Chapter 2

Ethnic Markers and Nationality in Assam

In this chapter, I would like to briefly look at the ethnic distinctions in Assam

and the question of an Assamese nationality. Assam is an ethnically

diversified society and it is difficult to describe the characteristics of all the

ethnic groups in detail. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the

boundaries between and among the ethnic groups are not static but subject to '

continuous change. Therefore, rather than putting people in strait-jacket

categories and giving them an ethnic label, I would rather highlight the

major criteria that are recognised as important in census and existing

literatures in distinguishing the people from each other. In this way we can

gain a better understanding of the complexity of the ethnic problem m

Assam.

In the first section, I will introduce the basic statistics of language,

distribution of religion, and Scheduled Tribes by using census data. In the

next section, I will introduce the important ethnic markers in Assam and give

a brief sketch of each ethnic community in order to provide a basic idea of

ethnicity in Assam. The third section will deal with the question of Assamese

nationality.

1. Ethnic Demography and Geography in Assam

First of all, I would like to present the statistics for linguistic, religious and

tribal populations. These are some of the ethnic markers which are seen as

important in Assam, and will be discussed in the later sections. Here I will

37

highlight the number of major groups and their district wise distribution on

the basis of the 1971 and 1991 census2 in order to shed light on the geography

and the ethnic character of the state.

1-1. Language

The three major languages spoken in the state were Assamese, Bengali and

Hindi as per the 1971 Census. However, in 1991, the number of Bodo

speakers became bigger than that of the Hindi speakers. This drastic change

in the figures does not mean that the natural growth rate of the Bodo

speakers has increased, but reveals that the consciousness and pride in their

own language among the Bodo tribes has changed tremendously in twenty

years. (The issue will be discussed in later sections.)

Table 1. Four Numerically Biggest Mother Thngue in Assam

Mother Number of Percentage Number of Percentage Growth Tongue speakers in to total speakers to total Rate ln

1971 population in 1991 population 20years Assamese 8,904,917 60.89% 12,841,744 57.29% 44.21% Bengali 2,882,039 19.71% 4,820,573 21.51% 67.26% Bodo· 533,713 3.65% 1,176,635 5.25% 120.46% Hindi 792,481 5.42% 769,076 3.43% -2.95%

(Census of India, 1971 and 1991)

Table 2. shows the three largest mother tongues spoken in each district in

1971 (The statistics are not available for the 1991 census). There were ten

2 In Assam, 1981 census was not taken because the leaders ofthe anti-foreigners movement called for non-cooperation. Therefore 1981 census statistics is not available for Assam.

38

districts in Assam at the time of the movement3, and they can be grouped into

three areas according to their geography and demography viz: Brahmaputra

Valley, Barak Valley and the Tribal autonomous area. The six districts of

Goalpara, Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, and Dibrugarh fall in the

Brahmaputra valley and here the majority are Assamese·speaking. The two

districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills are in the tribal '

autonomous area. The speakers of Mikir (Karbi) and Dimasa, tribal

languages, are the biggest group in these districts. The area in Cachar

district, located in the southern part of Assam and divided by the North

Cachar Hills with the Brahmaputra valley, is called the Barak valley and the

majority of the population here are speakers of Bengali language. (Map 1.)

Table 2. Three Major tongues of each district and their percentage, 1971 '

District Mother Tongue 1 Mother Tongue 2 Mother Tongue 3

Name Percentage Name Percentage Name Percentage

Goal para Assamese 63.57% Bengali 14.70% Bodo 10.45% Kamrup Assamese 76.68% Bengali 12.34% Bodo 4.90% Darrang Assamese 62.84% Bengali 13.31% Hindi 6.05% Now gong Assamese 73.72% Bengali 19.31 ~\to. Hindi 3.54% Sibsagar Assamese 85.77% Bengali 3.73%' ·\Hindi 3.56% Dibrugarh Assamese 63.79% Hindi 11.28% ·Hindi 11.05% Lakhimpur Assamese 61.16% Mishing 17.93% Bengali 5.95% Karbi Mikir 44.43% Assamese 13.61% Bengali 9.76% Anglong North Dimas a 30.54% Bengali 14.38% Bodo 6.57% Cachar Hills Cachar Beng_ali 77.76% Hindi 11.28% Manipuri 4.22%

(Census of India, 1971)

3 After the movement, the administrative units in Assam were reorganised and

39.

Thus, we can see that the Assamese-speaking people are primarily

concentrated in the districts in the Brahmaputra valley and the

Bengali-speakers are concentrated in the Barak valley. This is due to the fact

that in the colonial period, migration started from Sylhet and other districts

in Bengal to the Barak valley and therefore the majority of inhabitants are of

Bengali-origin. Thus, the people here tend to retain Bengali as their mother

tongue, while those who migrated to the Brahmaputra valley tend to adopt

Assamese language as their mother tongue, especially the Bengali Muslim

peasants.

Map 1. Districts and Major Linguistic Groups

Red: Districts with an Assamese-speaking majority

Yellow: Districts where tribal language speakers are the majority

p1·esently (2004) there are 23 districts.

40

Pink: Districts with a Bengali-speaking majority

1·2. Religion

The Hindus are the largest religious group in Assam, although the

percentage has decreased between 72 percent to 67 percent from 1971 to 1991.

