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Here are two more letters (Sentinel) on the subject. One wonders why the GOA was in such a haste to pass this all too important resolution. Changing the name itself is the easy part. The more difficult part is the acceptance and ease of use. Further, one has to also consider if changing the name to Asom will actually be realized in any real benefits (intrinsic or otherwise).
_____________________
Asom Now?
So, our State has now become 'Asom' or 'Axom'! We have cast off a hated Raj legacy. The opinion of a well-known author has come at the most opportune time for our popular government to give another 'gift' to the people of the State by putting its seal on it through a Cabinet decision. But was any pubic opinion sought on the subject? Is public opinion being sought on the subject? Is public opinion totally inconsequential in a democracy? As on earlier occasions, our people from various strata of society seem to have lapped up this change without so much as an argument. Perhaps we want to be different from the rest of the 'Argumentative Indians'! That three of our metros have changed their names, is good enough argument to change the name of our State? Is it indeed our topmost priority? We have done precious little to pull our society out of the abysmal depth of corruption and have, in effect, given indirect approval to it by giving those corrupt people undue importance in the society. Corruption and inefficiency have irretrievably damaged the educational system which has ruined the future of countless young talents of the State, forcing the few who can afford to go outside the State to fly off. And yet we have not been able to reform anything, except some knee-jerk reaction as we witnessed during the recent HSLC episode. Ours is a State with composite culture and a variety of languages and ethnic overtones. Have we spared a thought as to how our various ethnic groups will react to this change? We have, in the past, witnessed the horrendous consequences of forcing things on others. History repeats itself because we do not learn the lessons of history. After so many years of the Official Language Act, we have not been able to implement it in the government offices and establishments. Let us ask ourselves: why? People find it difficult to tolerate any discordant note on a matter of public sentiment. And yet I cannot help asking myself as to what are the 'pluses' and 'minuses' of this decision. On the plus side, we shall have the satisfaction of feeling that the true ethnic meaning of the name will be expressed by 'Asom', although for all practical purposes we use the words "Asom" and "Asomiya", at times even in English. But nationally and internationally, our State is known as Assam with all its special virtues. After all, as Shakespeare said, what's in a name? On the minus side, a whole lot of controversies will arise over the spelling of 'Asom' (Axom) and 'Asomiya' (Axomiya). Besides, some non-Asomiya may pronounce these words in ridiculous ways and may make a caricature of it all. This will harm the well-established reputation of things like Assam silk or Assam tea both nationally and internationally. A phenomenal amount will have to be spent in changing various records, documents, bill boards etc in government, semi-government, private offices and institutions leading to loss of valuable time and precious government revenue and private resources. In fact, the reaction of the various ethnic groups will be for us to see. All this coming from an insignificant person like me, may not generate any public debate. For all I can think, this letter may not even be published! But this will certainly help me in letting at least a part of the great frustration out of my system. Robin Borthakur, Jalannagar, Dibrugarh-786005 |
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From Assam to Asom |
I agree.
There are few words in the English language starting with an 'a' that
is pronounced as 'o', as in 'oxom' ( or 'olop' as Alpana writes). The
very few where the 'a' is pronounced as 'o' or close to it, are
either followed by an 'l' ( as in ALL, or ALTAR or ALMOST) or an 'u'
( as in autism, auspicious etc.)
Therefore for a segment of the people of Assam ( or Oxom) to ape a
Hindi form - one that lacks the 'o' sound in their language, for
transliteration of the 'o' sound on 'Oxomiya' in Roman script by
using the 'a' letter, demonstrates a half-baked understanding of the
English words and its pronunciations if not speak poorly of their
ethnic self-esteem.
cm
At 6:56 PM -0500 2/27/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Well, it's not Asom, is it, when you and I say it? Asom is as bad as
>Assam in truthfully following how it's really pronounced. So, we are
>going from one bad pronunciation-based spelling to another. Earlier,
>"Assam" tried to follow the British way of pronunciation, now "Asom" is
>the way Hindi or Bengali speakers will pronounce it. It's not how
>people in Assam pronounce it.
>There should be some more thought put into this. There is nothing
>Assamese about the spelling "Asom", it's a spelling that doesn't do
>justice.
