Assam 2009 - Posoowa

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contacts with members of other castes. The caste in its most developed form is found in India, but the word is applied to similar hierarchically ranked groups in other societies. The word caste comes from Portuguese and Spanish casta meaning race, breed or lineage, and was first applied to Indian society by Portuguese travelers in the 16th century. The word used in most Indian languages is jati (meaning race or any groups sharing generic characteristics), which is the smallest endogamous social unit, usually a regional population. There are about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, some with several hundred members and others with millions. In the traditional law books and in popular usage, India’s 3000 jatis or castes are grouped loosely into four varnas (from the Sanskrit, ‘color’), or classes. At the top of the hierarchy are the Brahmins (priests and scholars), then the Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), the Vaishyas (merchants, traders and farmers) and lastly the Shudras (artisans, laborers, servants and slaves). Those who have the most defiling job are ranked beneath the shudras and were called untouchables (now known as Harijans or children of god, a name given to them by Mahanta Gandhi). India’s Muslims, Sikhs and Christians also have their own castes. In early Brahmanic circles great emphasis was traditionally placed on bodily hygiene and dietary restrictions. The latter practice contributed to the store of austerities (tapa) conducive to attainment of the spiritual god of Mokhsa, or release from the cycle of transmigration. An added factor was the increasing value of Ahimsa (non-injury) or refusal to kill for non-sacrificial purposes. First among such animals to be excluded from consumption and the one held in great sanctity was the cow. (From Bhagvata Gita: “Moya Shristong Chaturvarnam”- Lord Krishna.) Encyclopedia Britannica affirms that the 3000 Indian castes are loosely grouped into four Varnas- Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The Hindu religious textbooks, in fact the most widely accessed one, the Gita, states Lord Krishna is the originator of the four Varnas. So Hindus are expected to aver casteism as a divine arrangement. Literal English translation of the Sanskrit words above is: “I create 24 four Varnas.” Naipaul and psychology of caste: Sir V S Naipaul, the Nobel laureate has a realistic and unambiguous assessment of caste consequences. Caste, he wrote around 1962, was once a useful division of labor in a rural society, but its function is divorced from social obligation, position from duties. It is inefficient and destructive; it has created a psychology, which will frustrate all plans for improvement. It has led to the Indian passion for speech making, for gestures and for symbolic action ... symbolic dress, symbolic food, symbolic worship: India deals in symbols and inaction. Inaction arising out of proclaimed function, function out of caste.... It is the system that has to be regenerated, the psychology of caste that has to be destroyed. The old bureaucrat Brahmin’s refusal to wear the sacred thread is just an example of these typical symbolic acts. As a school boy Naipaul enjoyed being called a ‘real Brahmin’ by a classmate. Naipaul’s family “abounded with pundits” but he was “born an unbeliever and took no pleasure in religious ceremonies. Critiques now allege that Naipaul “supports” Hindutva, the rightwing Hindu nationalism that arose in India in the late 80s. Caste and kinship: Let us revert to the best-loved Englishman in India Mark Tully’s caste diagnosis. Naturally the BBC newsman made no attempt to glorify or defend casteism in the light of theology or religious doctrine, yet the egalitarian fashion to denigrate the system annoyed Tully. Quoting a Bernard Levin article published in The Statesman, (one of the dailies of the English-speaking elite), Tully points out, “One way to discredit a system is to highlight its excesses, and Levin is right to say that caste system has many of these. But what the constant denigration of the caste system has done is to add to the sense of inferiority that many Indians feel about their own culture.” To set out on the path of reforms, Tully implores us to recognize the merits of the caste system, which can be discerned if we look at the system with an Indian pair of eyes. “It would lead to greater respect for India’s culture…. caste system has never been totally static, that it is adapting to itself to today’s changing circumstances….the system provides security and community for millions of Indians. It gives them an identity that neither the Western science nor the Western thought has yet provided…..Caste is not just a matter of being a Harijan or a Brahmin; it is also a kinship system. The system provides a wider support group than the family…” Madhu Kishwar writes, “Even though the survival of strong kinship and community loyalties has some negative fallouts, the existence of strong community ties provides for relatively greater stability and dignity to individuals… It explains why poor Indians retain a strong sense of selfrespect. It is that self-respect which the thoughtless insistence on egalitarianism destroys.” (No Full Stops in India, Mark Tully, Penguin). So the caste system is not to be discarded but reformed. In the case of Assam, a rich and reconciling caste evaluation may herald simply from an unequivocal acclamation of Bhupen- Bhaben as the brightest twentieth century (1950-1999) Assam lamppost. They touched the peak with perseverance while state patronage was minimal and now it is a bounden duty of the wider society to ensure unrestrained acknowledgement. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya, also a Brahmin, embarks on the ideal path by engineering the Bhupen statue. By Dhruva Saikia, Guwahati POSOOWA • June 2009
Shillong Chamber Choir Performs in Beijing Music as it was once said by Rabindranath Tagore, fills the infinite between two souls. Celebrating the joy of music, a unique cultural event took place in China’s capital city of Beijing on Saturday the 27th June. At the Concert Hall in the historic Forbidden City complex, two choirs from India and Sri Lanka, the Shillong Chamber Choir and Soul Sounds respectively, presented a joint concert, aptly titled, “Perfect Harmony: A Musical Journey”. The Concert represented a meeting of cultures, emphasizing the meaning of friendship and harmony. Speaking before the start of the concert, and sharing the podium with her colleague, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, Karunatilaka Amanugama, the Ambassador of India in China, Nirupama Rao, told an audience of over one thousand people, “The two choirs you will hear today are unique in every respect. They embody grace and dignity, innocence and vision. They have the unique ability to blend tradition with modernity. They represent the globalizing face of our countries, open to new ideas, curious about the world around them, and at ease with both East and West.” The Concert was made possible through the joint collaboration of the Embassies of India and Sri Lanka in Beijing, with the support of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The two Choirs performed a rich repertoire drawn from classical, 25 traditional and folk music, and also popular medleys. They drew enthusiastic applause from the packed concert hall. The two Choirs have been in touch since 2006, when the Shillong Chamber Choir visited Sri Lanka. The Concert on 27th June coincided with a photo exhibition of Heritage Sites of India and Sri Lanka held at the same venue, with the cooperation of India Tourism, Beijing and the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. By Ike Sinha, Shillong POSOOWA • June 2009
Page 1 and 2: NON-RESIDENT ASSAMESE (NRA) MAGAZIN
Page 3 and 4: An Early Morning Adventure The sunl
Page 5 and 6: Earth. In our Kingdom, even motorcy
Page 7 and 8: shame you will bring to this Office
Page 9 and 10: We will leave, see you again later.
Page 11 and 12: said nothing; she wanted to hear wh
Page 13 and 14: 13 POSOOWA • June 2009
Page 15 and 16: Best Wishes to Assam 2009 Samar and
Page 23: 20th century Assam icons Bhupen Haz
Page 27 and 28: anks provide livelihoods to the por
Page 29 and 30: Guwahati-Dimapur railway is extende
Page 31 and 32: 4. Songs : Rohan and Reema Baishya
Page 33 and 34: Michael Fincke’s Talk from Space
Page 35 and 36: ‘Dhit Dhit Dhite Dhite Dhage Tite

Assam 2009 - Posoowa

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