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The BJP-led
governments at the Centre and in the State must be praised for having unveiled
a massive development plan for the historic Bardowa Thaan, the birthplace of
Mahapurush Sankaradeva, the great medieval saint-reformer of Assam. The Bardowa
Thaan Development Project in fact is estimated at Rs 186 crore, a huge sum
indeed, which, if drawn up properly and implemented in right earnest, can not
only convert the saint's birthplace into a global pilgrimage centre, but also
provide a big boost to the process of Assamese nation-building. There have been
some media reports quoting a senior minister that Bardowa Thaan will be rebuilt
in the lines of the Golden Temple of Amritsar. If that report is correct, then
the minister concerned is terribly wrong. Bardowa Thaan has to remain Bardowa
Thaan, and no Assamese – irrespective of whether he or she is a Vaishnavite or
not – will want the originality of the saint's birthplace to be lost. The
government must be also congratulated for having made financial grants to over
8000 Naamghars of the state. The Xatra and Naamghar – both wonderful gifts of
Srimanta Sankaradeva to Assam – have in fact played a great role in the social
life of the people of Assam. While the Xatra is a typical apex institution, the
numerous Naamghars are decentralised replicas of the Xatra. From the very
beginning, the Naamghar has remained the hub of all village and community
activities in Assam. It was the village club, theatre and women's centre, with
scholars like Maheswar Neog and Satyendra Nath Sarma calling them the village
parliament and village court.
Trials of disputes and crimes were held in it, and no one dare disregard the judgment pronounced by the elders of the village in the Naamghar hearing. The Naamghar even had the power to discommunicate a person. Only difficult cases were sent up to the Xatra, which then took the role of a high court or apex court. How the money given as grant by the government will be spent by the different Naamghars is up to them. But what is now expected of the government is that it should put in place a mechanism which will keep an eye so that the money is not misused or spent in buying items that only enhance the external beauty of the Naamghars at the cost of the spiritual and societal purpose. One must always keep in mind the fact that through the twin institutions of Xatra and Naamghar, Srimanta Sankaradeva had so neatly organised the Assamese society. The authorities of Bardowa Thaan and the organisers of the 8,000 Naamghars which have been given financial grants by the government now have the grave responsibility of raising the standard of society-oriented activities of these unique institutions.
Additionally, every Naamghar can probably also take up self-sustaining projects including imparting training in Xatriya art and culture to the younger generations, so that the messages of Srimanta Sankaradeva's universal brotherhood, bhakti, environment protection and preservation of the Assamese language and culture are deeply ingrained into the DNA of the future generations of Assamese people. The Bardowa Thaan on the other hand has the scope of becoming a kind of unique institution in itself by redefining – or rather re-discovering – its original purpose, role and objectives as was envisaged by the Mahapurush more than five centuries ago. The Assam government on its part could probably constitute or create a larger management mechanism for the Bardowa Thaan so that it also becomes a centre of learning, research, art and culture, apart from continuing to be the epicentre of Vaishnavite pilgrimage of the entire world. What needs to be kept in mind is that Srimanta Sankaradeva, through his amazing and inimitable works, had not only brought India to Assam, but had also taken Assam to India. That itself should be the basic essence of Bardowa Thaan in the days to come.