u/silentanu

The comment by our current honorable CM about Assamese identity led me to write this. CM sir said that, at some point of time, even the Brahmins, Kalitas, Ahoms were outsiders and migrated to Assam. He used this statement as a defense against the question by a journalist regarding the Bihari origin of MLA Vijay Gupta.

That statement led me to think about the history of Assam, and the contributions of the mentioned ethnicities towards the current identity of Assam. Primarily, these ethnic communities migrated long before the current social/political/legal framework existed, which rules them out of the current categorical distinction as migrants. Moreover, the current identity of Assam, besides the indigenous communities like Bodo, Kachari, Deori, Dimasa, Karbi and Koch, are very grounded in these communities' contributions. These communities do not see themselves as migrants. They see themselves as Assamese, identify as Assamese, and work towards the growth and prosperity of the state as a whole.

This thought brings to mind the difference of the current migrant population. The Biharis, Marwaris, Bengalis do not see themselves as Assamese. They see themselves as migrants to this state, while keeping their roots to their place of origin intact, thus categorically differentiating themselves from the Assamese community.

Don't you think it is high time that the legal system creates a specific definition of "Assamese\* and who belongs to that definition, because the current system lacks such a definition, a loophole which is being exploited by the migrant community to become a part of something that they never really belonged to?

Edit P.S.

To give an example, there is a community, primarily in Nagaon, who are generally termed as Samurai Punjabi. They are Turban wearing Sikhs, who identify themselves as Assamese. They migrated during the Ahom Kingdom, to teach the warriors sword wielding techniques. They stayed back and became a part of the Assamese identity. They do not see themselves as Punjabi anymore. They take pride in being Assamese, a difference that I thought is important to point out.

The comment by our current honorable CM about Assamese identity led me to write this. CM sir said that, at some point of time, even the Brahmins, Kalitas, Ahoms were outsiders and migrated to Assam. He used this statement as a defense against the question by a journalist regarding the Bihari origin of MLA Vijay Gupta.

That statement led me to think about the history of Assam, and the contributions of the mentioned ethnicities towards the current identity of Assam. Primarily, these ethnic communities migrated long before the current social/political/legal framework existed, which rules them out of the current categorical distinction as migrants. Moreover, the current identity of Assam, besides the indigenous communities like Bodo, Kachari, Deori, Dimasa, Karbi and Koch, are very grounded in these communities' contributions. These communities do not see themselves as migrants. They see themselves as Assamese, identify as Assamese, and work towards the growth and prosperity of the state as a whole.

This thought brings to mind the difference of the current migrant population. The Biharis, Marwaris, Bengalis do not see themselves as Assamese. They see themselves as migrants to this state, while keeping their roots to their place of origin intact, thus categorically differentiating themselves from the Assamese community.

Don't you think it is high time that the legal system creates a specific definition of "Assamese* and who belongs to that definition, because the current system lacks such a definition, a loophole which is being exploited by the migrant community to become a part of something that they never really belonged to?

Edit P.S.

To give an example, there is a community, primarily in Nagaon, who are generally termed as Samurai Punjabi. They are Turban wearing Sikhs, who identify themselves as Assamese. They migrated during the Ahom Kingdom, to teach the warriors sword wielding techniques. They stayed back and became a part of the Assamese identity. They do not see themselves as Punjabi anymore. They take pride in being Assamese, a difference that I thought is important to point out.