On the other hand, Muslims, while they constitute the second largest

religious group, have increased their percentage in Assam from 24 percent to

28 percent in twenty years since 1971. (Table 3)

The majority of Muslims in Assam are said to be the descendants of the

Bengali Muslim immigrants from East Bengal, although there are a small

number of Assamese Muslims who settled in Assam before British

colonisation. Thus, the increase in the percentage of Muslims compared to

Hindus is regarded as the increase in the immigrant population- mainly due

to the high birth-rate among Muslims, and to some extent the new entrants

of Bengali Muslims - in Assam.

Table 3. Proportion of population by religion, 1971-1991

Year Buddhist Christians Hindus Jains Muslims Sikhs Others 1991 0.29 3.32 67.13 0.09 28.43 0.07 0.62 1971 0.15 2.61 72.51 0.09 24.56 0.08 ... -.. ---

(Census of India, 1971 and 1991)

It is true that the number of Muslims is high in districts with a large

number of immigrants. Table 4. shows the three major religions of each

district and their percentage in 1971. The percentage of Muslims is high

(about 40 percent) in Goalpara, Nowgong and Cachar, where the number of

41

immigrants is large. Districts in upper Assam - Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and

Lakhimpur - have a high Hindu population (about 90 percent in each

district) and small Muslim population (less than 10 percent). (Map 2.)

The Christians are the third largest religious groups, and they have a

higher presence in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.

This is because Christianity is popular among the hill tribes due to the

activity of the Christian missionaries in the colonial era. Moreover, the

percentage of Muslims is very low in these hill districts.

Table 4. Three Major Religions of each district and its Percentage, 1971

Religion 1 Religion 2 Religion 3 Name Percentage Name Percentage Name Percentage

Assam Hindus 72.51 Muslims 24.56 Christians 2.61 Goal para Hindus 53.92 Muslims 42.25 Christians 3.59 Kamrup Hindus 69.96 Muslims 28.93 Christians 0.88 Darrang Hindus 78.45 Muslims 16.19 Christians 5.06 Now gong Hindus 59.70 Muslims 39.39 Christians 0.71 Sibsagar Hindus 92.22 Muslims 5.27 Christians 2.09

Dibrugarh Hindus 92.41 Christians 3.51 Muslims 3.09 Lakhimpur Hindus 89.57 Muslims 7.54 Christians 2.60

Karbi Hindus 90.27 Christians 7.99 Muslims 1.30 Anglong

North Hindus 77.03 Christians 21.87 Muslims 0.86 Cachar Hills

Cachar Hindus 58.71 Muslims 39.89 Christians 1.32

(Census of India, 1971)

42

Map 2. Districts with high·rate of Muslims and Christians

Red: Districts with more than 25 percent of Muslim population

Yellow: Christian majority Districts

Pink: Districts with low·rate of Muslim and Christian population

1·3. Scheduled Tribes

The character and status of the tribes will be discussed in the latter part of

this chapter, so only the district·wise distribution of the tribal population will

be taken up here. Although Scheduled Tribes constitute only 10 percent of the

population in Assam, in the hill districts they form the majority - 55 percent

in Karbi Anglong and 69 percent in North Cachar Hills. Apart from the hill

districts, Lakhimpur has the highest percentage of Scheduled Tribe

43

population measurmg 28 percent. In other districts, the percentage of

Scheduled Tribes varies from 5 to 10 percent except for Cachar where the

number of Scheduled Tribes is very small. (Map 3.)

Map 3. Tribal Districts

. '

Red: Tribal Majority Districts

One important feature of the tribal population is their strong rural

character, and/or relative absence in the urban areas. Though as compared to

the rural population the urban population is very small, and the percentage

of the total population in each district is very small (composing less than 2

percent except for the hill districts and Goal para) (Table 2-5). Even in the hill

districts, the percentage of Scheduled Tribes to the total population in urban

44

areas is very low compared to that of the rural areas. Because of its rural

character, the literacy rate of the Scheduled Tribes is low compared to that of

the total population in Assam.

Table 5. Distribution of Scheduled Tribes and their proportion to the total

population

Population Percentage Percentage to Percentage to of Tribes total population total

in Rural areas population Ill

' Urban areas Assam 1,606,648 10.99 11.94 1.11

Goalpara 308,287 13.85 14.82 2.31 Kamrup 298,090 10.44 11.71 0.92 Darrang 185,640 10.69 11.33 0.64 Nowgong 125,115 7.44 7.99 0.35 Sibs agar 125,311 6.82 7.42 0.33 Dibrugarh 81,489 5.77 6.66 1.17 Lakhimpur 204,811 28.78 29.77 2.15 Karbi 210,039 55.37 56.50 14.59 Anglong North 52,583 69.15 73.04 16.01 Cachar Hills ...

Cachar 15,283 0.89 0.97 0.04

(Census of India, 1971)

2. Ethnic Markers in Assam

Sanjib Baruah argues that m Assa:rp., the distinction between groups of

people who are regarded as 'indigenous'4 and 'immigrant' is important. In his

4 In India, there is a controversy over the definition of the term 'indigenous'. Since the 1980s, there was an effort to safeguard the rights ofthe indigenous peoples in the U.N. and other international organisations. The controversy arose when the 'tribes' and 'indigenous peoples' are treated as analogous categories in ILO Convention 169, and the Draft Declaration on the rights of the indigenous Peoples followed the line. The central government and the academic community in India rejected the claim on the basis that it

45

book on the nationality issue in Assam, he states that although the term

'immigrant community' itself is problematic, the distinction is part of the

ethno·political landscape of the region. Apart from immigrant community,

there is a distinction between 'tribal' and 'non-tribal' community in Assam.

