Arup Saikia
(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)
When did people in Assam start to think “Sense of Assamese”? How have the people of Assam received this feeling? Actually, who are the Assamese? Who is the modern architect of Assam?
Undoubtedly, 15th-century scholar-saint Sankerdev is the architect of the great Assamese people. Nowadays, various problems are swirling around Sankerdev regarding his legacy and ideology. So far, we know Sankerdev hasn’t entrusted his legacy to anyone individually or socially.
Sankerdev’s many wandering locations during his life really signify his deep-rooted grip or influence on the people of mediaeval Assam. The monarchs of two great communities (Koch and Ahom) of that period initially feared Sankerdev as a threat to their monarchy for proselyting their subjects to his religion of monotheism or equality. The classification or casteism of society was one kind of governing tool used to rule people at that time. Traditional religious masters, Brahmins, were threatened for their survival as religious practitioners because Sankerdev’s newly emerged Eksarana (monotheism) had ruined many age-old religious practices of their interest. Therefore, Sankerdev had no dearth of conspirators. Nonetheless, during his long lifespan, Sankerdev was capable of gaining patronage from the Ahom and Koch monarchs, among others, and from some wealthy chieftains from time to time.
Almost since the past hundred years, many SANKARI organisations have been surfacing (organisations in the name of Sankerdev), ostensibly to preserve his religion and ideology. They paint the ideology and religion of Sankardev in different colours, whatever suits them.
Another section of people were not directly followers of Sankerdev’s monotheism but practised his religious verses or celebrated cultural creation, i.e., Bhaona (traditional drama), Nam (different types of musical prayers), Xatriya (dances), etc. These people subsequently began to feel alienated and distrustful towards Sankari organisations for their narrow outlook. But the creations of Sankerdev should not be confined to the formation of the Assamese community alone. Conscience-based reasoning research is required about Sankerdev to project him as a national icon with many more yet unseen qualities.
But out of bigotry or exaggerated support for Sankerdev, nobody should also say Sankerdev is the sole father of the Assamese community. Sankerdev had not built the Assamese race in the air. As he himself acknowledged the talent of prior poetic genius Madhab Kondoli. That way, some groundwork was also being laid to place the bricks of the Assamese race before his birth. Mediaeval nationalism during the era of Sankerdev came into existence only based on previously available ingredients. Otherwise, perhaps the sense of Assamese nationalism would have been obscure for them. The inspirational force of Assamese nationalism was not completely indigenous. It is also a stream of pan-Indian bhakti (devotion) movements. The Bhakti movement simplified the complex worshipping procedures of Hinduism, incorporating social reformation. Much of the success of the Bhakti, or devotional, movement was due to commodity production as well. The strict classification of ancient society has been diminished gradually with the expansion of business and commodity production. For the continuation of a convenient barter system due to a lack of currency, some locations were developed with socio-economic significance. Later, the Bhakti movement catalysed the growth of the respective Later, the Bhakti movement catalysed the growth of the respective communities’ own languages and cultures. Many scholars nowadays consider the Bhakti movement a social event rather than religious. Because no incident in Assam in the last two thousand years has caused this much impact on Assamese society as the Bhakti movement attained influence in all aspects.
The feudal-type society began to grow in Assam at that time. The Ahom kingdom was based on the paik (workers, fighters, or sometimes indentured labour) system. The most remarkable success of the Bhakti movement was its ability to influence all people apart from upper-caste Hindus. The effect on all sections of people contributed to breaking the feudal system; eventually, many paik, or workers, came to the liberal fold of the Bhakti cult, which somehow weakened the Ahom monarchy. This way, the Assamese community was formed, comprising the majority of tribal and downtrodden people and a privileged class. Later, Burmese aggression and successive social destability stagnated Assamese society until the arrival of the British through the Yandaboo treaty on February 24, 1826. Simultaneously with the language movement, Assamese intellectuals like Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Hem Chandra Baruah, Gunabhiram Baruah, Lakshmi Nath Bezbaruah, Banikanto Kakoti, Kaliram Medhi, and others have immensely contributed to the establishment of the teachings of Sankerdev. Many religious books and romantic literary writings started to circulate. This period can be termed the second renaissance of Assam. Obviously, the first one was during the emergence of the Bhakti movement in the 15th century.
Unity, or building a country or society, isn’t the result of an agreement or official gazette. Society is formed through a continuous process, and for that, we have to create a congenial environment befitting the period. Still, this process is going on. It is seen that most Sankari organisations (organisations formed in the name of Sankerdev) nowadays take the people of Assam for granted. As if all other people are obligated to follow their dictation in the name of devotion or to accept all their ideologies spontaneously. In very interior villages, even many tribal people pray from a kirtana (religious book written in verse by Sankerdev) stanza before the deity or in their rituals, which is apparently contrary to Sankerdev’s monotheism. This is an example of Sankerdev’s deep permeation as a cult figure.
Moreover, the people of Assam are ever grateful to tribal Koch king Nara Narayana for sheltering and patronising Sankerdev, mainly in the later part of his life. Likewise, the contribution of immigrant Ahom monarchs can’t be ignored for wholeheartedly accepting Assam as their mother land and abnegating a major part of the language and culture they got by birth. Importantly, no community or kingdom can take credit for promoting or helping flourish Sankerdev’s culture and religion alone.
PRESENT ASPECTS OF SANKERDEV: For the growth of unnecessary egotism among some apparently monotheistic communities, some imaginary thoughts and rituals are tried to impose on other people on behalf of Sankerdev, which has no trustworthy evidence that Sankerdev ever preached or practised these rules. Sankerdev’s main disciples are from all communities of Assam with different socio-religious backgrounds. Although animosity between Sankerdev and some Brahmins is well known, he clearly understood one thing: without the effort of Brahmins, lakhs of tribes and some non-religious people wouldn’t have been converted into Hinduism as idol worshippers, tantricism, or shaktism (as a whole, like magical mysticism). And without their previous conversion, Sankerdev wouldn’t have had a platform to preach his ideology to the masses. During the time of Sankerdev and afterwards, of course, many Brahmins lost religious sincerity to a greater extent.
Later, the Islamic Sufi saint Azan Fakir came to Assam from Bagdad in 1630. He preached reformed Islam along the lines of the Bhakti movement and unified many people; Hindus even converted. Due to the rise of his popularity, Azan Fakir had earned the wrath of the Ahom monarch and was punished, but later the king apologised to him. He is popular for his devotional songs, Zikir and Zari, created from Assamese musical tradition. Moreover, Fakir’s songs have notable similarities with Borgeet (a devotional song) by Sankerdev.
SANKERDEV IN REALITY: Sankerdev’s spiritual leadership image or religious reformation he initiated was only one part of his multiple missions, contrary to the thinking of the majority Assamese. Being the father of the Assamese Renaissance, he was an Assamese polymath like the heroes of the European Renaissance: Francesco Petraca, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. Sankerdev is a playwright, sportsman, music maestro, and whatnot. Therefore, organisations created in his memory should be classified as sports or drama training institutes, musical enterprises, etc., removing the religious tag. The more people regard Sankerdev as a religious leader, the more Assamese will be out of harmony.
Finally, the birth of the Assamese Renaissance is not in a watertight compartment; it’s like an umbrella held by Sankerdev with innumerable ethnic sticks of equal importance.