The Shillong Times

Goalpara has its own identity: History never lies

UNI | MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014

By Jyotirmoy Prodhani

I appreciate the two responses to my rejoinder on Goalpara and respect the views of the writers. However, I have decided to clarify certain issues as a moral imperative else numerous misgivings pertaining to Goalpara might unduly persist. Goalpara came under the Bengal Nawab when Koch King Laxminarayan of Coochbehar took the help of Nawab Alauddin Khan in 1612, to defeat his cousin Parikshitnarayan who ruled the eastern part of Kamata kingdom that comprised Goalpara. Though control of the Nawabs on Goalpara was never smooth. (Sir Edward Gait, A History of Assam, 1905/ 2000 pages. 63-70, and also Dharma Narayan Burma and Dhaneswar Manta, Kamrup, Kamata, Coochbehar Rajyer Itihaas, 2005, p. 146). On 12 August, 1765 Goalpra became part of the British territory and was attached to Rongpur district between 1765 and 1812. These two territories shared the same language, history and culture and were earlier together known as Rongamati (see S. Barman, Goalparar Jana Itihax, 2009, p 5) In 1815 Goalpara along with Garo Hills became a separate district; from 1826 to 1866 it was with Assam; in 1867 it was attached to Coochbehar and in 1874 back to Assam. In 1905, Goalpara was attached to what was termed as East Bengal and in 1912 Goalpara was finally attached to Assam. That is, Goalpara remained in East Bengal practically for seven years. (see Physical and Political Geography of Assam, Shillong, 1896; A Collection of Treatise, Engagements and Sanads, WW Hunter et al. Calcutta, 1931). During these periods the local rulers were the indigenous gentry including the king of Bijni. (see Amalendu Guha, Zamidarkalin Goalpara Jilar Artho Xamajik Avastha, 1984/2000). In 1989 Goalpara was split into four separate districts. But it is the information about Goalpara in medias res, in the middle, with which at best a short story can be written without a beginning or an end, but surely, not the history of a place.

The Ancient period: Goalpara’s association with Kamrup Kamata is more than 2000 years old. The territorial expanse of the ancient kingdom of Pragjyshpura or Kamrupa stretched up to the Bay of Bengal to its south (i.e, the whole of what is called East Bengal), to its west it was up to the river Karatoya (the present area of Malda in the so called North Bengal), Bhutan to its north and upto Dikhou river in the east. (Gait, pages 10-11, 15) Gait has suggested that either in Goaplara or in Coochbehar was the capital of Kumar Bhaskarvarman when he, along with Harshavardhan, vanquished the king of Gaud, Sashanka, whom P.W. Ingty described as the “chieftain of a small fortified town known as Rohtrasgarh…in Bengal also known as Gauda” (Bhaskara: The Last of the Varmans, 2013, page 57). Significantly, C.D. Tripathy mentioned that the Bengali year, Bongabdo, is based on Bhaskar Barman’s ascension to the throne in the year 593 AD (Aspects of the Medieval History of Assam, 2002, page, 14)

In fact, Edward Gait has concluded that the city of Gaur of Lakhnuati was founded by Sankaladip who was a Koch or a Garo from Kamrupa and suggested that the name Gaur might well have associated with Garo. (Gait, page 19). If this view of Edward Gait has to be accepted then the name Gaur has a very crucial link with Goalpara.

Language: The term “Goalparia Bengali” is not only a misnomer but also obviously motivated by a sense of frustrated jingoism. In fact such perverse move has been part of the attempt to dehumanize and de-historicize a nation by robbing them of the legitimacy of their tongue and to dislocating them from their native hearth in order to accomplish a hegemonic agenda of neo colonial imperialism. The people of Goalpara, as if, for the first time began to speak a language, called “Goalparia Bengali”, only after it developed some connection with Bengal. Before that, as it were, the people of Goalpara used to communicate in sign language or through physical gestures. This is certainly not only preposterous but also profusely hilarious.

In 1954, during the State Reconstruction Commission there was a vicious attempt to attach Goalpara with Bengal, a move spearheaded by the then CM of Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Ch. Ray. The people of Goalpara thwarted that attempt under the leadership of Sarat Chandra Sinha by establishing the fact that the language of Goalpara had nothing to do with Bengali. This move of Bengal had forced the people of Goalpara to carry out a massive public movement soon after to remove Bengali language from all vernacular medium schools. (see Satabdit Sarat Ed. Barkatulla Khan, 2013, pp 44; 64-65; 149-150; 215 etc.). Goalparia language which is also variously called Rajbanshi, Kamatapuri and also Desi is an independent language and is entirely different from Bengali language in terms of its linguistic properties like syntax, morphology, lexicography as well as its history (see Rajbanhsi Bhasha Parichay by Dr. D.N. Bhakat, 2000).

