IMAGINARY SANKARDEVA AND ASSAM AFTER 500 YEARS

Arup Saikia

(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)

Evolution, or changes, are inevitable processes of nature. The ideals or ideologies of many prehistoric personalities are still relevant. These are the foundations of our thoughts. The philosophy of Socrates (470–399 BC) is a good example of it. Socrates heralded the new dawn in Europe with his verbal expression only, without any written form. Nowadays, after so many centuries, at least a few intellectuals discuss Socrates in any part of the world.

So the same matter will happen in terms of Saint Sankardeva as well. A nation is born or created from existing relics or resources in the long run. It isn’t like the stroke of a pen. Sankardeva also enriched his thoughts and ideas by borrowing from predecessors like writer Madhab Kondoli, Hem Saraswati, Kaviratna Saraswati, Harivar Vipra, Rudra Kondoli, and others. All the people who acknowledge Sankardeva as the architect of Assam have to accept this phenomenon of nation-building. The term “father of a nation” is also partially relative. So again, a new Assamese race may be created based on the contributions of Sankardeva after five hundred or thousand years. Recently, a survey was conducted in the U.K. to ascertain who is the greatest Briton. The major contestants were dramatist Shakespeare and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Most of the non-Britons thought Shakespeare to be a natural choice. But surprisingly, the citizens of the United Kingdom overwhelmingly voted for the late Prime Minister Churchill. This rare honour to Churchill is mere recognition of his unprecedented skillful protection of the U.K. from Nazi aggression in the Second World ar. But both are from two fields and generations. Shakespeare from mediaeval Europe and Churchill from the recent twentieth century. This kind of difficult conundrum may occur in Assam between heroic military generals Lachit Borphukan and Chilarai, or between Koch monarch Nara Narayan and Ahom monarch Sukapha. So it’s a perennial process; cult figures will appear era-wise ceaselessly. In the upcoming centuries, Sankardeva and other Assamese icons will be remembered as great ancient characters.

SANKARDEVA IN LONG FUTURE: Sankardeva is an Assamese cult of all times. His deeply rooted ideas germinated in different attire from the same seed. The time of Sankardeva has already passed, nearly five hundred years ago. The Assamese intelligentsia are still trying to propound their philosophy more and more properly. Sometimes it seems that the discourse on Sankardeva is just beginning. The ideas about the mass philosopher Sankardeva is generally inconclusive. The followers see them from their own perspective. Therefore, the inquisitive research will continue forever. Assamese polymath, the influence of Sankardeva will remain in all aspects of life as long as a community of this ethnicity lives on earth. The imaginary changes of Assam are tried to depict in all fields: social, economical, spiritual, cultural, language, communication, political, etc.

Socio-economics: Sankardeva tried to create a classless society with equal rights for everyone. This idea just sprouted during his lifetime. Later, his own Brahmin disciple, Damordeva, also refused to practice casteless equality. But with the passing of time and the flow of commodity products into society, equality and fraternity like the French Revolution gained ground.

How will it be after five hundred or a thousand years?

People, or even countries, are very interdependent in modern times. Essential consumer goods and working institutions like various offices are bridging the gap of inequality and casteism. The first community or cooperative service was started in Xatra by Sankardeva. Xatra was a very revenue-earning independent institution in mediaeval Assam. Xatra procures the day-to-day necessities and even caters to the outside public. The co-operative society with moral welfare value will be the xatra of the twenty-sixth century in Assam.

SPIRITUAL: Spirituality is a belief or intangible outlook. It may be scientific, dogmatic, or liberal. The environment moulds human thought. But spirituality exists in spacecraft as well. 

What will be the nature of spirituality in the twenty-sixth century?

Will it remain? Yes, of course. But maybe in a transformed mode.

Even the importance of God and goddesses will change with time. People may accept other gods across religions. Lord Rama, whom the majority of Indians revere now, whose worship isn’t very old in our tradition,.

“The history of the divinization of Rama is far from clear. The main story must have existed in a form much like the present one around the beginning of the common era. By the time of the Gupta dynasty (the fourth to sixth centuries C.E.), Rama was evidently considered an incarnation of Visnu, theoretically on a par with Krsna, but there’s no evidence that at this time he was widely recognised. In fact, the Rama cult as an important feature of Indian religion appears to be quite late.”

Page 80, The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, by A.L. Basham.

It’s not necessary after five hundred years that all Hindu rituals be followed. The religious taboos will be lifted radically.

