ASSAM’S JOURNEY TO A COHESIVE COMMUNITY 

Arup Saikia 

Every Assamese knows about Sankardeva. But the question  is how they know or understand him. The outlook of people is important for that. The nature of human beings is like a flowing river. A river changes its look in the course of time. Sometimes it acquires the form of a rivulet or wide thundering sea. It depends on the geographical character and its surrounding structures, like mountains, hills, deserts, seas, etc. The same mental equation happens to human qualities and influence also. The quality of Sankardeva is also differently focused itself in Assam. The religious followers of Sankardeva only heartily like to adore him. The people of the other religious spectrum feel infringement of their religious egoism to recognise Sankardeva as the architect of Assam. Therefore, the greatest social luminary of Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva, was not in a centrally and spontaneously enlightened position. Genuine socio-political research has to be done with socio-cultural touch.

Very few people are curious to have a look at his multifaceted personality. But this has to be started from Assam itself by Assamese. Otherwise one prominent dimension of Assamese nationalism would remain disabled. The formation of a community is like a ladder of many sections. It’s not that Sankardeva holds all the sections, but the pillar of the ladder. He is a mediaeval saint. But the Assamese community originated from the prehistoric ancient period. Apparently, or through a bird’s eye view, we can’t properly judge the nationalism of Sankardeva or Madhavdeva. Else, the modern generation will drive that nationalism to narrow casteist chauvinism for superficial ideas.

The ancient creation of the modern states was started from a comparatively small pocket or district nearby or under an empire like Maurya (322–185 BC), Gupta (240–550 AD), etc. For example, the ancient history of Assam or Orissa centres around Kamarupa or Utkala, respectively. The regional icons or leadership emerge at this juncture. The seeds of an upcoming state sprout there. Historian Romila Thapar has written it very clearly: “On the periphery of what had been the three major kingdoms there had arisen a number of small states. These were kingdoms such as Nepal, Kamarupa (Assam), Kashmir, Utkala (Orissa), the kingdoms of the eastern Chalukyas and the Gangas along the east coast and that of the Chalukyas (also known as the Solankis) of Gujarat in western India. The emergence of these kingdoms coincided with the general tendency at the time for small local rulers to declare their independence and set themselves up as fully fledged monarchs.”

Excerpted from “A History of India, Volume 1, Page 224”

The above explanation is a political fact and process to create a political state. But no full-fledged state can overlook the local history, culture, literature, small-scale industry, etc. The rulers also know it very well. Therefore, the rulers compete with each other to invite the pre-eminent poet, scholar, craftsman, and others. The necessity of Sankardeva arises here. Sankardeva was the linkman between the administrations of upper and lower Assam. The two provinces of Assam are represented by the Ahom and Koch dynasties, respectively. Because his Kirtana, Borgeet or Ankiya Bhaona are presented across today’s united Assam. Generally commercial exchanges flourish or connect a place. But the “Hadira Chaki”, the border gate of the Ahom kingdom, is the last stop for outsiders. One commercial officer, namely Duwariya Baruah, was appointed to oversee the export–import trade. That Porsuram Duwariya Baruah was a very corrupt officer.

“The ancestor of Ananda Ram Dhekial Phukan, Duwariya Baruah, had amassed huge wealth. The first concrete house he constructed was in Goalpara, outside of the Ahom kingdom. That time the Ahom monarchy had banned the construction of concrete houses within their territory.”

Excerpt from “Anandaram Dhekial Phukan r Jivan Charitra” (Page–15) by Gunabhiram Sarmah.

Jean Baptist Chevalier has mentioned the money laundering of Duwariya Baruah in “Adventures of Jean Baptist Chevalier in Eastern India” by Caroline Dutta-Baruah. (Page–156).

From the above discussion we can conclude that Sankardeva’s Bhakti movement only created the scope to mingle with each other through free religious congregations. The environment of people-to-people interaction is generally created by commercial revolution in developed countries or places. Surya Kumar Bhuyan wrote in “Anglo-Assamese Relations” that in the later part of the eighteenth century the total revenue collection of Assam from the export was 90,000 (ninety thousand only) through Duwariya Baruah. On the other hand, the total deficit from the export-import business was 97,400 (ninety-seven thousand four hundred only). This is a very dismal situation. Therefore, nobody can deny the strong relevance of Sankardeva and the Bhakti movement for the interest of Assam’s unity.

PLINTH OF ASSAM  

We have already depicted the mediaeval scenario of Assam and the role played by Sankardeva. Suppose we were standing in fifteenth- or sixteenth-century Assam. Can we imagine a society without Sankardeva?

Not at all. The society would have been retarded three or four times more than now to achieve as an Assamese community. Else, it would have disintegrated another way.

Let’s discuss the foundation of the Assamese community or nationalism.

How does it appear?

The abundance of tribal people in Assam made them a force to be reckoned with. The Aryan Brahmins also keep professional interests in their mind while dealing with them. The tribal society is casteless. They differentiate themselves from others for ethnic subsects and dialects. As the Hindu society was also casteless in the beginning of ancient times. Later casteism was introduced for the immigration of communities like Shakas, Huns, Greeks, etc. (The details are discussed in the chapter “The Background of Vaishnavism”). But the seed of casteism originated in the early Vedic period. It’s around 1500 BC or more. The Aryan Brahmins applied the same technique to the tribals when initiated into Hinduism. They were stratified in lower echelons of Hinduism. The mediaeval Assamese monarchy tried to elevate them to a feudalistic state. The wave of the Bhakti movement inculcated in them the theory of humanity. The monarchy and the Bhakti saints compete with each other to elevate them to the desired position. That desired position of monarchy is classified in their own styles. And for the Bhakti preacher, it’s equality. The various dynasties have some peculiarities to govern a state. The two big monarchies of Assam, Ahom and Koch, have different socio-cultural, religious and economic policies. The Ahom have tried in their way. But the income- or employment-generating schemes had failed dismally. The Bhakti preachers also hadn’t left any lacunae to insert democratic mobilization among the people. But the free market commodity production and feudalism can’t move hand to hand. The friction and transition happened eventually. More or less, the tribals of Assam began to set their feet on the unified Aryanised culture of Neo-Vaishnavism. Neo-Vaishnavism is a pan-Indian thread of the Bhakti movement. It may be indigenous production of Assam but has Indian colour. So the tribes even remotely came under one unseen, unnamed pan-state ideology or culture. That unnamed pan-state ideology contributed to the plinth of Assam.

(Arup Saikia is a noted cultural enthusiast, writer, and Bhaona artiste. He can be reached at arupsaikia07@gmail.com.)