*Excellent piece...* * *Regards Kaushik Deka
On 18 June 2010 18:47, utpal borpujari <utpal...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > For your reading pleasure. This was published in today's Deccan Herald ( > http://www.deccanherald.com/content/75950/racial-divide-indias-northeast.html). > Bhaskar is the young man who is at the helm of Lawyers' Book Stall and LBS > Publications. - Utpal Borpujari > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > A friendly chat on a sultry summer evening in Kokrajhar with my Bodo > friends — in low voices — the arrest of Ranjan Daimary (commander of the > Bodo rebel outfit, NDFB) and the visible mistreatment meted out to him by > the Assam government crept into the conversation. Questions that arose — why > the bias in the manner Daimary was handled compared to Arabinda Rajkhowa > (chairman of the ULFA) after their arrests? How did the Guwahati blasts turn > Daimary into a bigger criminal than Rajkhowa who was accountable for the > killing of schoolchildren in Dhemaji? > > Daimary and NDFB are the prime accused in the serial Guwahati blasts of > 2008; the ULFA has been charged of the murder of 10 schoolchildren in 2004. > > We talked about my ‘foreign’ ancestry and my invading forefathers — a tinge > of guilt overshadowed the feeling of pride in my mind. > > A cold spring afternoon in Nagaland; the conversation I was having with a > senior Naga associate went into the days of the Naga movement in the early > 1950s and the punishments his father’s generation faced from the Indian > authorities. A majority of the Naga people had voted for independence during > the plebiscite of May 16, 1951. The Indian authorities’ efforts to suppress > this movement resulted in countless atrocious incidents and the ugly > memories they left behind will probably remain in the Naga pyche for another > generation or more. > > Five of the seven northeastern states were a single entity before the 1950s > — Assam. One by one, the indigenous people rebelled and succeeded in forming > their own political entities namely Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and > Meghalaya. I can give other examples of this global phenomenon of > ‘assimilation.’ > > *Australia, 1869-1969:* The white settlers created the ‘Stolen > Generations’, ie the indigenous Australians victimised during the process of > forced assimilation — most went missing, many died and the aboriginal gene > became endangered in Australia. > > *North America, late 18th century:* The European settlers took steps to > eliminate the culture and traditions of the indigenous Red Indians. The > resulting Indian wars lasted for more than a hundred years. > > *Ancient India (Indo-Aryan transmigration theory):* Immigrants from the > western side of Hindukush settled in the Indian subcontinent — without going > into the debates and ongoing researches on this theory and stating from the > old chronicles, we find citations of many ‘clandestine’ people in parts of > what is now India, namely Asur, Daitya, Danava, etc. It is difficult to > believe they were simply mythical creatures; the fact is that basically > everything non-Aryan or native was branded Pagan (negative) and had to be > either assimilated or obliterated. > > *In the northeast:* The indigenous people never gained the ‘mainstream’ > status among the ‘more advanced’ people that migrated here from Uttar > Pradesh in the 14th century — these warlords called the Baro-Bhuyans > bulldozed the indigenous culture, especially in the plain areas through > their customs, language and later their religious views. > > Barring the ruling Ahoms that were the 13th century settlers of Assam, the > indigenous people including the Kacharis were pushed to lead an obscure > existence. Something that both my Bodo and Naga friends had told me > separately, “I lived in Delhi for so many years, but never was I invited by > my friends to their homes for a meal because I am a Bodo/Naga.” > > It may not be what they think it was; maybe their friends never thought > about it that way, but something, somewhere must have hit them to shape > their mindsets in this manner. It is easy to see what this factor might > have been — Kachari is a metamorphosis of Ku-Achari (people of an evil > nature) in the Assamese language — most of the tribes have the suffix > Kachari added to the name of their tribe. > > Majority of the modern Assamese (read: until a generation back) scorn the > Kacharis because “they eat pork, drink alcohol, dress scantily and possess a > bad temper”. No reader of this article, Kachari or non-Kachari can deny > having heard this in the past. > Today, people specific states and Autonomous Councils for the tribal people > have forged strong environments for the protection of their identities. The > rebellions, past and present, were in fact ways these indigenous people hit > back at their oppressive conquerors. ‘The invader-native conflict in > north-east India’ is by far the longest of such wars in the world and it > still continues. > > We do not need any more ‘lands’ or bloodshed here — this is a time for > unity and for these wars to stop. Let the invaders realise the mistakes of > the past and rectify the future and let the natives forgive and start the > social order afresh. > > >
