and silver, > >destroy all provisions and then go out to battle > and die. > > > >as a military strategy, there is a term for > this---scorched earth policy. > >it worked wonders, especially in the desert, where > invading armies > >depended heavily on captured provisions and > treasure to sustain themselves > >in the short term and make profit in the long run. > that this strategy > >worked in the desert regions is no surprise, which > further explains why > >the custom did not become popular elsewhere. > > > >before you make it into a hindu-muslim issue, take > into consideration > >the facts that jauhar had a military origin, that > it was geographically > >localized mainly to the desert regions, that it was > identified with just > >one varna (kshatriya) and that too an ethnic > subsection of it (rajputs) > >and that women did not have a large say in > it---some were forcibly > >immolated and even killed by the sword. > > > > > >+ What I wrote above are historical facts. I am > now going make an assumption > >+ that, under the early Islamic rule in > Indo-Gangetic plains, if a Hindu > >+ family had five brothers, two would convert to > Islam to protect the > >+ remaining three. That was how the Indian Muslims > started. They > >protected the > >+ Hindus on one hand, and cooled down the > ruthlessness of the Invaders on the > >+ other hand. > >+ > >+ The above assumption is based on the fact that, > unlike Persia, land of > >+ Zoroastrian population, which became completely > Islamized, Hindus survived > >+ in India, thanks to their Muslim brothers. > Another historical fact is that, > >+ in the later years, the Invaders softened to a > great extent. > >+ > >+ However, the Hindus could survive under Islamic > Rule only by playing a > >+ double standard: one opinion inside the house, > and a very different opinion > >+ outside. Another survival skill was the > capacity to change the > >meaning of a > >+ spoken word: if a Hindu said something against > the Sultan and was > >challenged > >+ by a Sultan's katwal, the Hindu must be able to > change the meaning of what > >+ he said, just to save his neck. Running for > several centuries, these habits > >+ have become second-nature of the people of the > Indo-Gangetic plains, which > >+ can be observed even today. Hindus were > definitely living a life of > >+ second-class citizen under Islamic rule. No > wonder such a situation gave > >+ rise to quislings and petains and pierre lavals > who prospered by exploiting > >+ their fellow countrymen. > > > > > >that your view on medieval india is based on a > hindu-muslim dichotomy > >is best exemplified in the three paragraphs above. > they are imaginary > >and fantastic to say the least. > > > > > >+ My great anxiety is the danger that Assamese > people are facing due to the > >+ huge number of Bangladeshi infiltrators. The > anxiety is based on > >+ geopolitical forces. My great fear is that the > landmass of Assam > >will become > >+ like Kashmir or Chittagong Hill District. My > great fear is that Assamese > >+ people will become like Kashmiri refugees now > living in the > >streets of Delhi > >+ or Lucknow, or Chakma refugees who are being > driven out from > >place to place. > > > >your characterization of the threat to the assamese > people was the main > >reason for this and the previous post. so here is > my brief take on > >it. > > > >the kashmir problem is more than the hindu-muslim > problem that you > >make it out to be. i don't want to recount well > known history---sheikh > >abdullah's stand on pakistan and national > conference's rejection of > >the muslim league's proposal. the latest problems > stem from the > >insurgency in the 80's, a relatively recent > manifestation of a much > >older problem. > > > >your assam-kashmir analogy is ridiculous and banks > too much on > >hindu-muslim dichotomy and scare tactics. in > assam, the issue of > >influx is a case of economic migration, not a > question of nationalism. > >or religion. you could drive it to a religious > conflict, of course. > >but for now, it is not yet a religious problem . > the problem for > >the assamese people come from a variety of other > sources. > > > >foremost among them is the inability of the > assamese to solve the > >inter-ethnic conflicts in the region. > historically, those who claimed > >to speak for the assamese have neither convinced > anyone that their > >problems are problems for the ethnic groups too, > nor have they > >accepted the problems faced by ethnic groups as > their own. even today, > >as the ethnic conflicts are increasing, the > assamese are largely silent > >and seem to have no opinion. a friend of mine > visited a bodo refugee > >camp near bongaigaon recently. a bodo refugee > camp!! the bodos are one > >of the most ancient settlers in that land---one of > the autochthones > >if you will---and they are in refugee camps, > surviving on government > >handouts!! the karbis too are in refugee camps. > and as they spend > >time in refugee camps, the lands which they had > occupied, or which > >their children would have occupied, lie fallow for > others to come > >in and set up a vegetable patch. the failure of > the assamese to > >form alliances, and reduce conflict within ethnic > groups is creating > >problems for itself in general and is also > influencing the influx in > >an indirect way. > > > >the assamese are facing new challenges from the > media. assamese and > >other local languages have a minimal presence on > tv. their presence on > >computers and the internet is almost zilch. new > technology provide new > >challenges to cultures. assam is doing well in > commercializing the > >theater (bhramyomaan) but doing badly in film. > there have been other > >challenges in the past. just when urbanization had > started, the assamese > >succeeded in transforming a pastoral/agrarian > festival (the bihu) into > >an urban celebration. as a result, bihu is a > festival celebrated today > >not just by the upstream assamese, or some ethnic > groups, but by others > >as well. today, pithas and larus, the traditional > snacks---so laboriously > >made in the past by assamese women at night > according to tradition---are > >available in the marketplace. many people today, > who did not traditionally > >make pithas, now serve them at home during bihu. > commercialization will > >dilute "ownership" issues and let people share > cultural artifacts---in > >the face of opposition from the purists. > > > >so i would put down the bigger challenges to the > assamese today as---the > >ethnic conundrum, the hurdle of new media and > commercialization of > >cultural artifacts. > > > >to fixate on the muslim influx, otoh, is > ridiculous. first it is a > >distraction. from the beginning of the assam > movement in 1979 till > >today---a period of thirty years---the challenges > have come not from the > >influx, but from elsewhere. second, to take on a > large population (assam > >has the highest percent muslim population after > kashmir) and be in perpetual > >conflict with it is adding to the problem, not > solving it. the influx itself > >is a complex issue that needs to be tackled > sensitively. to reduce > >it to a rhetoric would be cynical at best. > > > > > >+ To fight this battle, I was urging my countrymen > to draw strength from > >+ Saraighat and build a memorial to Atan > Buragohain which will > >inspire people. > >+ That was the main purpose of the article that > you are criticizing. It is > >+ very sad that you did not even mention about the > ATAN BURAGOHAIN SAKO : A > >+ Bridge Across Three Centuries. > > > > > >well, tell me---how much does the statue of lachit > at saraighat > >inspire people? > >the image of lachit is now being used to gather > hindu votes. is that what > >you mean by inspire? > > > >saurav > > > >_______________________________________________ > >assam mailing list > >assam@assamnet.org > >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