'Non-tribal' and 'non-immigrant' community in Assam mainly consists of

caste· Hindu Assamese, and there are a small number of Assamese Muslims

who are distinct from the immigrant Bengali Muslims. (Baruah 1999: xvii,

18-20)

Baruah's classification of the immigrant community is almost identical

to that of Myron Weiner's, the first scholar who highlighted the significance

of the immigration problem in Assam. Weiner views the immigrants as a

group of people who started to come to live in Assam after British

colonisation. He has classified immigrant society into four categories and

analysed their role and status in Assam. They are tea plantation labourers,

Bengali Hindus, Bengali Muslims and the Marwaris (Weiner 1978: 88-104).

In addition to Weiner's classification, Baruah mentions one more immigrant

group in Assam -the Nepalis. In the section that follows, I will briefly focus

upon their analysis of immigrant communities.

is difficult to ascertain who are indigenous and who are not. Their view has been strongly challenged by indigenous scholars. Nongbri argues that both the indigenous peoples and the tribes are disadvantaged and oppressed by the same system of domination, and hence is critical to emphasise only on terminological congruence and ignore the political interest which gave birth to it. (Nongbri 2001: 44-5) Baruah's usage of the term does not follow the international context. He uses the term in order to make a distinction with the immigrant communities, and include ethnic Assamese community as well as plains and hill tribes.

46

2-1. Immigrant Communities in Assam

Tea Plantation Tribes

Weiner traces the history of immigration oftea·garden labourers to the year

1821, when tea was discovered in Assam by an Englishman. Soon tea

plantations became the booming business in Assam, and in order to solve the

labour shortage in the tea gardens, the colonial government and plantation

owners started to bring people from Bihar. They were mainly hill tribes from

Chotanagpur and Santal Parganas. In 1921 alone, their number reached 1.3

. million persons, constituting one·sixth of the total population of the province.

As these tea ·plantation tribes tend to accept the Assamese language,

Weiner argues they are the model migrants to the Asssamese. He also argues

that they have never been nor are they now economic, cultural or political

threats to the Assamese. (Weiner, 1978: 88·91)

Baruah's analysis of the tea·garden tribes is similar to that ofWeiner's.

In addition, he introduces the fact that immigration from other states in

India started in 1841 to 1859, and continued even after the country achieved

independence, until the 1960s. He states that the workers were brought from

other parts of India, and they can be classified into three linguistic categories

- Kolarian groups, Dravidian groups, and groups speaking Oriya, Bengali

and Hindi. Like Weiner, he also claims that they are model immigrants to the

ethnic Assamese. (Baruah 1999: 53·5).

Bengali Hindus

Weiner states that the Bengali Hindu immigrants were brought to Assam by

the British as officers under colonial administration, for they had difficulty in

47

employing the Ahom high·ranking officers. The British officers regarded the

Ahom and Assamese functionaries as 'indolent and incapable', and decided to

import trained Bengali officers to work in Assam. Thus, Bengali officers first

moved into administrative positions. Since the Bengali Hindus were among

the first social groups in India to study at the British missionary and

government colleges, they entered other modern profes.sions as well. By the

beginning of the twentieth century, Bengali Hindu migrants constituted a

significant part of the modern professions such as medicine, law, teaching,

journalism, railways and postal services in Assam.

As the British saw the Assamese language as a dialect of Bengali, the

latter was used as a medium of instruction in schools and in administration

until1874. Weiner notes that the Bengalis were a threat to the Assamese for

two reasons: one, through their domination in the administrative services,

and two, through their cultural domination, the Bengalis treated the

Assamese as culturally inferior provincial cousins. (Weiner 1978: 91·5)

Baruah also states that the immigration of Bengali Hindus (he uses the

term "Hindu Bengalis") into Assam has been a most persistent source of

conflict between the two communities. He points out that Sylhet, which

provided a major chunk of Bengali officers to the Brahmaputra valley and

now constitutes a part of Bangladesh, was originally a part of the province of

Assam since the latter was created in 1874 and so they were simply moving

from one part of the province to another. However, protesting the dominance

of Bengali immigrants was probably one of the earliest issues in Assamese

subnationalism. On the other hand, he admits the positive effect of the

Bengali presence. With Calcutta being the capital of British India, Bengali

48

language, culture and fashions were more imitated by the Assamese, and

many Assamese students studied in Calcutta. (Baruah 1999: 58-60)

Bengali Muslims

Weiner states that the large-scale immigration to Assam by Bengali Muslim

cult~vators was caused by the existence of extensive virgin lands and the

sparse and low population density in Assam. Due to high mortality rate,

compared to densely populated Bengal, there were large tracts of virgin lands

which invited the major influx of Bengali Muslims after 1900. Apart from this,

he also draws attention to claims made by the Assamese that the Muslim

League government encouraged Muslim migrants from Bengal to encroach

on government lands and in the grazing and forest reserves. He states that in

1947, after the partition of Pakistan and India, the migration of Muslims

stopped and afterwards that of Hindu refugees increased. (Weiner 1978:

95-102)

Baruah also sees the land scarcity in East Bengal as a main cause of the

migration of Bengali Muslims (he uses the term 'Muslims of Bengali

Descent') into Assam, but he also takes into consideration the effect of the

British colonial policy. Moreover, he adds that the motivation of colonial

officials was partly political- balancing the Hindu and Muslim population.

