Ethnic Conflict in Assam
Ethnic Conflict in North East India--- in light of ‘Ratna Bharali Talukdar’s “JEREI HAGRAMAYA GAWO” Bharadwaj Gogoi Asst. Prof. Dept. of English North Bank College, Ghilamara
INTRODUCTION:-
Jerei Hagramaya Gawo which literally means “the way forest weeps” is a noteworthy novel by Ratna Bharali Talukdar whose central theme is based on the ethnic conflicts prevailing in North East India. Though the novel is published in October 2012, the basis of the story was the conflict between the Bodos and the ‘Aadivasis’ in the nineties. The co-existence of the Bodos and other tribes is not a new chapter in the history of Assam. But as time has passed these indigenous sons of the land are agitated. The age long repression of the central, the insurgencies, and the difference of thought between the different generations etc have created an environment of restlessness in the region. We can name the conflicts that have taken place from time to time during the nineties in the North Eastern region of India e.g. the 1996 riots in lower Assam Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri between the Bodo’s and the Aadivasis, the 1998 riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities Muslims, the 2003 riot between the Maar and the Dimasa’s in North Kachar, the 2005 riot in Karbi Anglong between the Karbi’s and the Dimasa’s, the Muslim and the Bodo riot in Udalgudi and Darang in 2008, the 2009 riot in North Kachar ( now Dima-Hasao) between the Dimasa’s and the Jemi Naga’s and the 2010’s bloody riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities in BTAD are still imprinted in our minds. In the selected novel “Jerei Hagramaya Gawo” though the focus is chiefly on the ethnic conflict amongst the Aadivasis and the Bodo’s, the novelist has kept in mind the rising feeling of nationalism and the sense of alienation experienced. It has been half a century since India got its independence but the attitude of the government towards the Bodo’s was not enthusiastic
INTRODUCTION:-
Jerei Hagramaya Gawo which literally means “the way forest weeps” is a noteworthy novel by Ratna Bharali Talukdar whose central theme is based on the ethnic conflicts prevailing in North East India. Though the novel is published in October 2012, the basis of the story was the conflict between the Bodos and the ‘Aadivasis’ in the nineties. The co-existence of the Bodos and other tribes is not a new chapter in the history of Assam. But as time has passed these indigenous sons of the land are agitated. The age long repression of the central, the insurgencies, and the difference of thought between the different generations etc have created an environment of restlessness in the region. We can name the conflicts that have taken place from time to time during the nineties in the North Eastern region of India e.g. the 1996 riots in lower Assam Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri between the Bodo’s and the Aadivasis, the 1998 riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities Muslims, the 2003 riot between the Maar and the Dimasa’s in North Kachar, the 2005 riot in Karbi Anglong between the Karbi’s and the Dimasa’s, the Muslim and the Bodo riot in Udalgudi and Darang in 2008, the 2009 riot in North Kachar ( now Dima-Hasao) between the Dimasa’s and the Jemi Naga’s and the 2010’s bloody riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities in BTAD are still imprinted in our minds. In the selected novel “Jerei Hagramaya Gawo” though the focus is chiefly on the ethnic conflict amongst the Aadivasis and the Bodo’s, the novelist has kept in mind the rising feeling of nationalism and the sense of alienation experienced. It has been half a century since India got its independence but the attitude of the government towards the Bodo’s was not enthusiastic
References: - 1. Talukdar, Ratna Bharali: Jerei Hagramaya Gawo 2. Robert Mackenzie, The North East Frontier of India 3. Bharali Sailen, Upanyas: Bichar Aru Bishlekhan 4. Balmiki Prasad Singh, Poribortonor Samashya, Uttar Pub Bharotor Samikhyatmok Itibritti translated to Assamese by Dr. Akhil Ranjan Dutta