>
>Jugal
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: ASSAMNET < assam@assamnet.org>
>Sent: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 12:21:19 -0600
>Subject: [Assam] The battle of the X's still continues
>
> As far as the letters 's' or 'x' in the spelling is concerned, the
>Cabinet informed that it would be open to suggestions from all
>quarters. But for the time being 'Asom' will be the effective spelling,
>it added . -Sentinel
>
> http://sentinelassam.com/
> _________________________
> BOur Bureau
>GUWAHATI/JORHAT/DIBRUGARH, Feb 27: In a landmark decision, the State
>cabinet has today announced to change the spelling of Assam in English
>to Asom. While discussing on the matter this morning, the Cabinet
>unanimously came to the conclusion that Asom has always been Asom but
>only twists in history had brought about the change in spelling.
>Although the English spelling of the State had been a matter of
>contention for some time, the Cabinet took a decision to hold a
>discussion on it following the article written by litterateur Chandra
>Prasad Saikia in a recent issue of the magazine Goriyosi. In the
>article Saikia advocated a change in the spelling and proposed Axom in
>place of Assam.
>As far as the letters 's' or 'x' in the spelling is concerned, the
>Cabinet informed that it would be open to suggestions from all
>quarters. But for the time being 'Asom' will be the effective spelling,
>it added.
>On the question of informing the Centre about the change, the Cabinet
>said that it would be informed as and when the time comes.
>Meanwhile, there has been a positive reaction to the Cabinet decision
>throughout the State. Axom Xahitya Xabha (AXX) president Kakaksen Deka,
>while expressing his happiness said, "The Cabinet has taken the right
>decision. Assam was a name (spelling) given by the British regime. The
>actual name is Asom and we are back with it."
>Chandra Prasad Saikia whose article had been instrumental in bringing
>about the change, said, "After independence, many places have changed
>their names ? Bombay has become Mumbai, Madras is changed to Chennai,
>Calcutta to Kolkata and Gauhati to Guwahati. Similarly, Assam has now
>become Asom. This is a matter to be proud of. The people of India
>should say Asom instead of Assam. Because Assam was a name given by the
>British.
>Former Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University Dr Deba Prasad Barua said,
>"I am happy that it has been changed to Asom. After all, it is Asom."
>Dr Nagen Saikia, while talking to The Sentinel said, "At different
>times, people from outside the State have been calling Asom Assam for
>its given spelling. Therefore, CP Saikia had proposed Axom for the
>spelling. It is a good thing that the decision to change the spelling
>has been taken." But at the same time Dr Saikia expressed his
>apprehension that now the people from outside the State might pronounce
>the word as 'Aasom'.
>The Assam Government's decision to replace the word 'Assam' by the
>indigenous-sounding 'Axom' has elicited positive response in Jorhat.
>Till the advent of the Ahoms in 1228, the State was known by Kamrup,
>Pragjyotishpur and other names given by the people residing in
>different parts. Stating this, Dr Ajit Dutta, Head of the History
>Department in Jagannath Barooah College here, said that the Ahom
>monarchs referred to their exalted status by calling the land 'Axom.'
>The name also denotes the unequal geographical terrain of the State,
>Dutta pointed out. When the British imperialists established their rule
>here, they pronounced Axom as Assam. The Congress Government has taken
>a timely decision by abandoning the Anglicized 'Assam' and reverting to
>the old name.
>Welcoming the change of name, former academician Prafulla Rajguru said
>that the Englishmen gave names to places on the basis of their
>pronunciation. These Anglicized versions of local names passed into
>usage, he said and added that there has lately been a bid to 'revive'
>past history by referring to the places by their earlier names.
>Dr Panchami Bhattacharyya of JB College said that the Government
>decision was a positive one as it amounted to a tribute to the past.
>Several intellectuals have earlier advocated for a change of name for
>the State, she added.
>The office-bearers of the Axom Xahitya Xabha here went a step a further
>and called for the use of Assamese as the official language. The apex
>literary body of the State has long been demanding the application of
>the Assamese language in all official correspondence, they pointed out.
>"Assam is an Anglicized form of Asom. When the British brought the area
>under its domain, they used to write 'Assam' in all the administrative
>work instead of its original nomenclature Asom. In course of time, the
>word Assam became so popular that some of the prominent Assamese
>writers also used the anglicized form." This was stated by Dr
>Dambarudhar Nath, Head of the Department of History, Dibrugarh
>University while welcoming the decision of the State Cabinet.
>Noted historian Dr Swarnalata Barua and former head of the department
>of History, Dibrugarh University, also welcomed the decision of the
>State Cabinet. She said that the spelling of the new nomenclature of
>the State should be Asam instead of Asom. 'This is what our Assamese
>scholars are demanding from a long time"..
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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