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The Quest for Modern Assam: A History: 1942-2000
'A model work of historical scholarship' -Ramachandra Guha
'The most well-researched, comprehensive history of contemporary Assam ever written' -Partha Chatterjee
The crucial battles of World War II fought in India's north-east-followed soon after by Independence and Partition-had a critical impact on the making of modern Assam. In the three decades following 1947, the state of Assam underwent massive political turmoil, geographical instability, and social and demographic upheaval, among others. Later, the truncated state suffered widespread unrest as various groups believed their cultural identity and political leverage were under threat. New social energies and political forces were unleashed and came to the fore.
Definitive, comprehensive and unputdownable, The Quest for Modern Assam explores the interconnected layers of political, environmental, economic and cultural processes that shaped the development of Assam since the 1940s. It offers an authoritative account that sets new standards in the writing of regional political history. Not to be missed by any one keen on Assam, India, Asia or world history in the twentieth century.
'The most well-researched, comprehensive history of contemporary Assam ever written' -Partha Chatterjee
The crucial battles of World War II fought in India's north-east-followed soon after by Independence and Partition-had a critical impact on the making of modern Assam. In the three decades following 1947, the state of Assam underwent massive political turmoil, geographical instability, and social and demographic upheaval, among others. Later, the truncated state suffered widespread unrest as various groups believed their cultural identity and political leverage were under threat. New social energies and political forces were unleashed and came to the fore.
Definitive, comprehensive and unputdownable, The Quest for Modern Assam explores the interconnected layers of political, environmental, economic and cultural processes that shaped the development of Assam since the 1940s. It offers an authoritative account that sets new standards in the writing of regional political history. Not to be missed by any one keen on Assam, India, Asia or world history in the twentieth century.
- GenresIndia
1146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 22, 2024
Arupjyoti Saikia writes a brilliant book on the history of Modern Assam, from the time before independence to the modern day.
The book is objective from cover to cover. It talks of the continuous immigration and population issue which plagues the country since modern times as a fault line. Combined with Xeno-religions being franchised nation-wide, it leads to a recipe for disaster, and political solutions still don't exist.
The book details the history of Assam in so much detail, going over the very nuanced and hidden details of the state. The best example of this is the acknowledgement and detailed documentation of the efforts by the "right" wing of the country, whether it is Hindu Mahasabha, the RSS or even the BJP. Most historians skip over these details, and it is nice to see a secular and agnostic narrative highlight their contributions.
The book highlights the many issues the state faces, from the spicy language issues to the heavy issues like oil manufacturing, to even more latent issues like economic development and the perspective Axom has on its neighbouring states.
These insights truly highlight the state and its understanding of itself as well as give context to those wondering why the state is perceived the way it is by other states, today.
I think where the first three chapters were very objective, the last 2 seem to be a bit tipped. It also proves the author's choice to have "2000" as the cut-off date for the history of Assam as appropriate, because as Indira Gandhi's era approached, a certain "pro-state" bias did seem to creep in.
The Assamese people, much like the Punjabi people and the Pahalgam Sadhus of Jammu, the Total Revolution Movement, Telugu Desam Party, the post-EVR DMK, the Shiv Sena; they were opposed to Indira Gandhi's attempts at de-indianizing the culture of Bharat. While Nehru was a true secularist; atheist in his personal life but open to letting others perform their cultural and religious duties, the same cannot be said for Indira Gandhi, who imposed Nehru's secularism onto everyone in the country, a plague the left still suffers from today. They don't follow the Nehruvian "live and let live" model like the BJP does today.
The entire collection of regional movements led to the one central movement of the Liberation of Ram Janambhumi. While secularism/atheism are "rejectionary" in nature, focused on "rejecting our differences and uniting together", this collection of regional and identity-driven and identity protecting movements led to a more "forward" idea of what held all Indians together: it was Hindutva. This is why the secularism/socialism ideals of Nehru (and not the ones of Indira Gandhi) are conservative in nature (while Indira Gandhi was regressive in nature).
In light of this perspective, I would like to say "Nellie revolution" would be a more appropriate word to coin. It was a part of the many movements happening throughout Bharat, about the preservation of local customs and cultures.
The book also takes for granted that Bodopora would also remain within Assam. This may not always remain the case. A "new" idea of Assam would be better off focusing on just the Upper Plains as a purely Assamese homeland.