Baruah further analyses the census figures of 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921 and

1931 and points out that although in the beginning, the officers regretted

that they failed to bring settlers from Bengal, the 1911 census shows that

there was a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants. In prophetic

note, in 1931, the census operator Mullan expressed his alarm at the scale of

49

the immigration and its possible impact on Assamese culture, and this

became a favourite quotation in the writings of anti-immigration politicians

in the 1980s. But, Baruah points out, notwithstanding these fears, the

Muslim peasant community adopted the Assamese language as their mother

tongue.

However, he states immigration continued even after partition, and the

division of the country transformed it into international migration. He also

accepts that after partition, the Hindu refugees were larger than economic

migrants. Although at the time of the war of liberation in East Pakistan and

the creation of Bangladesh, the Muslims also came in large numbers, but

soon went back to Bangladesh. (Baruah 1999: 55·8)

Myron Weiner has another view on this point. He estimates that

migration into Assam from 1971 to 1981 was 1.8 million (as there was no

census in Assam in 1981, these figures are based on estimates). He assumes

that most of these comprised illegal immigrants caused by the 1971 civil war

in East Pakistan and the 1972 war between Indian and Pakistan, and

suggests that this caused the anti-foreigners movement and the outburst of

violence in 1983 election. (Weiner 1983: 285·7)

Marwaris

The term 'Marwari' refers to the commercial caste of Rajput, and although

their number is small, according to Myron Weiner, they played an important

role in opening up Assam to trade. They are one of the most visible migrant

communities, and they dominate trade, commerce, banking and credit. They

are heavily concentrated in the larger towns of the state. For this reason,

50

they became the symbol of "foreign domination". (Weiner 1978: 102-4, 128)

Again, Baruah's analysis ofMarwaris is identical to that ofWeiner's. He

adds that the term 'Marwaris' strictly refers to a commercial caste from

Rajasthan, but in Assam, it is used more loosely to include members of some

other ethnic groups, such as Sindhis. He notes the Marwaris are not a

numerically large group, but their central role in the regions's commerce

makes them highly visible. For this reason, since the 1970s Marwari

businesses have frequently become targets of violence. During the

anti -foreigners movement and since the rise of ULFA and the Bodo

insurgency, Mariwari businesses have been highly vulnerable to extortion

demands from insurgents and other political organisations. (Baruah 1999:

60-2)

Nepalis

Weiner does not refer to the Nepalis in his book. It is partly because when he

conducted his research in the 1970s, the Nepalis were not so visible or a

politically important group in Assam. Baruah states that during the

anti-foreigners movement, there was much talk on them, since they and the

Bangladeshis are the only groups which justify the label of"illegal foreigners"

in Assam. He states that the anti-Nepali feeling was generally rare except

during the particular points in the anti ·foreigners movement.

Baruah states that although the Nepalis are foreigners by nationality,

many of them had started to live in Assam a long time ago. He argues that

the major motivation for Nepalis coming to Assam was the 'Gorkha' soldiers

in the Indian army, and another group came as cattle graziers. Many of them

51

now have become Assamese·speaking.

2-2. Tribes in Assam· Hill and Plains

So far, we have seen a description of the immigrant communities by Weiner

and Baruah. As noted earlier, Baruah made a distinction between indigenous

and immigrant communities - the descendants of people who started to live

in Assam before and after colonisation. In the indigenous community, he

states that tribaUnon ·tribal distinction is also important. He refers to the

speakers of languages in the census, and states that the speakers of the

Rabha, Bodo, Karbi, and Mishing are tribals, though many of them speak

Assamese.

In Assam, tribes are recognised as the earliest inhabitants. They are

largely of Mongolian stock and belong to other linguistic groups than the

speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages. It is, however, necessary to

distinguish between the hill tribes and the plains tribes, since the hill tribes

had little relations with the Assamese while the plains tribes had slowly

accepted many of the features of Assamese society.

Table 6. shows the population of major scheduled tribes in Assam and

major districts where the number of each tribe is large.

52

Table 6. Population of Major Scheduled Tribes in Assam, 1971

Scheduled Tribes Total District 1 District 2 District 3 Boro· Borokachari 610,459 (G) 238,260 (K) 207,276 (D) 137,727 Miri (Mishing) 259,551 (L) 146,626 (8) 84,752 (D) 14,948 Kachari 198,619 (D) 65,848 (K) 32,623 (S) 27,670 (Sonowal) Mikir (Karbi) 177,194 (KA) 172,845 (NC) 4,349 Rabha 138,630 (G) 68,219 (K) 55,057 (D) 13,711 Lalung (Tiwa) 95,609 (N) 90,180 (K) 3,037 (L) 1,808 Dimasa 39,342 (NC) 24,545 (KA) 14,797 Deori 23,080 (L) 12,165 (S) 6,599 (D) 3,924

G- Goalpara, D- Darrang, K- Kamrup, N- Nowgong, S- Sibsagar, D-

Dibrugarh, L- Lakhimpur, KA- Karbi Anglong, NC- North Cachar Hills, C

- Cachar (Census of India, 1971)

