[Assam] [Fwd: Re: We Need Your Help]
Mohan R. Palleti
mrpallet at ncsu.edu
Thu Dec 28 11:44:08 PST 2006
I oppose the resolution to change the name of the
state from Assam to Asom, and hereby give my
consent to put my name as a signatory to the
petition.
Full name:MOHAN RAO PALLETI
Name of Spouse (optional): RAJANI RAO PALLETI
City : RALEIGH
Country : USA
E-mail address : mrpallet at ncsu.edu
>>> Please reply to this e-mail with a copy to
>>> <mailto:barua25 at hotmail.com> barua25 at hotmail.com
>>> . Rajen Barua, Katy, Texas, USA, is coordinating
> >> the compilation of the names of the signatories
>>> and mailing the petition to the Chief Minister of
>> Assam.
*** That is all there is to it.
Thanks for your support.
c
>Chan:
>Please tell me how to sign up against the name change of Assam. Please
>give me just one link to which I can respond.
>
>Many thanks
>Mohan
>
>
>> On 12/27/06, Chan Mahanta <> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Netters:
>>>
>>> We have received forty-three (43) signatories so far, from around the
>>> world.
>>> But surprisingly, very few Assam Netters have responded.
>>>
>>> Please stand up and be counted. And if you do not
>>> agree, go ahead and express yourselves. Tell us
>>> why you don't agree. As a part of the Assam
>>> intelligentsia, we owe it to ourselves to speak
>>> up and participate in the debate.
>>>
>>> For if not us, WHO?
>>>
>>> Best.
>>>
>>> cm
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> PETITION TO SAVE THE NAME OF ASSAM
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 15th December 2006, the State Assembly of Assam adopted a
>>>
>>> resolution by voice vote to write the name of the State of Assam as
>>>
>>> 'Asom'. No argument or reasoning was given for the name change, nor
>>>
>>> any debate was allowed in spite of requests from the opposition. We are
>>>
>>> starting a general campaign to oppose the government of Assam's
>>>
>>> resolution to change the name of the state from Assam to Asom.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We, a number of friends and well wishers of Assam living in and outside
>>>
>>> the state are shocked to see the above news report, and hereby
>>>
>>> register our strong opposition to this entirely unwarranted move on
>>>
>>> the part of the State Legislature. For this we are circulating the
>>>
>>> attached petition all over the world to collect signatures from those
>>>
>>> who support our move.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We would like you to support our effort to retain the present name
>>>
>>> Assam. You may sign the petition, simply by
>>> furnishing the information mentioned at the end
>>> of this mail.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It would be of immense help to us if you would be kind enough to
>>>
>>> forward this e-mail to your friends who might be willing to support
>>>
>>> this cause.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> You are welcome to give your valuable suggestions if any, regarding the
>>>
>>> petition or any other issues.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The letter will also be addressed separately to Mr. Brindaban Goswami,
>>>
>>> the Opposition Leader, Assam Assembly, as well as copied to the Prime
>>>
>>> Minister's and Home Minister's office.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The petition will be mailed on 1st January 2007 with the first set of
>>>
>>> Signatures. So please send your replies to us at least by 30th December
>>> 2006.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely yours,
>>>
>>> Chandan Mahanta
>>> St. Louis, USA
>>>
>>>
>>>*******************************************************************************
>>>
>>> - The Map of Bengale published in 1662.
>>>
>>>
>>> <http://www.indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/map_of_bengale.jpg>
>>> http://www.indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/map_of_bengale.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> - Letter of Joan Maetsuyker, Governor General of Dutch Batavia,
>>> 29-08-1663
>>>
>>>
>>> <http://indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/letter_to_mirzumala_1.jpg>
>>> http://indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/letter_to_mirzumala_1.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> - Treaty of Yandaboo, 24-02-1826
>>>
>>> <
>>>
>>>http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Burma/002.htm
>>> >
>>>
>>>http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Burma/002.htm
> >>
>>>
>>>
>>> - Website link with more articles on this issue:
>>>
>>> <http://www.indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/assam_or_asom.htm>
>>> http://www.indiawijzer.nl/links/assam/assam_or_asom.htm
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>******************************************************************************
> >>
>>> I oppose the resolution to change the name of the
>>> state from Assam to Asom, and hereby give my
>>> consent to put my name as a signatory to the
>>> petition.
