[Assam] Subject: khedi goi nadhara kiyo

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 05:30:28 -0800

Dear Rajen,
 
But I also read somewhere in Surya Kumar Bhuian;s history that King Udayaditya Singha sent the messenger to Lachit with the order "khedi goi nadhara kiyo" ... the date was not mentioned, but the name was mentioned as King Udayaditya Singha.
 
This matter should be thoroughly scrutinized by our history scholars. "Atan Buragohain Fund" should participate in financing these research.
 
With the best,
Himendra 
----- Original Message -----
From: Barua25
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 11:07 PM
Subject: Re: Subject: Atan Buragohain's Times

>>Unfortunately, Swargadev Chakradhwaja Singha passed away at this time (exact date need to be verified).

>This date is Later part of 1669.

 >Himendra’s Answer: Let us collect the reference. Recently, the Assam Tribune wrote an editorial in which >Swargadev Chakradhwaja Singha was accused of giving the erroneous order for the Alaboi battle. I remember >clearly that Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan gave the name of Swargadev Udayaditya Shingha as the King who gave the >Alaboi order. I remember the term “khedi goi nadhara kiyo?” in the Buranji quoted by Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan. All >these facts need to be verified and discussed

 

I take it back. I checked this date again.  One history book says the date is 1669 AD. But Surya Kumar Bhuian;s history tells that he died in March 1670, and that Xoraighat's war occured during Chkradhwaja Singha's reign. Udayaditya came afterwards. If this is true, the article in Assam tribune may be correct.

 

Rajen

 

I

----- Original Message -----
To: Barua25
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 8:13 AM
Subject: Fw: Subject: Atan Buragohain Fund

 
----- Original Message -----
To: Barua25
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 6:11 AM
Subject: Subject: Atan Buragohain Fund

 

Subject: Atan Buragohain Fund 

 

Dear Rajen,

 

Many thanks for you letter. Your’s a professional response ... for which Assam will be grateful to you. That's much more desired than the defeatist negative outbursts that we see in the net from some intellectuals.

 

Before I reply to your points, I think I must submit a clarifying statement, which may become autobiographical somewhere for which I request you to forgive me … because we should avoid autobiography as far possible. My statement may be relevant in view of the tirade “History is Bunk” that is occupying a front seat in the assam.org.

 

Everybody knows I am NOT a historian.  I started to read Assam history in 1962 after seeing the movie “Lachit Barphukan” by the late Sarbeswar Chakraborty where some episodes did not add up. The late Debendra Nath Acharya was my partner in reading Assam history. We were both working as lecturer in Jorhat Engineering College at that time. I collected a number of histories compiled & edited by the late Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan. We were not formal history students, but Deben and I got completely engrossed in the events of the history as if these events were happening right in our time. Maybe because we were trying to figure out what went wrong in that Lachit Barphukan movie of the late Sarbeswar Chakraborty. We saw the events of history from the POV (point of view) of a foot soldier in Lachit’s army.  I named him “Kolia” … and in my imagination,  his fiancé Radha was working hard at her  “tatashal”  weaving a “phosou” (head-band) before sunrise, so that her beloved would come back alive from the battle … a belief in those days.

 

Deben and I were actually working at ‘‘history from below’’ as pointed out by Anjan Saikia  in the idea of “subaltern history”  mentioned by Ranajit Guha “:

The term ‘‘subaltern’’ has been taken from a Latin word that claims to be an improvement on the elitist mode (both the Marxist and non-Marxist type) of exploring and explaining history. This mode of explaining history, also known as ‘‘history from below’’, aims at constructing the paradigm of subaltern consciousness manifesting itself in different forms, at different places and in different times.

 

When I left India in 1973, I gave my collection of history books to Deben Acharya and requested him to write a book with Kolia as the hero because I never had the support needed to re-make the movie on Lachit Barphukan.  Deben Acharya wrote the book titled “KALPURUSH” with his own inimitable style. Anjan Saikia should have mentioned this book in his thesis on subaltern history.

 

After thirty years, at the fag end of life, seeing the news that the Saraighat Journalists’ Forum was holding a “Day to Remember the Alaboi Martyrs” and dedicating a road from Dadara to Pacharia after the legendary Atan Buragohain, I wrote “ATAN BURAGOHAIN SAKO”…  from my memory. In this article, I have repeatedly requested the young historians to verify the facts. They should not be disheartened because someone is saying “History is Bunk.”

 

Please accept my best wishes to your family, you and your friends.