Within the category tribes, the Karbis and the Dimasas are the hill tribes

by virtue of their location and others are regarded as the plains tribes in

Assam. Immediately after India attained its independence, the state of

Assam included most of the tribal areas in the northeast except for Manipur

and Tripura. However, the Nagas demanded independence from India from

the mid-1940s and in the 1950s, the Naga National Council (NNC) started

armed struggle against the Indian state. In response to this, the government

of India attempted a negotiated settlement, and the idea of statehood within

the framework of the Indian Constitution began to take shape. In 1963 the

state of Nagaland was inaugurated. However, the NNC did not accept the

settlement, and the armed struggle continues even today by a section ofNaga

people. (Misra 2000: 45-6)

The demand for autonomy or self-determination was also common in

other hill areas. In particular, the demand for the introduction of Assamese to

53

be an official language in the state of Assam triggered this demand. The All

Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) passed a resolution to condemn the

domination of the Assamese people and to demand the immediate creation of

a separate hill state. It resulted in the reorganisation of Assam in 1972 and

the creation of the states of Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, and the

elevation of the ,Mizo Hills district and North-East Frontier Agencies into

union territories, under a new political identity Mizoram and Arunachal

Pradesh respectively (Nongbri 2003: 109-10). The latter two achieved

statehood in 1987. As a result, most of the hill areas in Assam became

separate states distinct from the state of Assam.

Presently, there are two hill districts in Assam, Karbi Anglong and North

Cachar, and Karbis and Dimasas are the major tribal inhabitants. These two

districts have their own autonomous councils under provisions of the 6th

Schedule of the Indian Constitution which has provided the hill tribals with

some autonomy in managing their own tribal society.

The rest of the tribes are regarded as plains tribes, and major ones are

the Bodos, Mishings, Rabhas, Tiwas and Sonowals. The Bodos are mainly I

located in the western part of Assam, in the districts of Goalpara, Darrang

and Kamrup. The Mishings are situated in the upper part of Assam,

especially in the district of Lakhimpur above the Brahmaputra river. The

Rabhas are in the western part, as are the Bodos, and the Tiwas are in the

central part- they are concentrated in the district of Nowgong. Lastly, the

Sonowals are not concentrated in any one area and are dispersed throughout

the districts of Kamrup, Darrang and Sibsagar.

Compared to the hill tribes, the plains tribes are said to have adopted the

54

Assamese way of life and language, and view themselves as part of the

Assamese nationality. However, recently, most of them have started to

demand for autonomy. Among them, the most well known is the Bodo

movement.

Together with the increasing demand for political autonomy, a

consciousness of their own culture and language has also become prominent.

Until the 1970s, many of the tribes adoptedAssamese language and declared

it to be their mother tongue at the time of the census operation. Thus, in 1971,

compared to the Scheduled Tribes population, the number of tribal language

speakers were much smaller. However, in 1991, the number of people who

declare their tribal language as their mother tongue increased phenomenally

(See Table 7 for details).

Table 7. The Increase of Speaker of Tribal Languages

Mother Number of tribal Number of Number of Growth Rate Tongue population ln speakers speakers in 20 years

1971 in 1971 in 1991 Bodo 610,459 533,713 1,176,635 120.46% Mishing 259,551 177,226 381,562 115.30% Rabha 138,630 32,400 112,408 246.95% Lalung 95,609 9,954 32,633 227.84% (Tiwa)

(Census of India, 1971 and 1991)

3. Question ofAssamese Nationality

So far, we have briefly summarised the studies on ethnic groups in Assam. In

this section, we will look at the question of Assamese nationality and the

nationalistic identity and movement by the majority group in Assam.

55

The term 'nationality' is not as commonly used as 'nation' and 'ethnic

group' in recent studies on nationalism and ethnicity. When it is used, it

refers to national identity rather than a group which has a common descent

and culture. However, in Assam, the term 'nationality' was mainly used in

order to refer to the group of people with Assamese identity. What that

identity is, however, remains elusive. Similarly, the meaning of nationality is

highly ambiguous.

For example, Amalendu Guha makes a distinction between 'nation' and

'nationality'. He admits that usage of the terms 'nation' and 'nationality' is

confusing. He himself positions 'nationality' as a stage prior to 'nation', and

defines 'nationality' as follows.

A nationality is formed when a people sharing some common characteristics, as

mentioned above, becomes collectively self-aware of this fact and allows itself to be

mobilized on this basis for further emotional integration, unity and political advantages

raging up to the formation of a national state .... A nationality becomes a nation at a

mature stage of its politico-economic development. (Guha 1984: 44)

As argued in Chapter 1, in this study, we regard concepts such as 'nation'

and 'ethnic group' as social constructs. Therefore, instead of looking at

Assamese nationality as a fixed and concrete entity, we will regard it as a

group which is imagined according to the above definition and on which the

arguments were developed.

Another important term that we come across when we look at the

nationality question in Assam is 'Asamiya'. It is an Assamese word indicating

56

'Assamese' people or 'Assamese language'. Again, Guha made a distinction

between the two terms, as follows: the term 'Assamese'. indicates all

inhabitants who have their domicile in the present state of Assam, and the

term 'Asamiya' indicates those who profess Asamiya to be their mother

tongue. Thus, the neo·Asamiyas, those immigrants and tribal autochthons

who have adopted Asamiya as their language are also covered by the term

'Asamiya'. And, 'Asamiya nationality' is the term which defines the Assamese

nationality in close relation to the language. From the existence of the term,

we can find that language plays an important role in articulating nationality

in Assam.

