‘Assam, not Asom’

By Wahid Saleh

In February, the Assam Cabinet adopted a resolution to change the official name of the state from Assam to Asom. The reason given is that the name Assam is not an indigenous one and was coined by the British. Are there any historical documents to prove that the name Assam was given by the British? The Dutch are famous for keeping records. A quick search of the word Assam in the Dutch archives gave the following results: A map of the Kingdom of Bengale was published around 1662. The map was drawn by a Dutchman, Joh van Leenen, who was in “Bengale” in 1661. This map was ordered by Mattheus van den Broucke (1620-1685) and was inserted in the collection of François Valentijn’s Oud en nieuw Oost-Indien (Dordrecht, 1724). The name Assam appears on the map. A letter sent by Joan Maertsuyker, Governor-General of the Dutch Batavia, congratulated Mirjumala on 29 August, 1663 addressing him as “….Grooten Mogol in Assam”. Another Dutch publication Vervarelyke Schip-breuk van 't Oost-Indisch jacht Ter Schelling, based on a diary kept by a Dutchman who in 1662 was forced to fight with the army of Mirjumla published in 1675, mentions the names Assam and Assamer, as the names of the region and its inhabitants, respectively. The story of Travelling with Clara mentions that a rhino calf was captured in 1738 in Assam in the kingdom of the Great Mogol. The rhino named Clara arrived in Rotterdam on 22-07-1741 and was exhibited all over Europe. Even today, different paintings and statues of Clara can be found in different museums of the world. Moreover, before the British arrived in Assam different Mughal historians used the names Assam, Asham, Ascham, Acham and Ásám in their writings." Asom" with an “o” in between was unknown to them. In particular, the word Assam is mentioned in the following publications: Abul Fazal Allámi in his compilation of Akbarnama, a biographical account of Akbar (1542 -1605) mentioned “Rajah of Asham”Abd al-Hamid Lahuri is known solely for his official history of the reign of Mughal Emperor Sahjahan, entitled Padshah-namah(1627-1647). He wrote about the rebellion in Kúch-Hájú, which lies on the banks of the Brahmaputra, a large river, two kos in width, which flows from the country of Áshám into Bengal.Alamgir-Namah, The Book of Aurangzeb by Muhammad Kazim ibn Muhammad Amin (1657-1667), Aurangzeb’s secretary mentions Asham. Assam is also mentioned in Shahábuddin Tálásh’s work, Tarikh-i Mulk-i Áshám . This is an account of the expedition to Assam undertaken in the fourth year of the reign of Aurangzeb Adab-i`Alamgiri, written by Sayhkh Abu al-Fath Qabil Han (1662), compiled by Sayh Muhammad Sadiq of Ambala (1703 ) which is a collection of letters, state papers and documents written in the name of Aurangzeb, also mentions Assam. “Assam” is mentioned in the book Baharistan-i-Ghaibi written by Alauddin Isfahan alias Mirza Nathan, a history of the Mughal wars in Assam, Cooch Behar, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, translated from the original Persian by MI Borah, Gauhati, 1936.Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1605 - 89), a French jeweller and traveller in his work Travels in India, published in 1676 uses the spelling “Assen” for Assam in the French original.Impero Del Gran Mogol (India) by Giovanni Albrizzi published in Venice in 1740 mentions “Acham” in this map of India from Atlante Novissimo Che Contiene Tutte Le Parti Del Mondo ... This atlas was published in Venice and based mainly on the work of Isaak Tirion.Acham is mentioned in French cartographer Rigobert Bonne’s Carte de la Partie Superieure de l' Inde en deça du Gange, published around 1770.The British arrived in Assam well after the Mughals went into decline and the reign of the Ahoms also had been weakened. The Treaty of Yandaboo was signed in 1826, under which Burma ceded all claims to Assam and other parts of what is the North-east today, and Assam came under British administration. The British changed the original names of places in India only when they had a problem pronouncing the indigenous names properly. Assam was not that kind of word.From the above, it can be concluded that the British did not coin the name Assam; it existed well before the British! India has not changed its name from India to Bharat, at least in English. If India can live with the name of India, why can’t the Assamese live with the name Assam? Do they have any valid reason to change the name from Assam to Asom?Moreover, Assam is a “brand name”. Assam is known all over the world for its finest tea besides having 820 species of birds (highest for any Indian state). Assam is an established name amongst the ornithologists. Changing the name of Assam may only marginalise whatever little name recognition the Assamese have in the world today.According to Raijor Batori published by the Assam government, the change of name from Assam to Asom is still in a resolution form and is not yet official. It still has to get the Central government’s approval. Respected and prestigious English language newspapers like The Assam Tribune, instead of conducting a debate to decide if the right spelling of the word Asom or Assam have simply started using the name Asom. It seems by this blind adoption, the print media is trying to make it a fait accompli. India prides itself as a democratic country and plays a role model. In a democracy, there is no room for a hasty decision on an important non-crisis issue such as this without any public debate and to pass a hasty resolution for the use of the spelling Asom, for political purposes.It would be appreciated by all concerned if the Assam government states openly the arguments in support of their proposal to change the name of the state. It seems in Assam at least on this issue those who speak don’t know, and those who know, don’t speak.For an important issue like changing the historical identity of a region and its people, sufficient time and scope should be given for discussion and debate. Based on the historical evidence produced above, the author feels that this evidence should be brought to the notice of all concerned and the proposal to change the name of Assam to Asom should be withdrawn.

(The writer, an Assamese from Jorhat, lives in the Netherlands.)

'Islam is history', says Taslima

Thiruvananthapuram: 'Islam is history because we live in the 21st century now', opined controversial exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday.

"The Islam religion and their scriptures are out of place and out of time. It still follows 7th century laws and is hopeless. The need of the hour is not reformation but revolution," Taslima told reporters.

The feminist author of Bengali book Lajja is in Kerala in connection with the release of the Malayalam translation of four of her books, which would be released at Thrissur on August 24.

Nasreen said a secular state should have a uniform civil code and should be based on equality, existence and not on religion.

"The state can do a lot of things, and both the state and religion should be separate. The state should not encourage religion. Today religious education and madrassas (religious seminaries) are going up. Jehad is stupidity," said the writer.

She said she had been fighting religious fundamentalism for long.

"I don't go to the streets, instead I write and that is my way of protest. I was born in a Muslim family and Muslim women suffer under Islam. No one told me to fight against oppression. It was inside me. Women are treated as slaves, sexual objects and childbearing machines," added Nasreen.

According to Nasreen, noted Kerala writer Kamala Surayya, who was Kamala Das before she converted to Islam, had now realised that she had made a mistake in converting to Islam. She had held a meeting with Surayya earlier.

"When I asked her if she regrets becoming a Muslim, she said 'yes'. She has realised that Islam does not give equality," said the writer.

She said she would love to return to her country, and if not allowed to then she would like to live in Kolkata because a writer likes to live in surroundings familiar to them.