 

I’ll now try to give my response to your points as follows:

 

Himenda:

 

Thanks for the article:

before commenting on the proposed Aton Buragoahin Xakw, would like to furnish some missing historical dates in your article.

 

>Swargadev Chakradhwaja Singha inherited the throne from bhogaraja (the defeated king) Jayadhwaja Singha who >died heartbroken in 1663 (or 1664.)

 

This date is November 1663 according several histories.

 

Himendra’s Answer: That’s wonderful. Please ask someone to collect the exact reference. That expands Swargadeo Chakraddhwaja Singha’s time from 1663 to 1669.

 

 

>Unfortunately, Swargadev Chakradhwaja Singha passed away at this time (exact date need to be verified).

 

This date is Later part of 1669.

 

Himendra’s Answer: Let us collect the reference. Recently, the Assam Tribune wrote an editorial in which Swargadev Chakradhwaja Singha was accused of giving the erroneous order for the Alaboi battle. I remember clearly that Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan gave the name of Swargadev Udayaditya Shingha as the King who gave the Alaboi order. I remember the term “khedi goi nadhara kiyo?” in the Buranji quoted by Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan. All these facts need to be verified and discussed.

 

You wrote the following:

 

>After his defeat at the Battle of Saraighat, while mobilizing his forces again on behalf of his Emperor in the Mughal >provincial headquarters of Dhaka for his next attack on Assam, Raja Ram Singh received a letter from his mother. >After reading his mother’s letter, he demobilized the Army and went back to Delhi. Ram Singh did not make the >second attack on Assam. Historians should publish that letter word for word so that people of Assam may say a >prayer of gratitude in memory of the Queen Mother of Jaipur. 

 

I did not know about this.Do you know if this letter has been recovered? Do you know what was written in the letter?

 

Himendra’s Answer: This letter is there in one of the books by Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan. I remember the words of the letter as “… my father-in-law was a right-hand-man of Akbar Badsha … for three generations we have been serving the Mughal dynasty … but do you know what the Emperor did when you were out there in Assam? He challenged young Krishnachandra to fight with a leopard with only a small dagger on his hand … the boy came back home with deep scars all over his body … I have come to know that people of Assam are great devotees of Lord Krishna and they sing prayers to Him every evening … why do you have to kill them on behalf of your Emperor … ?”

 

I am rewriting this from memory. Please don’t take my words. The young historians of Assam should dig up the original letter from the same source where Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan found it. Please form an “Atan Buragain Fund” and send money to finance these researches. I’ll send you my contributions to “Atan Buragain Fund” once you form it. This fund will help raise public support and lobbying in New Delhi to build the bridge for which we will need permission (and funding)  from the Government of India because it is a National Waterway.  

 

 

>As for our tribute to the legendary Atan Buragohain, I think Assam should do a little more than naming a road from Dadara to Pacharia.

 

I agree with the above.

 

Himendra’s Answer: Thank you Rajen ! That’s a matter of great encouragement to the cause.

 

>I propose that we should build a highly visible architectural, elegant, three-span foot-bridge in >Brahmaputra from >SP Bungalow--Karmanasha—Urvashi--Umananda and call it "Atan Buragohain Sako” that will >take us across three >centuries of Time to a spirit of unity that we need today.

 

I cannot comment on the above, as I donot have a clear idea about the geography of Guwahati and Umanand. How long and how high will be the bridge? Can you ask someone to draw an artist's view of the bridge and write a project summary what the bridge will do? Is Umanand a tourist site now? Will the bridge bring any economic gain for Assam? On receiving a full report I think people will be in a better position to react.

 

Himendra’s Answer:  I completely agree with you. I have requested my friend Indrajit Baruah to take some photographs so that we may continue the discussion about the “Conceptual Design” … the actual design will have to consider all engineering and technical points about navigation traffic, freeboard, span-to-rise ratio, pollution, environmental impact, etc.  The  proposed “Atan Buragohain Fund” may invite sketches and conceptual drawings from artists, architects, bridge-engineers of Assam and publish them in a book giving credit to all young enthusiasts. I never mentioned about foreign involvement, or for making my own name,  for which I am being maliciously accused by some netters . The goal is to develop self-confidence … we can do it now because we did it in 1663 to 1668.

 

We should not make Umananda a tourist site. We do not need tourists. We need our own people to stand up and claim their rights of self-respect. What I proposed was a foot-bridge … to serve the “poetry in its geometry” … let me add that it will serve the people who now live in the little island of Umananda. The bridge maybe opened only to pilgrims during Shivratri and other occasions, as permitted by the people who live in Umananda.

 

 

Thanks

 

Rajen

 

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