In this thesis, though I will use the term 'Asamiya', I will also refer to

construction of nationality in other ways apart from language. Hence, I use

'Assamese nationality' as a term encompassing all forms of nationality

construction in Assam.

3-1. Insiders and Outsiders of the Assamese Nationality

In the previous section, we focused on ethnic distinctions in Assam and

summarised the history of immigration and/or present ethnic status.

However, there are scholars who use some other criteria to classify ethnic

groups in Assam. Unlike Baruah who uses the double dichotomy of

indigenous/immigrant and tribal/non-tribal, Monirul Hussain classifies

ethnic groups (he uses the term 'social groups') into two categories: the

'insiders' and the 'outsiders' of the Assamese nationality in his book on the

anti -foreigners movement. The former includes the Autochthon tribals,

Tea-garden (Black in his usage) tribals and Muslims. The latter includes the

57

Bengalis, the Nepalis, the Marwaris and the Biharis (Hussain 1993:

165-277).

For example, referring to the tribes, Hussain states, "It must be

admitted honestly that all of them have been contributing very significantly

to enrich the composite Asamiya culture, language, literature, arts and

nationality". At the same time he admits that' the question of whether they

constitute a part of Asamiya nationality is complex, since most of the tribals

are seeking to establish their distinct identity, independent/autonomous from

the Asamiyas. However, he claims that the tribes have dual identities,

therefore form an inseparable part of the larger Asamiya nationality. He

positions them as 'sub-nationality' within the Asamiya nationality. (Hussain,

1993: 168-81)

As for the Black Tribals, which primarily included 'tea·garden

labourers/tribes' as defined by Weiner and Baruah, he notes they are

accepted as an integral part of the Asamiya nationality as a new group. They

are adopting the Assamese language and way of life. For example, Bihu, a

traditional festival of Assam, is celebrated by the tea·garden tribes.

Therefore he regards them as "insiders" of the Assamese nationality

(Hussain 1993: 191-2).

Hussain applies the same argument with reference to the Muslims. He

begins his analysis by classifying Muslims into four categories - Asamiya

Muslims, Na-Asamiya Muslims, Muslims of Barak valley, and North Indian

Muslims living in Assam. The latter two, he states, do not constitute a part of

the Assamese nationality nor have they adopted the Assamese language.

Asamiya Muslims on the other hand, are the descendants of Muslims who

58

came to Assam during the Ahom kingdom period,5 and their way of life is

almost identical to the Assamese Hindus. He states that they are nearly

indistinguishable from the Asamiya Hindus. Na·Asamiya Muslims refer to

the Bengali Muslim migrants and their descendants in the Brahmaputra

valley. They have similarly accepted the Assamese language and assimilated

into f\samiya nationality. (Hussain 1993: 196-200)

Although Hussain mentions the Muslims of Barak valley and North

Indian Muslims living in Assam, in his conclusion these groups are largely

neglected. He states, "they have been strengthening the nationality

formation process besides contributing towards the widening of the horizons

of the Asamiya nationality". The statement clearly refers to the Asamiya

Muslims and Na·Asamiya Muslims.

Looking at the arguments on ethnic distinctions made by Baruah and

Hussain, we can say that ethnic markers and their importance are subject to

change. Although the indigenous/immigrant dichotomy provided by Baruah

is very useful in comprehending the ethnic markers in Assam, as Baruah

himself states, it is not absolute and is subject to change. We have seen that

there are scholars who argue that in reference to the Assamese nationality,

the tea·garden tribes and the Bengali Muslims are insiders, although they

are the descendants of immigrants who entered the state after colonisation.

5 The Assamese Muslims started to live in Assam from the 13th century. According to Hussain, there are four types of Asamiya (indigenous) Muslims. They are 1) descendants ofMuslims/Pathan!Mughal soldiers who were left behind as prisoners of war and those who decided to stay back in Assam after the wars were over; 2) medieval technicians and artisans brought by the Ahom kings from various places of northern India for various state needs for which, perhaps local skills were not available; 3) preachers ofislam, and finally 4) local converts during the medieval Ahom period. (Hussain 1993: 198) '

59

Thus, the significance of ethnic markers changes according to time, situation

and place.

Therefore, what we should focus on is the question of who regards each

group as 'insiders' or 'outsiders' and on which occasions. This question could

lead us to who the 'real' Assamese are- in other words, who have the power

to define the Assamese nationality. On this point, Hussain's argument is

problematic since he does not indicate to whom the people described as such

are the insiders and outsiders. In fact, there are many arguments on the

question of the Assamese nationality, and it would be useful to examine who

defines the category insider/outsider and for what purpose.

3-2. Who are the 'real' Assamese?