>>>
>>> Full name: Nayanjyoti Medhi
>>>
>>>
>>> Name of Spouse (optional)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> City : Guwahati
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Country : India
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> E-mail address : nayanjyoti.medhi at gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Please reply to this e-mail with a copy to
>>> <mailto:barua25 at hotmail.com> barua25 at hotmail.com
>>> . Rajen Barua, Katy, Texas, USA, is coordinating
> >> the compilation of the names of the signatories
>>> and mailing the petition to the Chief Minister of
> >> Assam.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>*******************************************************************************
>>>
>>> To
>>>
>>> Mr. Tarun Gogoi
>>>
>>> Honorable Chief Minister of Assam,
>>>
>>> Sachibalaya, Dispur, Assam 781006
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dated Houston 1st January, 2007
>>>
>>> Sub: State Assembly's Resolution to Change the name of Assam to Asom.
>>>
>>> Dear Sir:
>>>
>>> On 15th December, 2006, the State Assembly of
>>> Assam adopted a resolution by voice vote to write
>>> the name of the State of Assam as 'Asom'. No
>>> argument or reasoning was given for the name
>>> change, nor any debate was allowed in spite of
>>> requests from the opposition.
>>>
>>> We are a number of friends and well wishers of
>>> Assam living in and outside the state, who are
>>> shocked to see the above news report. We hereby
>>> register our strong opposition to this entirely
>>> unwarranted move on the part of the State
>>> Legislature for the following reasons:
>>>
>>> 1. The State's name is not
>>> something for changing in as casual a fashion as
>>> it has been done, without a thorough and
>>> informed public discussion and debate. It was
>>> never a mandate of the people. Even the
>>> Opposition parties' demand for a debate was
>>> summarily cut off in a highly undemocratic
>>> fashion.
>>>
>>> 2. The Legislature did not
>>> give a credible set of reasons for the change
>>> from the internationally well-recognized name
>>> 'Assam' to'Asom'. In these days of
>>> 'globalization', to dilute and muddy Assam's
>>> international name recognition is entirely
>>> counterproductive.
>>>
>>> 3. There is clear historical
>>> evidence that the name of 'Assam' is not a coined
>>> word by the British but which had been there long
>>> before the British signed the Treaty of Yandaboo
>>> on 24th February 1826 and used the word Assam in
>>> the treaty. Even from the Ahom Buronjis, we find
>>> that the Moghols used the name 'Ashyam' for the
>>> state. The same is also evident from the various
>>> historical documents from the Moghol period and
>>> Dutch chronicles of pre-British period. In
>>> Persian publications of Moghol period, like
>>> Akbarnama (1542-1605), Padshah-Namah (1627-1647),
>>> Alamgir-Namah (1657-1667) and Tarikh-I Mulk-I
>>> Áshám , the name Asham is mentioned
>>>
>>> 4. We attach herewith a copy
>>> of a map of the Kingdom of Bengale (Kingdom of
>>> Bengal) which was published around 1662. The map
>>> was drawn by a Dutchman, John van Leenen, who was
>>> in 'Bengale' in 1661. The document is presently
>>> in the Maritime Museum, Rotterdam. As can be
>>> seen, the name Assam appears on the map. A letter
>>> sent by Joan Maertsuyker, Governor-General of
>>> Dutch Batavia who congratulated Mirjumala on
>>> 29-08-1663 and addressed Mirjumala as
>>> 'Grooten Mogol in Assam'. The diary of a Dutchman
>>> published in 1675, mentions the name of Assam and
>>> the people of Assam as Assamer. The Dutchman was
>>> forced to fight alongside the army of Mirjumla in
>>> 1662.
>>>
>>> 5. According to many
>>> historians, the phonetic name 'Assam' was derived
>>> from the Sanskrit name 'Shyam' (as in Shyam-dex,
>>> the name of Thailand), the name of the Shan
>>> people who invaded and conquered Kamrup in the
> >> 13th century. According to historian Baden
>>> Powel, on the other hand, the word 'Assam' might
>>> have been derived from even older original Boro
>>> word 'Ha-som', meaning low land. Thus we find
>>> that the phonetic name of Assam had been with us
>>> for at least the last 800 years since the coming
>>> of the Tai-Ahoms to our land; even if we ignore
>>> the possibility of an earlier Boro origin.
