UGCSAP sponsored National Seminar on DEMOCRACY AND DIVERSITY IN NORTHEAST INDIA, 9-10 Feb 2012 Theme: Multiculturalism

Abstract

Imagined Communities: Language, Culture and Identity Issues of the Sylheti people in Northeast India
Dr K M Baharul Islam

Sylheti dialect speaking population of Barak Valley districts in Assam in Northeast India is a classic example of how a population is facing a cultural dilemma because of their geohistorical-political situation. At the time of partition of the country, in 1947, the district of Sylhet was transferred to East Pakistan barring three-and-half thana (Police Station) areas (Ratabari, Patherkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj thana) of the Karimganj subdivision. This truncated Karimganj sub-division was incorporated in the Cachar District of Assam as a full-fledged sub-division. Nihar Ranjan Roy, author of Bangalir Itihash says, "South Assam or Barak Valley is the extension of greater Meghna Valley of Bengal' in all the way from culture to geography. The Sub-division of Karimganj under the Sylhet District was created in 1878 with Karimganj town as its headquarters. The sub-division played an important role in the freedom movement. The famous Chargola exodus, one of the earliest organised labour movements of the country, had its origin in the Chargola valley tea-belt of Karimganj sub-division. At the time of partition of the country, in 1947, the district of Sylhet was transferred to East Pakistan barring three-and-half thana areas (Ratabari, Patherkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj thana) of the Karimganj sub-division. This truncated Karimganj sub-division was incorporated in the Cachar District of Assam as a full-fledged sub-division. This sub-division was upgraded to a district on the 1st of July, 1983, vide Govt. Notification no. GAG15/83/1 dated June 14, 1983. In the recent past, due to the son of the soil agitation started in mainland Assam, Bengali Language and Culture has become the Achilles Hill for the Sylheti population living in the state. On one hand, they are not the so-called migrant to Assam but on the other they are not naturally included within the Assamese nationalistic discourse. Post 1990s, there is a perceivable change in this direction towards greater cross-border cultural exchanges with a number of poets, journalists, and artists from Bangladesh visiting this part of India. It has been marked by some as the building a new sub-nationality that grows around language apart from ethnicity. Against this backdrop, this paper presents a case of changing cultures, and growth of a new sub-nationality beyond borders, especially with reference to Sylheti dialect and its cultural nationalism. Tracing the cultural roots of the Sylheti people of Barak Valley, the paper highlights the emergence of what Benedict Anderson described as Imagined Communities. It is a new reality that a modern nation-state cannot ignore and it is not something that cultural communities should feel apologetic about it.

Chairman & CEO, South Asia Development Gateway and Visiting Professor, NEF Law College, Guwahati, G S Road, Guwahati 781005. Tel: +91-94350-72356; Email: drbahar@gmail.com 1

About the Author: Dr K M Baharul Islam is a development communication expert in the areas of Education, Information and Communication Technology policy issues. His areas of legal specializations are Information Technology Law, Cyber Crimes, and Intellectual Property Rights of software and Liability in Information Society. He has also worked as a Consultant on ICT policy and e-Government with the UN Commission for Africa (UNECA), UN Economic Commission for Asia (ESCAP) and the African Development Bank. He has prepared national and regional ICT policies and e-Government Strategies for many countries. He has written a chapter of the first Encyclopaedia of Digital Governance (2007). Dr Islam has served in some major conflict zones in world Rwanda 2000-2001, Ethiopia 2003-06, Sierra Leone 2004-05, and Sudan 2005-06. Dr Islam has MA, LLB, B.ED, PhD, Post-Doctoral degrees. He also did his LLM (IT & Telecom Law) from the University of Strathclyde (UK). Dr Islam has taught for almost two decades in various universities in Asia and Africa. A former Associate Professor at NCERT, New Delhi and Addis Ababa University, he has also served on several assignments with UNESCO, UNECA and UNESCAP. At present he is the Chairman and CEO of the South Asia Development Gateway and a Visiting Professor at the NEF Law College, Guwahati (India). CONTACT: Tel/Fax: +91 361 2234320, Cell: +91 9435072356 / 9859914100 Email: drbahar@gmail.com