To have this done while still respecting Assam's contribution to Bharat's culture beyond its borders will need a huge exercise of rethinking the constitution from scratch and expanding the state powers to achieve it. We have to preserve the spirit of the constitution, but the document is too flawed to have that be a reality.
Which is why the political churn of the 80s is over, and a progressive ideology which holds the country together has been founded through it. But it still is at least 5 years, or more, too soon to see things this way. And that is why the cut-off date of 2000 is appropriate. Only time will tell us what is to be made of the fruits of this movement.
All that is clear is that we are out of that era. And we are moving on to better things. A new war of "Sanatanatva vs Jatitva", the two children of Hindutva; or the spirit vs the culture, is taking place. It will replace the concept of negation, or secularism, entirely. Jatitva is the "secular" idea, but its biggest offenders are those who follow Jewish customs!
So not much changed in how Assam viewed the concept of outsiders either. If one is not connected to the spirit or the culture of Assam, they are a full outsider. If one is connected to only a half of it, they're half outsider, and someone who is both culturally and spiritually Assamese is a full Assamese. I think every single state's common people have a very clear understanding of this concept, inherently. We should see the reality of the 80s from this lens.
This may also answer the Sam Pitroda question of what, beyond racist stereotypes banter, holds the country (or rather civilization is the more accurate word here) together: it is Dharma, which isn't reflected in the constitution, yet.
But I am getting too ahead of myself. The book is a stellar work of history and documentation. The effort put in by going through police records, economic records, speeches, articles, and so much more to put a comprehensive multi-dimensional view of a subject out to the world, is really a breath of fresh air. It is very comprehensive in its own right, and praise for this effort may fall short with words alone.
The change of geographical context too; from earlier encompassing the border states like Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland, etc to the focus on current boundaries, the shifting opinions and the changing perspectives felt natural due to the depth of knowledge possessed by the author. The loss of identity of Tripuri people and the stubborness of Bengalis with their languages makes us rethink whether language should be a "regional" subject or a "racial" subject. I believe the former. Our race comes with our jati, our language comes with which region we preside in. Maybe having ILP for all states, even the northern states, may be nice for the culture and economic growth of the country. Assam will fit into this evolution too, like other states. Gautam Desiraju covers this, from a pan-Bharat perspective, really well in his work.
The last chapter was especially enjoyable, giving a detail on the artistic history of the state. This chapter could have included the music and movie related history of the state, or the culinary history, as well, but it has already been covered really well by Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty in her book "the Assamese".
This book is 5 years of effort, and it is nice to see it manifest with such depth. I look forward to more from this author!
9/10
The book is objective from cover to cover. It talks of the continuous immigration and population issue which plagues the country since modern times as a fault line. Combined with Xeno-religions being franchised nation-wide, it leads to a recipe for disaster, and political solutions still don't exist.
The book details the history of Assam in so much detail, going over the very nuanced and hidden details of the state. The best example of this is the acknowledgement and detailed documentation of the efforts by the "right" wing of the country, whether it is Hindu Mahasabha, the RSS or even the BJP. Most historians skip over these details, and it is nice to see a secular and agnostic narrative highlight their contributions.
The book highlights the many issues the state faces, from the spicy language issues to the heavy issues like oil manufacturing, to even more latent issues like economic development and the perspective Axom has on its neighbouring states.
These insights truly highlight the state and its understanding of itself as well as give context to those wondering why the state is perceived the way it is by other states, today.
I think where the first three chapters were very objective, the last 2 seem to be a bit tipped. It also proves the author's choice to have "2000" as the cut-off date for the history of Assam as appropriate, because as Indira Gandhi's era approached, a certain "pro-state" bias did seem to creep in.
The Assamese people, much like the Punjabi people and the Pahalgam Sadhus of Jammu, the Total Revolution Movement, Telugu Desam Party, the post-EVR DMK, the Shiv Sena; they were opposed to Indira Gandhi's attempts at de-indianizing the culture of Bharat. While Nehru was a true secularist; atheist in his personal life but open to letting others perform their cultural and religious duties, the same cannot be said for Indira Gandhi, who imposed Nehru's secularism onto everyone in the country, a plague the left still suffers from today. They don't follow the Nehruvian "live and let live" model like the BJP does today.
