Assamese Resilience: Need of the hour
RONJOY BORDOLOI
The Assamese Culture, although very rich and vibrant has not received the due recognition and fame it truly deserves. The state has been neglected by the mainland sub-continent for quite a long time. Undoubtedly, the present government has at last started taking attention; however there are a lot of things to be done and achieved. Keeping aside political vendetta, it has become a sheer necessity to have a comprehensive yet amateur outlook on the strengths and weaknesses the state possesses and what the future holds for us.
Without doubt the state’s prime strength is its tourism industry with places like Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park and other parks and sanctuaries, pilgrimage destinations like Kamakhya, Hajo, Vasisthashram, Madan Kamdev etc, ancient and medieval relics of archaeological importance, inscriptions, coins and seals, scriptural writings and manuscripts and many more historical antiquities. Assam’s famous tea industry, Silk products and other GI tagged items are the backbone of the state. Core industries like Petroleum and Natural gas, chemical and plant based industries, textiles, sericulture, herbal products and handicrafts, horticultural and agricultural produce etc contribute to the overall prosperity of the state.
However, the major hurdles that the state faces in the path of self-reliance and growth are its poor infrastructural facilities and lack of awareness regarding various governmental projects and schemes in various spheres. The state also has unfulfilled potential in areas like housing, services, water resources, transport, health and education, shares and stocks and other investment opportunities, film and music industry, indigenous art forms, scientific spirit in all endeavours, sports and so much more.
These are some of the material drawbacks or strengths the state has, however, in today’s world of multiple dimensions, the mental and psychological aspects and prospects are also important to be considered for overall development of a race or place. Otherwise, no one can stop the imminent downfall of a people. The mental set-up determines the core resilience and growth of a race, preparing it for an undeterminable future and giving it tools to expand into new frontiers.
And therefore, what is the thing or things, material or immaterial that makes the Assamese people strong or weak in all aspects social, economical or cultural?
One chief blemish that has a historical background and future implications for the region is the major societal divide which has slowly crept into the state’s consciousness and is eating into the very framework of the state machinery, rotting itself into a poignant future. The influences of ‘other’ communities and people and their innate inability to identify themselves with the Assamese identity is a major hurdle towards unified progress. Everybody considers themselves to be someone else or from someplace else, but not a part of the Greater Assamese Society, sowing the seeds of selfish and vested interests. Moreover, the advent of various communities into the prosperous lands of the state has amplified the enormous and preposterous growth of population, putting a vigorous strain on the resources and drain of wealth from this state to other states and territories. How does the Assamese society redeem itself from this onslaught?
For that we have to know and understand what it means to be an Assamese and how to amalgamate these weary separatist tendencies into one unified form.
What makes a person or people Assamese? It is not only the geographical area associated with the state of Assam but also the demographic expanse of its people and the cultural statutes that they follow, no matter the place, which gives the people a unique personality of their own. It is not only the Assamese language but also the cultures and traditions that give us our characteristics. The indigenous festivals followed by its people, the varied societal customs, rites and rituals of its ethnic groups, a common linguistic, historical and racial background coupled with subsequent Aryan influences and the teachings of Srimanta Sankardeva, Madhavdeva and their followers form the crux of the Assamese civilization. Ancient cities of Kamarupa, Pragjyotishpura etc, heroics of Chaolung Sukapha, Lachit Barphukan, Bir Chilarai, Naranarayan, Sati Sadhini, Kanaklata and many other legends from different tribes of this enchanting land are stuff of fairy tales.
Furthermore, our three Bihus, Assamese food and cuisine, Tea, colourful tribal attires adorned with traditional jewellery, Gamusa, ethnic mufflers, our state symbols- O Mur Apunar Dekh, One Horned Rhino, Hollong Tree, white-winged wood duck, foxtail orchids, kaji nemu etc, our evergreen forests, deep blue rivers, charming paddy fields, green hills, flora and fauna, our literature and personalities like Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Lakshminath Bezbarua, Gopinath Bordoloi, Bhupen Hazarika, Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Jadav Payeng and innumerable other greats and their greater works, our songs and dances and dreams woven in silk, natural abundance and nature-loving folks; unselfish, unprejudiced people with subtle and simple ways of living and many other traits and characteristics constitute the essence of being Assamese.
But our resilience is being tested in the present times. And this resilience has to be strong. The Assamese people have survived the batters of time and invasion along with migration, yet we have withstood all beatings and still endure handsomely. There is an instinctive endurance in our blood and bones that needs revival now than ever before, in a world where forces inimical to the Assamese society, culture and businesses are trying their best to repress the age-old customs and traditions and impose their own cultural qualities, which in many ways are foreign to this land and its people. The Assamese society has always welcomed people from far and wide and has given people from all races, cultures, communities enough room to expand and assimilate into our own way of life while also lending them a chance to keep their own institutions intact. But that doesn’t mean or doesn’t give them the leverage to compel their habits upon us, making us spineless.
The Assamese people have withstood large amounts of demographic changes, yet have contributed immensely towards national pride. And this resilience should never die out and our identity as Assamese should transcend the boundaries of time and space, irrespective of caste, creed, religion etc and all new people coming to dwell in Assam should acknowledge the fact that they are Assamese, assimilating willingly into the Great Assamese Diaspora, instead of creating divisions in our peaceful society based on their own crude identities.
For, Assamese resilience is legendary and when the time shall come, we have the ability to rise against the forces of division and help in creating a unified lot of people with common objectives of peace and progress through hard work!
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