Axomiya Bongali

Axomiya Bongali
The Assamese Bengali or the Bengali Assamese? (I do not know which, it’s the same I guess)

I am a Bengali from the beautiful North East Indian state of Assam. And I carry my identity with pride. I speak fluent Assamese. I appreciate Assamese literature. I love wearing the Mekhela Sador. I never miss a chance to eat hukan pitha. My hips automatically sway to Bihu songs, the sound of the Dhol and Pepa. I extoll the virtues of my “mother state” Assam to all my rest of India friends. I urge them to visit Assam, tell them where to shop for the exclusive Assam silk and Assam Handicrafts.

The Citizenship Bill was to be passed and there was annoyance, irritation and opposition in Assam. I am not politically inclined and I feel sheltered in my ignorance of all matters even remotely political. But an article on the subject in The Times of India told me that this bill granted Indian citizenship to Hindus from the neighboring countries and I mentally saluted the bill. I could not understand why my “mother state” should feel threatened by the passing of this bill. Does this opposition to the bill contain within it the same seeds of discord that was at the heart of the Assam agitation of the 70s and early 80s?

Reading that article brought back a lot of memories. Recent memories- of my mother and brother’s paranoia regarding the inclusion of their names in the NRC list. And of their relief in seeing their names in the list. And very old memories- of my father and mother’s paranoia regarding inclusion of their names in the voter’s list. And their relief in seeing their names in the list. Every election, my parents experienced this anxiety. Every election there was discussion on whose name did not make it to the list this election!

Whether an established businessman or a Class 1 officer with the State Government of Assam, a reputed professor in a government college or a respected advocate of the Gauhati High Court, being the Bengali Assamese or the Assamese Bengali(I do not know which, it’s the same I guess), has not been a smooth ride. Many of us till date remember the “bidehi kheda andolon”. The bandhs and the blackouts. Our Assamese friends and neighbours who greeted us lovingly in the day marched past our houses in huge processions at night. With fire torches in their hands shouting “Ei jui jolibo jolise jolibo”- meaning this fire will burn, is burning and will burn. Imposition of curfew and public picketing to break the curfew. An atmosphere of fear, unrest, distrust and hatred. Every day, living through the struggle to prove legitimacy as an Indian citizen proved tiresome to the Bengali Assamese or the Assamese Bengali (I do not know which, it’s the same I guess).

I was a child in those days. I did not understand why being a “Bongali” was not cool. Some of my Assamese friends would gang up and tell me that all “ Bongali” were “Bidehi” and they would “ Maari maari khedao” them. Meaning all Bengalis were foreigners and they would beat them to dismissal from their place.

The 1985 Assam Accord brought with it peace. The Bengali Assamese or the Assamese Bengali (I do not know which, it’s the same I guess) felt relieved. I still do not know what was in the Accord, and in those days too I would feel sheltered in my ignorance of all matters even remotely political. Life became normal. The atmosphere of fear, unrest, distrust and hatred started changing to an atmosphere of peace, friendship, and mutual respect. The Bengalis could celebrate Tagore’s birth anniversary in public- they need not have a clandestine celebration in someone’s house any longer. What’s more, they could invite their Assamese friends to Tagore’s birth anniversary celebrations. The cultures intermingled and many times inter married. Bihu – the greatest Assamese festival and Durga Puja, the greatest Bengali festival were celebrated with equal aplomb with equal participation from all. The Bengali Assamese or the Assamese Bengali (I do not know which, it’s the same I guess) no longer felt like “step- children” of their mother state. They were not “bidehi”. They were Indian brethren.

I do not think this Citizenship Bill disputes or challenges India’s status as a secular country- a country with open arms, a country that hugs and homes all religions of the world. Per the Law of Return passed in 1950, Israel is the home state to the Jew and every Jew has the right to come home to that country. I pray that no Hindu be deemed a foreigner in India and no one made to feel like one.