A/ We are carrying out a very sustained campaign. It is a brass-tacks level, no-frills, business-like campaign. We started it on February 12, calling it ‘Axom Basaon Ahok’ (Let us save Assam). The campaign has struck a chord with the people and fanned out to different corners of the state. We are getting a huge response. People have had enough of the BJP, which has been attacking the ethos of Assamese pride.
Q/ All parties are talking about Assamese pride. Which one is the right version?
A/ Axomiyatva, or Assamese identity, is fundamentally different from the BJP’s Hindutva. Axomiyatva is very inclusive, very liberal. It provides space to every community, caste and religion. Assamese identity was painstakingly stitched together by Chaolung Sukaphaa, who came to Assam in 1228. Sukaphaa was the founder of the Ahom kingdom. Before his arrival, there were only ethnic groups in Assam. He painstakingly built the liberal Assamese identity by including every community and ethnic group. He never resorted to hatred, warmongering or force. It was an assimilation process that took a long time.
Q/ The BJP also talks about an inclusive Hindu sentiment.
A/ Assamese reformer Sankardev gave us a refined Hinduism, unlike the one presented to us by the RSS, which is based on Manu Samhita. Sankardev was very liberal. He had Muslims as his disciples and talked about educating women. He said the downtrodden can be uplifted through education.
Denne historien er fra April 04, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 04, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
