Sibendra Narayan Koch (1937-2015): A Scholar Par Excellence

Prof. Jyotirmoy Prodhani

                

The movement demanding ST status for the Koch Rajbanshis was carried out in a very strong way during the eighties by the leaders like Phani Medhi, Ambika Charan Choudhury, Gopal Singha Ray, Kabir Chandra Ray Prodhani, Dr. Durlabh Chamua, Dr. Harendra Narayan Dutta, Purna Narayan Singha , Bhanu Bhushan Barman, Sibesh Chandra Prodhani, Rukmini Kanta Roy, Dr. Upen Sarkar, Dr. Ramen Adhikary, Purnima Dutta et al under the aegis of Koch Rajbanshi Kshatriya Samnilani. The demand for ST status for the Koch Rajbanshis became one of the first major democratic ethnic movements of Assam with unprecedented popular support. The term Khsatriya was later dropped following the suggestion made by union minister for social welfare, Sitaram Kesari, in a huge public rally organized by the Sanmilani Guwahati, argued that Sanmilani should drop the word ‘Kshatriya’ in order to strengthen the demand for ST status. According to him the term was indicative of caste Hindu status rather than tribal one. In his understanding to be kshatriya meant to be part of the Hindu castiest hierarchy therefore the claim to be part of tribal ethnic identity became a misplaced venture. However, in that movement Sibendra Narayan Koch was actively involved as one of its intellectual guides.

                Sibendra Narayan Koch belonged to the Koch community which has been one of the minority tribes of Meghalaya, yet he could represent the community as a member of the legislative assembly of Meghalaya as an elected member. The biggest contribution that he had made for the community was to have the Koches recognized as Scheduled Tribes in the state of Meghalaya. The recognition of the Koches as ST in Meghalaya turned out to be one of the strongest arguments for the Rajbanshi leadership in Assam to press for similar status for the community in the state of Assam as well.

                I met him personally quite closely during my stay in Tura, Meghalaya, as an Associate Professor at the Tura Campus of NEHU (North-Eastern Hill University). He built quite an imposing house at Babupara, a central location of Tura town, by a stream overlooking the majestic Tura  peak. In Tura he was one of the major patrons of the Bihu celebration which they have turned into a cultural melting pot with the free participation of many other ethnic communities including the Rabhas, Hajongs, Koches, Bodos, Garos and  many others.

                During my several visits to his house I realised that he was a keen student of political and cultural history; more a scholar than a lawyer, which he actually was as a professional. His knowledge on history was quite stupendous. That he was a voracious reader was quite evident given the huge collection of books he had in his library. In fact, I came across as many books on literature, culture, history and language in his collection as I had seen books on law. His collection included all the volumes of the Vedas, Upanishads various editions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and many other classical titles as well as all the significant books like the famous ODBL (The Origin and Development of Bengali Language) and Kirata Jana Krti by Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, Banikanta Kakati’s Assamese Language and its Development and Formation, almost all the volumes by the patriarch of history from the east, H.K. Barpujari, books on Garo history and culture from William Carey, Major Playfair to Milton Sangma and the list goes on.

                Sibendra Narayan Koch was well versed in Assamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Garo, and Koch languages. He was a polyglot in the true sense of the term. He has been a voracious reader and also a prolific writer. Quite significantly, he used to write in English and Assamese only. His most significant book is on the history of the Koches which he wrote in Assamese. He had been kind enough to have entrusted me with the task of translating the book into English, which I have been doing but unfortunately could not complete during his lifetime. However, one of his major articles on the Koches was published in the book, Culture, Ethnicity and Identity: A Reader which was published in 2012 and was co edited by me and Mr R.S.Thakur.

                Siben Koch as a scholar belongs to the class of thinkers who have given primacy to the mythic dimensions of historical discourses thereby opening up a fresh insight to look at the entire enterprise of historical exploration of the past. As a scholar he has maintained a very informed consistency when it comes to taking an ideological position in respect to the position of the Koches and the Rajbanshis in terms of their historical as well as cultural identity. One of his significant theses is that the trajectory of the movement of the Koches was not the one associated with the southern Tibet down to the eastern mountain range onto the valley of the territory of the present North East. Rather, according to him, the arrival of the Koches happened through the Western terrain onto the Eastern territory. In making his claims he has extensively cited illustrations from numerous ancient texts and has also made an extensive philological enquiry to corroborate his arguments. He even quite substantially argued that the Indus Valley civilization bore crucial evidences of the presence of the Koches as its actual architects. He has also provided a long list of place and geographical names that etymologically belonged to the Koch lexicography that included the places like the present Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Assam and the whole of North East.  

                He was genuinely interested in having the Koch Rajbanshis be granted the ST status in Assam and also in Meghalaya (in Meghalaya the Koches are recognized as ST, but the Rajbanshis are seen as a different category and have been included in the OBC list). However, as a strategic move he had emphasised more on the Koch aspect of the identity rather than giving primacy to the Rajbanshi aspect of the community identity which, however, might not be feasible given the long historico- cultural legacies that the community has evolved over the years as the Koch Rajbanshis.

                One is amazed to see the extraordinary energy and passion that he had exuded till the last of his days. His life would always be a source of profound inspiration and aspirations for the community so long as the community survives on this earth.