Srimanta Sankardev Chair at JNU

Arup Bezbaruah

(aaarup.b@gmail.com)

The decision to establish the Srimanta Sankardev Chair at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies is a welcome move taken by the Government of Assam and by the present Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. This initiative was taken by the Vice Chancellor, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, with the support of JNU authorities, to study the works and journey of Srimanta Sankardev on national and global stages.

The presence of Srimanta Sankardev is felt in every aspect of Assamese society. Present Assamese society and the history of Assam revolve around Srimanta Sankardev. He is one of the greatest sons of Assam and India. He was not only a social reformer or a spiritual character. He is the backbone of Assamese society. Assamese society will remain grateful to him for his contribution to forming Assam and modern Assamese society in the true sense. Sankardev is probably the first Assamese historical personality after Kumar Bhaskar Varma, who extensively maintained relationships with pan-Indian society. As an explorer (pilgrim), he travelled on foot almost all parts of then-India, and returning to his motherland, Assam, he worked for the spiritual, social, religious, and cultural enlightenment and growth of the Assamese society. And to do this, he wrote religious texts in the Brajawali language, composed spiritual songs (Borgeet), performed plays (one-act plays), and delivered talks on God and spirituality, establishing Naam Ghor and Xatras in various parts of Assam. Doing all these sacred activities, Srimanta Sankardev united the scattered Assamese society under one roof with his Neo Vaisnavaite religion (Ek Charan Naam Dharma), where everybody can live equally worshipping one God, forgetting their ascribed differences. This Bhakti movement of Sankardev changed the whole Assamese society positively. He was born in the 15th century, but even in the 21st century, his thoughts and works have unparalleled importance in society and will prevail in the future too. Sankardev was a great Indian spiritual and social reformer. His contributions to society need to be taught globally. Here, the Sankardev Chair at Jawaharlal Nehru University can be a great place to explore his works and their impact on present Indian and global platforms.

Establishing the Srimanta Sankardev Chair is a highly appreciated move because this initiative will not only help to study saint Sankardev and his works and Bhakti movement, but it will also directly help to study Assamese language and culture on a national and global level, which will automatically benefit Assam and Assamese society. Though Assamese is a very old language, it still does not fall under the classical language category like Odia and some other Indian languages. Assamese is also still not included in Unicode independently. With the establishment of the Sankardev Chair, this move to enrol Assamese in the Indian classical language category and in Unicode will be easier.

JNU is known for good academic research. Students and teachers from across the country and globe come to this excellent university in pursuit of knowledge. Scenic beauty, a highly competitive entrance examination, low-cost living, a ragging-free campus, quality education, the presence of diverse ideologies, and a violence-free democratic set-up attract meritorious brains to this university. After completing education at JNU, many serve the country as pure human resources, ranging from academics to politics, bureaucracy to the fields of literature, science, art, and culture, and so on. Though this university comes into the limelight for many controversial issues from time to time, JNU remains the stalwart of academic excellence, at least in the country.

By signing an MoU with the JNU, the Government of Assam has really taken a good initiative to expand Assamese language and culture in the proper direction. Kudos go to the educated, studious Vice Chancellor, Prof. Pandit, for understanding the contribution, works, and importance of Saint Sankardev in Assamese and pan-Indian society. It can be assumed that in the presence of this dynamic Vice Chancellor, this Sankardev Chair won’t just be kept under one professor but only as a symbolic chair to show respect. I hope the JNU community will give a new direction to Indian studies by systematically studying Indian culture, language, and heritage, and most importantly, India’s great sons like Sankardev and many others.

JNU is known for good academic research. This Sankardev Chair will be established in the Indic Studies department, which is a new addition to the university. This department has now merged with the Sanskrit Centre. The whole department is renamed the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies. Along with the Sankardev Chair, other chairs will also be established in this new Indian centre to study and teach Indian culture, regional and classical languages, Indian great sons and daughters, and most importantly, Indian heritage. For this purpose, a MoU has been signed by the Vice Chancellor with some other states to establish eminent chairs at the university. Assam is lucky enough to have this opportunity. Grabbing this opportunity with both hands, the government of Assam has definitely done a fabulous job to preserve and protect the Assamese language and culture. Only prominent institutions like JNU can establish Srimanta Sankardev and Assamese culture on Indian and global platforms in the truest sense. Thanks to Jawaharlal Nehru University for offering this great opportunity, and it’s time for the students to grab this opportunity to study Sankardev, his contributions, and other Assamese greats, along with Assamese language and culture, on a national platform to establish Sankardev and Assam on a global platform. Let’s read and work together to pay true homage to Srimanta Sankardev and other greats of Assam and India. Translation of Assamese literature to other Indian and foreign languages may be the initial way to move forward. Let’s hope for the best.