Assam's multicultural identity

Through her exploration of Assamese identity, culture, cuisine, and politics, journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty's book paints a full portrait of a state and its people

The Assamese: A Portrait of a Community

Author: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty

Publisher: Aleph

Pages: 480

Price: Rs 999

Who is an Assamese or what makes one Assamese are fraught questions for the people of a state that is always grappling with identity politics. Journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty tries to address them in her new book, The Assamese: A Portrait of a Community,  published by Aleph.

In 14 chapters, the author covers various aspects of the community starting with appearance and physical diversity. She concludes in the first chapter: “This phenomenon of assimilation makes Assam not just a miniature India with people of diverse racial stocks populating it but it also makes the wider Assamese community somewhat unique. Nowhere in the present atlas of India does one locate a set of people who come under one umbrella, culturally at least, not only with their religious diversities — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians — as Assamese, but with their tribal and non-tribal cultures and religions too.”

Subsequently, the author delves into the history of the name, Assam, and how it came into being; the rulers of Assam since ancient history; the evolution of the Assamese language; folk and religious beliefs; the significance of the Brahmaputra river in the life of the community; as well as other cultural aspects, including cuisine, crafts, weave and jewellery, literature, music and dance, cinema, drama and visual art.

The exhaustive accounts offer more than a glimpse of a people to curious readers, especially those who are not from Assam. Like the author, those of us who have lived in places outside Assam have encountered a lack of awareness about the Northeast in general. A book such as this helps to highlight what is uniquely Assamese, as reflected in language and cultural practices. For instance, in a chapter on cuisine, she writes: “Leave aside temple food, no special Assamese lunch or dinner can be imagined without throwing in at least one non-vegetarian dish into the menu. The significance of eating non-vegetarian food for the Assamese can perhaps also be gauged from the list of animals endorsed for sacrifice in Shakta Hinduism practised in Pragjyotishpur/ Kamrup.”

In the last chapter on Assamese politics, she weighs in on the current state of “jatiotabad”  or sub-nationalism, besides recalling its history and shifting paradigm in the more recent decades. Recognising a widening communal divide in the state, she cautions: “The Assamese community, particularly, will have to ask itself if it can allow any political/ communal entity to decide the definition of who is an Assamese and what should the complexion of their sub-nationalism be.”

She invokes a pluralistic legacy by ending with a poem of an Assamese cultural icon, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, which identifies with various ethnicities.

Ms Barooah Pisharoty earlier authored Assam: The Accord, The Discord  on the back of the update of the controversial National Register of Citizens in Assam in 2019. While it looked back at the historic Assam Accord of 1985 and the events surrounding it, the book confronted the question that often rears its head: Who is a native of Assam? With a layered account, she was able to document experiences of various communities, some of whom are viewed as less Assamese even though they

are natives.

In The Assamese, Ms Barooah Pisharoty admits in the introduction that she has not been able to incorporate as many inputs from the state’s tribal and other ethnic groups as she would have liked. She points out that she also kept out “the rich culture of Assam’s Barak Valley” — where Bengalis are the dominant population — because it was outside of the scope of the book. Unfortunately, these are shortcomings in painting a full portrait of a state and its people. One wonders if additional essays by individuals who do not represent the culturally dominant Assamese community would have worked better in this regard.

The author does include an appendix section that has voices of noted individuals in Assam from across its diverse linguistic and ethnic identities — sharing their thoughts on who is an Assamese.

At over 400 pages, the reader has to wade through many portions dedicated to the history behind the various facets of the community that are addressed. For instance, too many details of the kingdoms that ruled Assam since ancient times appear to be like pages from a history book that are crammed with information. Therefore, one feels the book could have been written in a much more concise manner for a more reader-friendly portrayal that can be turned to easily for quick reference.