The seed of the current crisis in Assam was laid in the pre-independence period, said renowned writer, columnist, and Padma Shri Arup Kumar Dutta.
Dutta said this while delivering the 15th Brajamohan Sarma Memorial AnnualLecture at Vivekananda Kendra in Guwahati on Saturday. Writer Duttalamented the growing fissiparous tendencies in the society of Assam and heldthe 'elitist' Assamese middle class partly responsible for it.
He spoke on the topic 'Assam at a crossroad' where hedwelled on the historical background of the formation of Assamese nationalidentity well before the advent of Ahoms.
Dutta said the process of the formation of Assamese nationalidentity was "later relegated to a sub-nationalism status during the strugglefor India's independence. The seed of the current crisis in Assam, wherein thesociety is fragmented into various identities, were laid much before independencebecause of the divide-and-rule policies of the British and the manipulation ofthe Assamese middle class to act as a buffer between the indigenous people andthem."
This, in time, resulted in the various tribal communities –the biggest component of Assamese race – feeling alienated resulting in theAssamese sub-nationalism getting fragmented.
He said an unnecessary confusion on the definition of'Assamese' has precipitated the present crisis in Assamese society.
Dutta also said the way ahead would be to rebuild theAssamese identity again accommodating and amalgamating all indigenousidentities into one.
The Brajamohan Sarma Memorial Trust, Guwahati organizes such lecture every year in the memory of late Brajamohan Sarma, a former advocate of Gauhati High Court and a flag-bearer of the weaker sections of the society.
He was involved in building public awareness and mobilizingpublic opinion on contemporary issues concerning the citizens in general andthe downtrodden of the society in particular.The Trust has been organizing the annual eventsince his demise in 2004.
