[Assam] A general disinterest in history?

[Ram Sarangapani]

This is from R. Borthakur (Statesman, NE page). A good write-up. He
describes a sad state of affairs. It seems no one is interested in the
upkeep or maintenance of statutes and busts of fallen heroes.

He asks:

"Is it a commitment to perfunctory ritual or a spontaneous feeling of
admiration from within that prompts us to set up memorials?"

It is probably so - its all ga-ga at first, and then once in a while a CM or
some minister will perform some anniversary ritual in front of a gathering
and thats about it. In all this, clearly, uplifting messages, if any, these
fallen heroes may have wanted to spread around, are also gathering dust.

--Ram
**
*Weeds, disinterest overwhelm fallen heroes*

By Robin Borthakur
While many of us Assamese eulogise our heroes and traditions, I have begun
to wonder about our seriousness. Is it a commitment to perfunctory ritual or
a spontaneous feeling of admiration from within that prompts us to set up
memorials?
These questions disturbed my mind when I recently drove past the historic
town of Sivasagar. At the tri-junction of the Sivasagar by-pass, a park had
been set up not very long ago, ostensibly to commemorate Jaimati, a beloved
historic figure in Assam. The daughter of a nobleman, she was married to
Prince Godapani, who was in the line of succession to the Ahom throne. (The
Ahoms were descendants of the Shans of eastern Burma who conquered and ruled
Assam from 1228.)
The prince had been sought by the Regent of the day who saw him as a
potential threat to the throne and wanted to harm him. Godapani fled but
Jaimati stayed behind and endured many days of torture to protect her
husband. Her eventual death is celebrated in historical accounts and
folklore as a great sacrifice.
While the bust of Jaimati inside the park is so small that it is almost
invisible from a distance, the park itself is now overgrown with weeds and
is completely neglected. Another park at the other end of the by-pass is
also now completely bereft of its past glitter.
Although Badan Borphukan has earned notoriety as a traitor by inviting, and
virtually leading the Burmese marauders into Assam in the early part of the
nineteenth century, his son Piyali Phukan was a true patriot. The Burmese
are still remembered in Assam for their cruelty and atrocities on the
people. Despite being lame, Piyali joined the ranks of the rebels against
the British and on 25 March 1830, led an assault on the magazine of the
British Army at Rongpur (present day Sivasagar) razing it to the ground.
This considerably weakened the British forces in Upper Assam.
While the other rebels escaped (although they were later caught), Piyali,
being lame, could not run away and was arrested by British soldiers. When he
was brought to the presence of a senior British official named Neuville, the
latter asked: "Why did you raise a rebellion against us?" Piyali's reply was
unequivocal: "It is true that I have come to free my land. Nobody would like
to remain under foreign rule if one could help it. Had we been afraid of
death, we would not have rebelled against you." Neuville was chastened by
the reply.
Piyali was tried along with others on the banks of the Jaisagar lake and
found guilty of treason. He and Jeuram Dulia Baruah, another rebel, were
sentenced to death and eventually hanged on the banks of the main water tank
at Sivasagar. Again, a memorial was set up here in recent times.
The memorial is now hardly visible and wild creepers completely conceal the
white cenotaph.
The statue of Kushal Konwar standing in one corner of the Chowkidinghee
ground of Dibrugarh, the major tea centre in Upper Assam, is another source
of discomfiture. A bright star of Assam's struggle for freedom, Kushal
Konwar was hanged by the British for a crime that he had not committed. The
statue's face was covered for reasons not known to the general public. Now
that it has been unveiled, the embarrassment is no less since it does not
represent the authentic features of the patriot.
If we do not know how to respect our great men and women, I see no reason
why we should set up memorials for them. In most cases, after the initial
enthusiasm is over, we display only our blatant disparagement to those who
deserve the nation's highest honours.

(The author is Vice-President, Bharatiya Cha Parishad.)
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