Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Of omens and history


পাচে ১৬৬৯ শকত আশ্বিত পাচদিন যাঁতে আকাশত নেজলগা তৰা ওলাইছিল, অমঙ্গলসুচক । শ্রীনাথ দুৱাৰা বৰবৰুৱা, তুংখুঙ্গীয়া বুৰঞ্জী। (১৬৬৯ শক =১৭৩৮ খৃস্টাব্দ)

  In 1689 Sak (1783 AD), on 5th of ashwin a comet appeared in the sky ….predicts bad omen
Srinath Duwarah Barbaruah ….Tunkhungia Buranjee
(A premier historical manuscript of Tunkhungia clad of Ahom dynasty.)
History beckons me and this line from the Tunkhungia Buranjee was a key foundation for genesis of a story.
I have mentioned it many times being borne and brought up in Assamin a dark era has left many scarred memories on our generation. Later on when I developed interest in the history of my native land I was horrified when I saw hundreds of parallel example in every century; all mimicking the unfortunate cascades of events of our troubled time.
I was sad as it meant over last 1000 years we have learnt nothing from our past.
As inter personal /interracial conflicts, hatred and intolerance are the same more or less as in our present time.

If I tell you rebel going out to Burma to cause chaos and death you might say hey you are talking of ULFA/NDFB etc / But sorry I was referring to Badan Barphukan's escape to Burma  which let to three consecutive Burmese attack ,Mass death ,mass migration of indigenous Assamese everywhere (may be one of the reason we find Baruah ,Talukdar ,Kalia in West Bengal ,Tibet and Bangladesh )
If I tell you about few young Turks capturing the Royal throne and selling his motherland to materialistic world, you might be referring it to the rise of AGP after 6 years of unrest .But I was referring to three Moamoria revolt with had many (or few) parallel sense when the revolt started .And after few months of rule the people knew that we are dealing with something worse....
            If I give example of  top bureaucrat fighting with each other I am referring to the differences between Purnanada Buragohian and Badan Bophukan, (Or Kirtichandra and The Parbatiya Phukan with Moyamoria satra or between Sankaria sakt and the followers of Anirudhadeb  etc etc) not what we read in news paper everyday.
            If I discus religious and castist intolerance I am referring to the fight between the satra and the monarch in 17 th century, or  between different community at that time  not what we see in present day situation.

At that time 1738 AD Ahom dynasty was at its pick of grandeur and when looked from outside. But internally everything was gradually ruining. Like fight between the various Knowars eligible for the royal throne, various burocrate, the differences between the Satras and the royal house, intra and inter fractional differences between Satras that were becoming powerful entity at that time.
So the paranoia was infective and later proved to be catastrophic for the Assamese entity as a whole.
We all know history repeats itself until and unless you take measure not to repeat the national mistakes we keep on doing.
Sometime I feel that that comet is still persisting in the sky of Assam...
Metaphorically I feel all the events that followed were marked by that omen.
When I read that line mentioned in the heading:-I knew it well this was an omen people failed to read at those times. There were no rectification of the faults and gradually it lead to destruction of a thousand years pride.
Hope we don’t repeat what our past has thought us over the years

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