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Dear BB Kokaidew:
I am disappointed by your responses
in the net on the subject, not by its content which is wrong at many
places, but by the tone of your message which portray the
following:
1) The messages carry the typical
'Hobo-Diok-Hojur-Mai-Bap' type attitude of the by gone Assamese
days which I think is at the root of many of the causes of the present poor
state of affairs in Assam. Continuing that attitude, far from questioning
the wrong doing of the authority, you are showing your
over eagerness to accept the authority be it GOA, some editor of some
news paper, or head of some large establishments.
2) The attitude also shows the
typical poor state of affairs of the Indian albeit Oxomiya 'dexi demokresi'
where authority prevails be it Chief Minister, some Editor or President even
though it may be against any rational, logic, justice and common sense. In
case of the Assamese, this attitude can be actually extended further where
the people would like to create an authority where there is none just to
follow and worship.
3) Assamese allergy and apathy to know the
facts and the realty to study any problem.
Having said this, with due apology, let me
try to separate the FACTS from the FICTION from the ongoing debate and
discussion and my standing request to the people who use the spelling ASOM,
where I asked two questions:
1) Are they using ASOM to replace the
official English name of the state as recorded in Indian Constitution as
ASSAM?
2) Or are they trying to replace the Roman
script spelling of the Assamese word OXOM?
In spite of your attempt to shut me
off and over simplify the problem and show as if I am the problem to
question the authority Mai Bap, my open questions stand.
FACTS:
1)
The English word ASSAM was never used to pronounce the Assamese word with the
guttural kh sound X, because the words ASSAM was taken directly from the
original name of the state as used by the Tai Ahom and the Moghols at that time
(ASHYAM etc). On the other hand the Assamese words as OXOM was derived much
later from this same original word (ASHYAM). 2)The official English name of the state
is still ASSAM, and Assam Govt has not changed the name yet. Assam Government
proposed, very immaturely I would say, to change the name to ASOM, but they did
not proceed and in fact has stopped short. In fact in all GOA official
publications, they still use the spelling ASSAM. So your assumption that GOA has
changed the name is premature and simply shows your over eagerness to
accept the authority of GOA without questioning whatever it may
be.
3) Any establishment has a right to
register its name under any spelling of the word ASSAM, ASAM, ASOM, AXOM or
OXOM etc. By doing that they donot affect the official name of the sate,
ASSAM. Thus ASSAM SAHITYA SABHA changed its official name to ASAM SAHITYA
SABHA in 1944 (following an example shown by Sir William Robinson of
Gauhati Christian Mission who used the spelling ASAM in 1839). Thus the UK
Branch of ASAM SAHITYA SABHA is 100% correct in using the name ASAM, and
they should not change the name to anything else. BTW the USA Branch
of Asam Sahitya Sabha is using the spelling ASOM SAHITYA SABHA which
is wrong since that is not the registered official name of the Sabha. I
would suggest that ASS USA should correct their error and if necessary
should write to ASS Head Quarter in Assam to clarify the
matter. (Incidently I confirmed the above
correct name of the Sabha through Dr Nagen Saikia one of the past and
enlightened Presidents of Asam Sahitya Sabha. The official name of
the Sabha is ASAM SAHITYA SABHA. Nobody should mispell
this.)
4) In the same token, the official name of
ULFA I think is UNITED LIBERATION FRONT OF ASSAM and not UNITED LIBERATION FRONT
OF ASOM (Will someone confirm this, I may be wrong) as is being written by
Assam Tribune now a days. The newspaper should know that like nobody can
change the spelling of ASSAM TRIBUNE, it also has no right to mispell the
official names of any organization. In fact if this (ASSAM and not ASOM)
true, I am surprised why ULFA is not protesting unless they are aslo taking an
Assamese Hobo Diok attitude.
5) The Roman letter S does not represent
the Assamese guttural sound kh. Thus none of these words ASSAM, ASAM or ASOM
represent the proper pronunciation of the Assamese word OXOM, since the letter S
in all Indo European languages is used to represent the sound of S as in SUN
(with some variation). If someone wants to spell the Assamese guttural
sound, they will have to use some other Roman letter than S. Incidently this
does not need a rocket scientist to figure out and come wityh a solution with
logical and rational analysis.
6) Assam has two names . ASSAM in English
(or in Roman script correctly speaking) and OXOM ie O+XO+MO (with Assamese
guttural sound kh) in the Assamese language. It is similar to the two words
INDIA and BHARAT, or WEST BENGAL and POSIM BONGO etc. We never had any problem with having two
separate names.
FICTION:
1) AGP was the first to make the
mistake to use the word ASOM when it registered its name. They thought, out of
their ignorance, that ASSAM was a foreign word, and ASOM will signify a local
Assamese name. The mistake was pointed out to them but of no use.
Incidentally it is now AGP who is one of many orgs opposing the change of the
name of the state to ASOM.
2) Late Chandra Prasad Saikia, another
confused educated Assamese, proposed in his magazine 'Gariyashi' that the
word ASOM will properly represent the Assamese sound. In fact while writing this
he knew that it was not so, because he wrote: (February 2006 issue)
(Paraphrase mine) "eventhough the word ASOM will be mis pronounced by
outsiders as ASOM instead of OXOM, we should change the name ASSAM to
ASOM". ( What brilliant Assamese intellectual logic!!!)
3) Assam Govt took the tip as they
were looking for ways to show to the Assamese public that they can do more for
the Assamese ethos than their competitor the AGP and tried to capitalize on
the idea, and out of ignorance again, and proposed a name change. However,
when GOA realized that it actually ignited a dormant Assamese 'kodwr banh', it
immediately stopped proceeding any further.
4) Now the owners of Assam
Tribune, Gariyashi and other papers all being same, are letting to run
these publications wild without any Editors and are kow towing the
great late Chandra Prasad Saikia and trying to carry the DARK Assamese
light even to DARKER days. Educated Assamese, apathic to everything
in Assam, are following the trail without uttering any protest
worth the name with a Hobo Diok attitude.
Today there is no English newspapers in
Assam worth the name. The whole state is running wild without any
authority.
That is why I say, Assam is doomed because
of the Assamese.
Let us say: Joi Ai Oxom
Bwl.
Rajen Barua
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