Dilemma of a 'Syllheti' in India
Since I was born and brought up in Silchar (Cachar District in Assam), I have faced this identity crisis in my social life. My bullying schoolfellows who were "Cacharis" and often could not beat me in studies, would abuse me by shouting "Syllhetiya" at me. I could felt as if it was a derogatory remark. I used to go home and ask my Ma why those boys shouted me like that and who is a "Syllhetiya". She never gave me an answer rather told me that those boys were harassing me because I was good at studies. I realised much later in my life that I asked the question to a wrong person as my Ma was a "Cachari" (Laskar) herself !!
Perhaps that cultural dilemma of belonging to a distinct linguistic group which automatically attracts some special responses still haunts me. Going to discuss this issue at an International Conference in Dhaka later this year.
Barak Valley districts in Assam state in Northeast India is a classic example of a population which because of their geo-historical-political fate is facing a cultural dilemma which goes beyond borders. The three districts of Assam – Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi on Indo-Bangla border is home to around 4 million - majority of whom are Bengali speaking population. A case in point is the Karimganj district which was a part of Syllhet district before partition of India. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash says, "South Assam or Barak Valley is the extension of greater Meghna Valley of Bengal' in all the way from culture to geography.
The Sub-division of Karimganj under the Sylhet District was created in 1878 with Karimganj town as its headquarters. The sub-division played an important role in the freedom movement. The famous Chargola exodus, one of the earliest organised labour movements of the country, had its origin in the Chargola valley tea-belt of Karimganj sub-division. At the time of partition of the country, in 1947, the district of Sylhet was transferred to East Pakistan barring three-and-half thana (Police Station) areas (Ratabari, Patherkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj thana) of the Karimganj sub-division. This truncated Karimganj sub-division was incorporated in the Cachar District of Assam as a full-fledged sub-division. This sub-division was upgraded to a district on the 1st of July, 1983, vide Govt. Notification no. GAG15/83/1 dated June 14, 1983.
In the recent past, due to a ‘son of the soil’ agitation started by the Assamese speaking population of the mainland Assam, Bengali Language and Culture has become the Achilles’ Hill for the people living in Barak Valley. It’s a case of cultural links beyond geo-political borders. Post 1990s, there is a perceivable change in this direction towards greater cross-border cultural exchanges with a number of poets, journalists, and artists from Bangladesh visiting this part of India. It has been marked by some as the building a new sub-nationality that grows around language apart from ethnicity.
Against this backdrop, "Syllhetis" from Assam (India) like me presents a case of a cultural conflict within. Submerged within other 'nationalities' and changing cultures, they long for a dormant desire to unite with a sub-nationality beyond borders, specially with reference to Syllhet district in Bangladesh. This utopian cultural aspirations is reflected in TV serials that are watched so fondly in the Barak Valley districts of Assam in Northeast India. Perhaps tracing the cultural roots of the people of Barak Valley, and the emergence of cross-border cultural sub-nationalism as a reality that neither a modern nation/state can avoid nor cultural communities should feel apologetic about it.
At least, I am not ashamed of being a "Syllheti" any more !!
----------------------------
NEF Law College, G S Road, Guwahati 781005 (India)
Tel: +91-94350-72356 / 98599-14100;
Email: drbahar@gmail.com
Since I was born and brought up in Silchar (Cachar District in Assam), I have faced this identity crisis in my social life. My bullying schoolfellows who were "Cacharis" and often could not beat me in studies, would abuse me by shouting "Syllhetiya" at me. I could felt as if it was a derogatory remark. I used to go home and ask my Ma why those boys shouted me like that and who is a "Syllhetiya". She never gave me an answer rather told me that those boys were harassing me because I was good at studies. I realised much later in my life that I asked the question to a wrong person as my Ma was a "Cachari" (Laskar) herself !!
Perhaps that cultural dilemma of belonging to a distinct linguistic group which automatically attracts some special responses still haunts me. Going to discuss this issue at an International Conference in Dhaka later this year.
Barak Valley districts in Assam state in Northeast India is a classic example of a population which because of their geo-historical-political fate is facing a cultural dilemma which goes beyond borders. The three districts of Assam – Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi on Indo-Bangla border is home to around 4 million - majority of whom are Bengali speaking population. A case in point is the Karimganj district which was a part of Syllhet district before partition of India. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash says, "South Assam or Barak Valley is the extension of greater Meghna Valley of Bengal' in all the way from culture to geography.
The Sub-division of Karimganj under the Sylhet District was created in 1878 with Karimganj town as its headquarters. The sub-division played an important role in the freedom movement. The famous Chargola exodus, one of the earliest organised labour movements of the country, had its origin in the Chargola valley tea-belt of Karimganj sub-division. At the time of partition of the country, in 1947, the district of Sylhet was transferred to East Pakistan barring three-and-half thana (Police Station) areas (Ratabari, Patherkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj thana) of the Karimganj sub-division. This truncated Karimganj sub-division was incorporated in the Cachar District of Assam as a full-fledged sub-division. This sub-division was upgraded to a district on the 1st of July, 1983, vide Govt. Notification no. GAG15/83/1 dated June 14, 1983.
In the recent past, due to a ‘son of the soil’ agitation started by the Assamese speaking population of the mainland Assam, Bengali Language and Culture has become the Achilles’ Hill for the people living in Barak Valley. It’s a case of cultural links beyond geo-political borders. Post 1990s, there is a perceivable change in this direction towards greater cross-border cultural exchanges with a number of poets, journalists, and artists from Bangladesh visiting this part of India. It has been marked by some as the building a new sub-nationality that grows around language apart from ethnicity.
Against this backdrop, "Syllhetis" from Assam (India) like me presents a case of a cultural conflict within. Submerged within other 'nationalities' and changing cultures, they long for a dormant desire to unite with a sub-nationality beyond borders, specially with reference to Syllhet district in Bangladesh. This utopian cultural aspirations is reflected in TV serials that are watched so fondly in the Barak Valley districts of Assam in Northeast India. Perhaps tracing the cultural roots of the people of Barak Valley, and the emergence of cross-border cultural sub-nationalism as a reality that neither a modern nation/state can avoid nor cultural communities should feel apologetic about it.
At least, I am not ashamed of being a "Syllheti" any more !!
----------------------------
NEF Law College, G S Road, Guwahati 781005 (India)
Tel: +91-94350-72356 / 98599-14100;
Email: drbahar@gmail.com
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