Here we come across the question of Assamese nationality - in other words,

the question of who the 'real' Assamese are. In fact, all the major ethnic

groups in Assam have been discussed, except for one- the majority of the

so-called 'Assamese' people. In his reference to this group, Sanjib Baruah

uses the term 'ethnic Assamese' to distinguish them from immigrant

communities and the tribes. In his view, the group of people who are

recognised as different from the tribes and the immigrants can be regarded

as the 'ethnic Assamese', a comparatively new term which emerged during

the anti-foreigners movement in Assam. On the other hand, Udayon Misra

uses the term 'core' Assamese in his work on Assamese nationality. Monirul

Hussain uses the word 'caste·Hindu' Assamese to refer to the power-holding

group in the state. These terms imply similar intentions, but are different in

the way they define this group. What accounts for these different ways of

60

defining the same groups? For an answer to this question, we will look into

the arguments made by the three.

Sanjib Baruah uses the term 'ethnic Assamese' as a category that can be

differentiated from the immigrants and the tribes. Therefore, this is a

marker that distinguishes it from the other people (Baruah 1999: xvii). This

is rather a new way of making ethnic distinctions, which I find quite

interesting and useful. Unlike other definitions, this term includes both the

indigenous Assamese Muslims as well as the so-called caste Hindus.

In his book on Assamese Nationality, Udayon Misra refers to the 'core'

Assamese. This is not the central idea of his argument, and he uses this term

only in reference to the plains tribes. He traces the history of the formation of

the Assamese nationality, and states that Vaishnavism was the primary basis

of inclusion of the tribes into the Hindu fold and thus lays the ground for

Assamese nationality (Misra 2001: 5-8, 45).

Monirul Hussain refers to the '(high) caste-Hindu' Assamese. According

to him, this is the ruling class of Assam which is socially and culturally

dominant. Most of the middle-class in Assam belongs to this class, and they

are the main supporters of the anti-foreigners movement (Hussain 1993:

127-8).

When people talk about the Assamese nationality, it is almost taken for

granted that the non ·tribal and especially caste· Hindu Assamese are the core

of the nationality. It is too obvious to mention that the non ·tribal and

caste-Hindu Assamese are part of the Assamese nationality. Instead,

scholars emphasise that the Assamese nationality is composite, and includes

the tribes and the Muslims. Sometimes they even include the tea·garden

61

tribes and the immigrant Bengali Muslims. Although these groups (the

plains tribes, tea·garden tribes and the Bengali Muslims) are generally

regarded as assimilated to the Assamese society, they remain 1n an

ambiguous position between the ·outsider' and 'core Assamese'.

3·3. 'Threat' toAssamese Nationality

In recent years, there have been several movements that question the basis

of the Assamese nationality. These movements were primarily mobilised to

assert an identity separate from the Assamese, and in the process served to

undermine the authenticity of the Assamese nationality. The first is the Bodo

movement for separate statehood and the other is the Tai-Ahom movement.

The Bodos are one of the plains tribes in Assam, and until recently, their

movement for a separate Bodoland was the most serious source of political

violence in Assam. Baruah argues in one chapter titled "We are Bodos, not

Assamese", that the increasingly violent politics of a Bodo homeland bring to

sharp focus the contradictions that are at the heart of the projects

surrounding nations, nationalities, and homelands (Baruah 1999: 17 4).

The movement for a separate state of Bodoland became prominent

directly after the Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the Central

government and the AASU to settle the anti ·foreigners movement. The Bodo

leaders opposed the Accord, particularly the clause that promised safeguards

to protect the cultural identity of the 'Assamese people'. They also objected to

another clause that promised evictions from protected public land, which

aimed to evict the 'foreigners' but actually included some plains tribal people.

In fact, after the movement, during the first AGP regime, the eviction of some

62

Bodos from protected forests was forced. (Baruah 1999: 174-5)

The Bodo leaders did not only include those people who speak the Bodo

language in the Bodo category, but also people whose languages are defined

by linguists as belonging to the Bodo group, such as the Rabha, Sonowal,

Lalung, Deori, Dimasa, Barman, Garo, Hajong, Hajong-Kachari and Trip uri

- in fact, these constitute the bulk ,of the plains tribes in Assam (see in

particular Baruah 1999: 182). Although the second Bodo Accord was signed

between the Government of India and Bodo organisations, and the Bodos

admitted the adoption of the territorial Autonomous district, the meaning of

the movement is nonetheless important. For a long time, the Bodos have

lived in the belief that they are part of the Assamese culture and have even

adopted the Assamese language. However, lately they have started to declare

themselves to be Bodo-speakers, and the number of Bodo·speaking peo.ple

has gone up phenomenally in the last 2-3 decades (see Table 7. in 2·2. ofthis

chapter).

This process is not limited to the Bodos. The Mishings, the Tiwas, the

Rabhas- most of the plains tribes - similarly started their own movement for

autonomous rule and separate identity. The tribes are believed to be the first

inhabitants in this region, and their contention that they are a separate

group from the Assamese consid~rably undermines the authenticity of the

Assamese nationality. What the Bodo movement has shown is that the way of

imagining a nationality can be contested, and there is no reason that the

present 'core' Assamese will remain as 'real' Assamese forever.

Another movement that questions the authenticity of the Assamese

63

nationality is the Tai-Ahom movement. When we come to the issue of the

Ahoms and their nationality, it is much more complicated- since the Ahom is

the root term for the present Assam.