The entire collection of regional movements led to the one central movement of the Liberation of Ram Janambhumi. While secularism/atheism are "rejectionary" in nature, focused on "rejecting our differences and uniting together", this collection of regional and identity-driven and identity protecting movements led to a more "forward" idea of what held all Indians together: it was Hindutva. This is why the secularism/socialism ideals of Nehru (and not the ones of Indira Gandhi) are conservative in nature (while Indira Gandhi was regressive in nature).
In light of this perspective, I would like to say "Nellie revolution" would be a more appropriate word to coin. It was a part of the many movements happening throughout Bharat, about the preservation of local customs and cultures.
The book also takes for granted that Bodopora would also remain within Assam. This may not always remain the case. A "new" idea of Assam would be better off focusing on just the Upper Plains as a purely Assamese homeland.
To have this done while still respecting Assam's contribution to Bharat's culture beyond its borders will need a huge exercise of rethinking the constitution from scratch and expanding the state powers to achieve it. We have to preserve the spirit of the constitution, but the document is too flawed to have that be a reality.
Which is why the political churn of the 80s is over, and a progressive ideology which holds the country together has been founded through it. But it still is at least 5 years, or more, too soon to see things this way. And that is why the cut-off date of 2000 is appropriate. Only time will tell us what is to be made of the fruits of this movement.
All that is clear is that we are out of that era. And we are moving on to better things. A new war of "Sanatanatva vs Jatitva", the two children of Hindutva; or the spirit vs the culture, is taking place. It will replace the concept of negation, or secularism, entirely. Jatitva is the "secular" idea, but its biggest offenders are those who follow Jewish customs!
So not much changed in how Assam viewed the concept of outsiders either. If one is not connected to the spirit or the culture of Assam, they are a full outsider. If one is connected to only a half of it, they're half outsider, and someone who is both culturally and spiritually Assamese is a full Assamese. I think every single state's common people have a very clear understanding of this concept, inherently. We should see the reality of the 80s from this lens.
This may also answer the Sam Pitroda question of what, beyond racist stereotypes banter, holds the country (or rather civilization is the more accurate word here) together: it is Dharma, which isn't reflected in the constitution, yet.
But I am getting too ahead of myself. The book is a stellar work of history and documentation. The effort put in by going through police records, economic records, speeches, articles, and so much more to put a comprehensive multi-dimensional view of a subject out to the world, is really a breath of fresh air. It is very comprehensive in its own right, and praise for this effort may fall short with words alone.
The change of geographical context too; from earlier encompassing the border states like Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland, etc to the focus on current boundaries, the shifting opinions and the changing perspectives felt natural due to the depth of knowledge possessed by the author. The loss of identity of Tripuri people and the stubborness of Bengalis with their languages makes us rethink whether language should be a "regional" subject or a "racial" subject. I believe the former. Our race comes with our jati, our language comes with which region we preside in. Maybe having ILP for all states, even the northern states, may be nice for the culture and economic growth of the country. Assam will fit into this evolution too, like other states. Gautam Desiraju covers this, from a pan-Bharat perspective, really well in his work.
The last chapter was especially enjoyable, giving a detail on the artistic history of the state. This chapter could have included the music and movie related history of the state, or the culinary history, as well, but it has already been covered really well by Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty in her book "the Assamese".
This book is 5 years of effort, and it is nice to see it manifest with such depth. I look forward to more from this author!
9/10
November 13, 2023
A book that provides insights into the cultural, social, economic and political history of modern Assam upto the turn of the century. Well narrated, this book should be read those desirous of knowing about Assam and North East as well as it’s people. My understanding of the origin of the North-Eastern states as off-shoots from Greater Assam has become clearer after reading this book - the history of amalgamation of the tribes and the formation of Greater Assam as it evolved in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and then the aspirations of the hill tribes based upon economy, culture and language is well narrated in this book.
July 8, 2025
A fascinating topic selection, but could have used a final extensive edit, even in places felt rushed - research appeared to rely heavily on news sources, textual structure was confusing–paragraph sections would jump 10-20 years and then back again, themes were not clearly delineated either at the chapter or the sub-section level–, writing was jarring and people and events dropped in without introduction, references to events often lacked any kind of detail and required a check of the references (and even then sometimes still unclear).
September 28, 2023
A timely and worthy book on the history of Assam after Independence. Saikia has tried to cover all the major events and has tried to do it in chronological order which makes it an easier read. Highly readable, the book explored many events and gave interpretation of the political or ethnic factors that led to many incidence post independence in Assam.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews