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Shantikam:
Thanks for your
support.
As you know dealing with anybody in
OXX is like walking in thin ice. So I am being careful. Now it is being revealed
that the original problem was started by OXX in 1925 (or so) when OXX was
established. They started to write Asom Sahitya Sabha. That they spelled Asom
instead of Oxom, may be excusable at that time which was incidentally before the
publication of Dr Banikanta Kakoti's Doctorate thesis which for the first time
recognized the Assamese X sound officially. However, the Hobo Diok Assamese
never took the time during the last 70 years to change the ASS to OXX.
Rest is history. Ignorance of the basic knowledge has among our so called
scholars has covering things up.
Anyhow now that the cat is out of
the bag, common Assamese public is knowing the basic facts regarding our
language for the first time. Amar Oxom edited by Dr Nagen Saikia is
starting a new debate on the issue. Dr Saikia has promised me to publish my
article in Assamese in Amar Oxom. Assam tribune has given full support on the
issue and they have published my article as an Editorial.
Anyhow I am learning new things
regarding the language everyday. I did some research and found out
that Tai Ahom Xahitya Xobha was right when they claimed that the name
Assam or Asam was there even before the British. This is in fact true. The
British did not coin the word Assam except the fact they added an extra S to the
word Asam. The Moguls used that pronunciation ASAM in Farsi and Urdu
instead of OSOM. So when Aurengjeb (say) used to talk to Mirjumla, he
would say, "Asam me jaw". This I was told is evident from the Xondhi
written between Mirjumla and Ahom kings in Farsi. What actually happens, in
Hindi and Urdu, they pronounce the Assamese O-kar sound as U (as in Up).
(This is very basic but is very important for the kharkhwas to know). O-kar
in Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit (I believe in Bengali too) is pronounced as U as in
Up. In English they used the letter A or U sometime for the O-kar. (The British
used the spellings like Pundit, Suttee, Punjab, writing U for Hindi O-kar
because of this. They pronounce the O-kar as U as in Up). Same are the
pronunciation of the words like Ajanta, Anjana etc. We say Ojonta, they
(Hindiwalas) say Ujanta. We kharkhwas never took the time to listen to the
Hindiwalas.
Anyhow our OSOM becomes ASAM in
their speech. So in Farsi they had to write ASAM.
So the very basis of CP
Saikia that this is a colonial word is wrong. ASAM is an Indian
word. Now we all should agree that ASOM is a bhusing-pohu spelling. That
is neither OSOM nor ASAM.
At present I am trying to collect
the original Farsi Xondhis. Once I have these, I am planning to write a detail
report on Assamese phonetics.
I received a report today that
Tarun Gogoi in the meantime has withdrawn his proposal seeing the controversy.
But I have not seen any news item yet.
Please let us know if you see
anything.
Thanks
Rajen
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