Presently, the most common explanation for the Ahoms is that they are

the descendants of a group of people from Thailand who conquered this land

in the 12th century, and continued as the ruling class of the Ahom kingdom

until the British occupation. However, according to Yasmin Saikia, in the

historical texts called buranji, Ahom is an inclusive, all-encompassing term

that includes the 'we' people of a polity, a generic figure without adherence to

a specific ethnic community. She argues that it was the colonial

administration which created two groups of subjects in Assam: one, the

'Assamese peasant' and the two, a constructed ruling class whom they called

Ahom (Saikia 2001: 75-8).

Saikia refers to several movements directed at establishing a separate

Ahom identity over time, and concludes that it is a movement 'to claim a

position that will separate them from the Aahamia [Asamiya], Hindus and

Indians'. The movement is still quite alive, and in 1999, there was an attempt

to revitalise the movement by forming a new organisation called the Ahom

Sabha that aims to include all the non· Brahmanic Hindu people of U]jani

(Upper) Aaham [Assam] under the umbrella of Tai-Ahom (Saikia 2001:

89-91). Here we see another example that challenges the conception of the

Assamese nationality portrayed above.

What we learn from these two movements by the indigenous groups of

Assam is that there are several ways of imagining/conceptualising the

Assamese nationality, and although presently the caste-Hindu Assamese

64

seem to be dominating the subject position of imagination, it is always under

contest. In the above argument, I referred to only two examples of such

possibilities, but there could be some other ways to conceptualise the

Assamese nationality. Thus, the meaning of nationality, its contents and the

subjects are always subject to contest by the different groups and classes of

people, therefore its definitions and boundaries are subject to change.

3·4. Greater Assamese Nationality: New Phenomenon or Repeat of the Past?

Recently, there was another move for establishing nationality in Assam. It is

called 'greater Assamese nationality', and promoted mainly by the people

who engage in the activity of preserving the Assamese language and

literature. The prominent organisation is the Assam Sahitya Sabha, a

literary organisation. Although it is said to be an apolitical and cultural

organisation, it is one of the largest and the most influential organisations in

Assam, and is also one of the core organisations that backed the

anti ·foreigners movement.

The promoters of the Greater Assamese Nationality often claim that

anyone who speaks, reads or writes the Assamese language is a part of the

Assamese nationality. For example, in the 1996 session of the Assam Sahitya

Sabha, the president declared that the immigrant·turned·Assamese was

more patriotic in the matter of Assamese linguistic nationalism because,

unlike many of the so-called 'core Assamese' with surnames like Bora and

Saikia who send their wards to English-medium schools, the immigrants

believe in educating their children in the Assamese tongue. (Misra 2001: 56)

The significance of the claim is especially important for those immigrant

65

communities which had adopted Assamese as their mother tongue but have

been ostracized in the anti -foreigners movement. In an apparent challenge to

the latter, it is often said that the descendants of Bengali Muslims and

Tea -garden tribes are more enthusiastic in Assamese literature, and they

send their children to Assamese·medium schools. Thus, this stance is

welcomed by a, part of the immigrant communities.

It seems rather puzzling that the Assam Sahitya Sabha, the most

enthusiastic leader of the movement, has totally changed its attitude in ten

years. However, it should be noted that the move for a greater Assamese on

the basis of language is not totally new in this region. Rather, it was the most

common way of defining the Assamese nationality in colonial and

postcolonial Assam until the mid-1970s. Although we can see some difference

between the claims of the earlier linguistic nationilism and present move for

the Greater Assamese nationality, it can be taken as a resurgence of the old

theme.

Therefore, it is understandable that some groups - especially the plains

tribes who started to assert their distinct identity and thus try to establish

their language and literature - should be doubtful of the move. Indeed, since

the 1980s, most plains tribes have instituted or set up their own Sahitya

Sabha, such as, the Bodo Sahitya Sabha and the Tiwa Sahitya Sabha, etc.

Although they maintain friendly relations on the surface, some of the leaders

of the plains tribes have not forgotten that the Assam Sahitya Sabha was a

platform for chauvinistic activity, and hence remained critical of their claim

on Assamese nationality.

66

Concluding Remarks

So far, we have seen that on the one hand, the plains tribes who were

regarded as an integral part of the Assamese nationality for a long time are

now seeking to re-establish their own identity and language. On the other

hand, the descendants of the immigrants who accepted Assamese as their

mother tongue are recognised as part of the Assamese nationality.

However, it should be noted that in many writings, Assamese·speaking

immigrants are still reported to be 'on the way to assimilate' with the

Assaniese. At the same time, plains tribes, for all their political moves, have

not totally abandoned the idea of being Assamese. They still profess to be

part of the Assamese people, although they admit that they have long been

subject to neglect and that some of the 'core' Assamese themselves do not

accept tribes.

The change in the attitude of tribes came right after the anti-foreigners

movement. It is ironic that the movement that aimed to regain the Assamese

nationality became the turning point for its dissolution. Presently, the

autonomous movements by the plains tribes are the most active source of

ethnic instability in Assam.

It is puzzling that with the onset of the movement, the plains tribes, who

have long been supporters of the Assamese nationality, became somewhat

hostile towards the Assamese, whereas the Bengali Muslims, who were the

'enemy' in the movement, should welcome the move for the 'greater Assamese

nationality'. The anti ·foreigners movement was an important turning point

for many of the tribes in Assam to decide whether they should assimilate into

the Assamese nationality or seek an autonomous status. The following two

67

chapters will look into how the movement started and how the movement

leaders established their claims.

68