Nowadays, also, many Sankari organisations or followers of Sankardeva are going closer towards Christianity for the sake of renouncing Brahmanical rites.

So, is there any possibility that the people newly converted to other existing or newly found religions will present Sankardeva as the main ideologue of the proposed religion?

It’s quite possible to see the present trend.

CULTURAL: Nearly two thousand years ago, Bharat Muni wrote in “Natyashaststra.” He is considered as the father of Indian drama. He is the first person to expound “Rasa” (flavour) in drama. Later, many Sanskrit dramatists were born from Bhasa, Kalidasa, and Bhavabhuti in the eighth century. Nothing much changed from the time of Bharat Muni (200 BC to 200 CE). Only infrastructure and stages are changed or developed. Some scenes, like marriage and fighting, are prohibited in Sanskrit drama. But Sankardeva has dramatised fighting or marriage scenes in Ankiya Bhaona. The mode of music, orchestra, and instruments will go through changes. Finally, musical assimilation will emerge in the intercontinental milieu of the twenty-sixth century.

LANGUAGE: The change of language is a very natural phenomenon. Now, we don’t speak the spoken language of the Sankardeva or Ahom eras. These are classified as old Assamese languages. Likewise, the present language will be treated as old or obsolete Assamese. Moreover, the number of the number of official Assamese speakers will be very low. So the Assamese Bhaona, or drama, will be performed in other rich or regionally existing languages in the name of Assam. The prospective languages will depend on our rulers to some extent.

POLITICAL: The political existence of a country is generally short-lived. The present political map of the strongest countries in the world—the – the U.K., Russia, China, Canada, or Australia—is less than four hundred and two hundred years old. So the political existence of Assam after five centuries is beyond prediction. It is also possible for it to emerge as a new entity or as part of another state. The demography will also be greatly changed. Moreover, Assam is situated outside of mainland India. This is the most important and volatile political fact about a country.

PROJECTED TRIBES OF ASSAM IN THE TWENTY-SIXTH CENTURY: Assamese history dates from the time of the Varman dynasty (350 AD). Assam was originally the land of the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman people. The Aryan assimilation started in the time of tribal king Pushya Varman. Linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterjee terms him a Hinduized king of Indo-Mongolian origin. The many existing and immigrated tribes of Assam became part of the assimilation process. These are prominently Ahom, Koch, Bodo-Kachari, Mishing, Chutiya, Nath, and others. As immigration occurs from the poor to the rich countries, likewise, assimilation is inclined towards the developed communities. The Aryans being the most developed community in Brahmaputra and Barak valley, the assimilation is engineered under the Aryan umbrella.

When will this process stop?

In the twenty-sixth or thirty-first century?

It’s an unending process; it won’t stop anyway.

Barring a few tribes of Assam like Bodo, Mishing, Karbi, and others, all other tribes like Ahom, Koch, and Chutiya have already lost their languages and scripts. It’s very difficult to sustain the identity of small tribes. The government reservation won’t succeed satisfactorily. The urbanised elite class of the said communities is more susceptible to assimilation through marital relationships or socialization. So, undoubtedly, the communities will remain after five hundred or seven hundred years, but in more and more assimilated form with the passage of time. But ethnic identity and custom will be lost tremendously. Only the names of the tribes will remain for anthropological research or historical importance. This is the direct or indirect effect of aryanization, or Neo-Vaishnavism, initiated by Sankardeva.

COMMUNICATION: Nowadays, in the present era, mobile phones and aeroplanes have revolutionised communication. People will travel by supersonic air taxi and bullet-passenger submarine bus at affordable prices. As regards friendship and personal relationships, the political demarcation of countries won’t matter. Probably, confederations of countries or world governments will appear in the true sense. Some communities that immigrated to different locations before many centuries will easily again maintain their relationship with their country of ancestors because of easy communication. The present two thousand-kilometre distance of aerial, land, or sea will be equivalent to one hundred kilometres in terms of time. Economic classification will always remain. Rocket taxis, space picnics, and space resorts will be prevalent for the elite classes. The price will be different, satellite-wise. A mobile or TV will be a small apparatus that will emit rays that can be enlarged on any wall-type object in reflective mode to provide a bigger screen.

GEOGRAPHY: Geography isn’t a static science. It changes with time, the age of the earth, and natural calamities. So, geographical convenience or condition will play a major role in all the regions of the world, including Assam. As the political existence of a country is always transient, we expect our community to be alive in different social, religious, political, and geographical conditions.

(The author is a noted cultural enthusiast, Bhaona artiste, and writer.)