Maharaja Naranarayan’s letter to the Ahom King, Swargdeo Sukhampha, in July 1555, is considered as one of the early examples of the Kamatapuri/ Rajbanshi/ Goalparia language, which is also considered as an example of early form of Assamese language which was first published in Asom Banti on 27 June, 1909. Interestingly Dr. Surendranath Sen in his book, Prachin Bangla Patra Sankalan, published in 1942, claimed it to be one of the earliest examples of old Bengali language. (also see Gauri Mohan Ray, Kamata Rajyer Itihas 1998, pages 36-39) Thus Dr. Sen quite candidly admitted that the source of the Bengali language lay in Kamatapur, the language which is still spoken by the people of Goalpara. For the sake of argument one can say that the language spoken in Bengal then can actually be called “Bengali Goalparia” or “Bengali Kamatapuri”. (Though it is as unacceptable as it is absurd and ignominious to utter a term like “Goalparia Bengali”)

Some Influences of Goalpara: However, mutual cultural influences and exchanges are not only inevitable but also welcome. Kamrup Kamata being the seat of shaktism and tantrism, Durga has been one of its reigning goddesses. In 1496 the Koch King Bishva Singha of Kamatapur began the worship of Durga in Coochbehar as part of a royal ritual which is still continuing. (Gait, p. 50 ) The Jaintia Kings also worshiped Durga since 1500 AD from the reign of King Parbat Ray or before (Gait pp. 313-320) In Bengal Durga Puja is recorded in 17th century, gaining popularity only in the 18th century as a festival of the nouveau riche largely celebrated to entertain their British guests. As is evident through the Kalika Purana, a 10th century text of Kamrupa, Kali has been one of the most popular tribal goddesses, which was also the reigning deity of the Chutiya Kings of Sadiya in upper Assam since 13th century (Gait, page no. 43). But Kali was worshipped and became a popular goddess in Bengal only in the 18th century, more than 500 years later than in Assam vis-à-vis in Goalpara. Seemingly, some fundamental aspects of Bengal’s culture then evolved, quite evidently, after Bengal was exposed to Goalpra, at least chronologically.

Coochbehar Annexation: Following Merger Agreement Coochbehar was declared a ‘C’ category state on 12 September, 1949. On 1st January, 1950 Dr. Bidhan Ch. Ray came to Coochbehar and, to the utter shock of the people, declared Coochbehar a district of West Bengal, which was a part of what Dr. Ray himself termed as a “propaganda” (his letter to Patel on 11 May, 1949). He wanted Coochbehar as a buffer zone to accommodate the huge chunk of refugees from East Pakistan. (Capt. Nalini Ranjan Ray, Koch Rajbanshi and Kamatapuri: The Truth Unveiled, 2007, page, 131). This merger of Coochbehar with West Bengal was considered illegal and a great betrayal by the natives of Coochbehar (see Dangor Coochbehar Bashir Koyta Kotha, 2003, Edited by Bongshi Badan Barman of Greater Coochbehar Movement) Since 1950 the native Rajbanshis of Coochbehar observe 1st January every year as the day of betrayal and the beginning of a neo colonial subordination of the natives by Bengal in the most diabolic way just the way it has subjugated the Gorkhalis of Darjeeling.

It may be noted that on 3rd September, 2013 eleven organizations from Assam and Bengal submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister demanding removal of the term “North Bengal”. It reads, “The term ‘North Bengal’ is humiliating and insulting to the indigenous people of the region. Hence, the term ‘North Bengal’ should be removed from all public institutions, offices, universities, trains, organizations etc…” (Demand Charter no. 8 of the Memorandum submitted to the Union Home Minister, Govt. of India).

It is a matter of conjecture as to when the demand will be fulfilled, but the deep resentment and volatile anger of the people against the regime of neo colonial oppression cannot be ignored. The term “Goalparia Bengali” is an invention of such neo-colonial rhetoric of subjugation.

(The writer teaches English at NEHU and can be reached at j_prodhani@rediffmail.com)

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