>>>
>>> 6. At present, non-Assamese
>>> speaking people the world over pronounce the name
>>> of our state as 'Asam' (where both the initial
>>> and the middle 'a' pronounced as 'a' in the word
>>> 'father', and 's' as in the word 'sun'). Changing
>>> the name to 'Asom' will merely encourage the
>>> non-Assamese speakers to pronounce the name of
> >> our state as something like 'Osom' or even 'Esom'
>>> ( with the 's' being pronounced as in 'sun') as a
>>> simple survey will clearly illustrate and thereby
>>> defeating any intent of asserting our unique
>>> language heritage embedded in the name 'Oxom'
>>> (the 'x' here being an internationally recognized
>>> representation of the guttural 'kh' sound ).
>>>
>>> 7. Today our state has two
>>> names: 'Assam' internationally and 'Oxom' in
>>> Assamese. This is similar to 'India'
>>> internationally and 'Bharat' in Indian languages;
>>> or 'West Bengal' internationally and 'Poschim
>>> Bongo' in Bengali. Such duality does not rob or
>>> dilute the states' unique cultural, language or
>>> ethnic heritage.
>>>
>>> 8. Today Assam faces numerous
>>> problems which are crying out for the
>>> Government's attention and action. But changing
>>> the state's ancient name of Assam to a misguided
>>> attempt at Roman transliteration of the Assamese
>>> name 'Oxom' to 'Asom', with all the associated
>>> costs: monetary, cultural and historical, is
>>> certainly not one of them.
>>>
>>> 9. The 'xo' or 'kho' guttural
>>> sound is unique to the Assamese language, among
>>> the myriad of the sub-continental languages. We
>>> should protect and promote this heritage, instead
>>> of diluting it to destruction by equating it to
>>> the 'so' sound of other languages, as this
>>> imposition of 'Asom' by an act of legislative
>>> fiat will surely do.
>>>
>>> Based on the above considerations, we urge you to
>>> exercise your leadership in rescinding this
>>> un-deliberated, unwise and destructive of
>>> an-unique-Assamese-language-heritage act of the
>>> Assam legislature forthwith. We will be pleased
>>> to furnish additional historical documentation
>>> and intellectual arguments to prove our points,
>>> should that be necessary. You may kindly contact
>>> Rajen Barua of USA (e-mail:
>>> <mailto:barua25 at hotmail.com>barua25 at hotmail.com)
>>> or Wahid Saleh of The Netherlands (e-mail:
>>> <mailto:w.saleh at indiawijzer.nl>
>>> w.saleh at indiawijzer.nl) for further discussions
>>> and clarifications in this regard.
>>>
>>> Your Sincerely
>>>
>>> Well Wishers and Friends of Assam
>>>
>>> 1. Rajen & Ajanta Barua, Katy, Texas, USA
>>>
>>> 2. Chandan & Bonti Mahanta, St Louis, MO, USA
>>>
>>> 3. Wahid Saleh, Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands.
>>>
>>> 4. Ramgopal Sarangapani, Houston, Texas, USA
>>>
>>> 5. Partha Gogoi, Washington, DC, USA
>>>
>>> 6. Ankur Bora, Austin, Texas, USA
>>>
>>> 7. Rini Kakoty, London, UK
>>>
>>> 8. Shantikam & Sangeeta Hazarika, Guwahati, Assam
>>>
>>> 9. Monoj Das, New Delhi, India
>>>
>>> 10. Chanakya Bora, Noida, India
>>>
>>> 11. Jayanta & Alakananda Barman, Guwahati, Assam
>>>
>>> 12. Bidyananda & Kavita Barkakoty, Guwahati, Assam
>>>
>>> 13. Bikram M Baruah, Abu Dhabi, UAE
>>>
>>> 14. Shankar Borua, Huntsville, Texas, USA
>>
>>
>> 15. Nayanjyoti Medhi, Guwahati, Assam, India
16. Mohan Rao Palleti
>>
>> Copy:
>>>
>>> Honorable Prime Minister of India
>>>
>>> Honorable Home Minister of India
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> assam mailing list
>>> assam at assamnet.org
>>> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>>>
>>
Mohan Rao Palleti
Biodiversity and Spatial Information Center
Zoology Department, NCSU
David Clark Labs 218
Raleigh, NC 27695-7617
919-513-7292
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