Whether Asom, Axom, or Assam-Where is the End of Controversy?
Whether Asom, Axom, or Assam-Where is the End of Controversy
Whether Asom, Axom, or Assam-Where is the End of Controversy?
In India, if one swims across a river it becomes news whereas in England if one swims across the Atlantic Ocean it hardly becomes news. It shows that the Indians are accustomed to making a fuss of trifling. Since some months back a controversy has been going on concerning the changing of the English spelling and pronunciation of the name of the ‘Assam’. The state government without inviting public opinion alters the English spelling of the word ‘Assam’ as ‘Asom’ and with this, the controversy has begun and till today this controversy is running on.
No sooner did the Government alter the name than the opposition from all rounds had begun. Most Assamese are on the side of keeping the previous name ‘Assam’ not ‘Asom’. The people are in violent opposition to keep intact the previous name. Already a professor of Assamese literature has proposed that the name of the state should be neither ‘Assam’ nor ‘Asom’ but ‘Pragjotishpur’. A group of people advocates that the name of the state should be ‘Axom’. There is another group who advocates that the first letter of the name of the state should be ‘O’ and hence the name of the state should be ‘Oxom’.
From the study of all these controversies, it seems that the views vary from person to persons. But the arguments of those who support the name ‘Assam’ not ‘Asom’ are stronger than the rest. The historical data shows that the name ‘Assam’ is not given by the British. Since long back the English came to North-East India, the name of Assam as ‘Assam’ was in circulation. Only the pronunciation, not spelling, got altered from mouth to mouth. In another view, the name ‘Assam’ may be derived from ‘Shan’ or ‘Sham’ which was used to mean the Tais. Some historians think that the name Assam may come from the Bodos who used this name to mean the coarse plain of the region. In the papers and magazines published in the early 19th century the name of the state was written as ‘Assam’ not ‘Asom’ and from this, it is evidently known that the scholars of that period found ‘Assam’ to be a suitable name for the state.
The English after their advent in Assam did not rename the state as ‘Assam’. They only wrote the English spelling of the name which they found in various written sources. Dr. Pona Mahanta writes, “About half a century we heard the pronunciation of the state as ‘Assam’ not ‘Asom’, even in the mouth of the satradhikars”. They also wrote ‘Assam’ in their memoirs and letters. Srimanta Sankardeva used ‘Asom’ in his writings to mean the Ahom tribe, not to mean the land.
Those who advocate ‘Oxom’ or ‘Axom’ instead of Assam or Asom are also in the wrong because the pronunciation of ‘X’ cannot express the sound of ‘S’, ‘Kh’ or ‘sh’. It sometimes expresses the sound of ‘j’ in English. If the word ‘Oxom’ or “Axom’ is taken up then the pronunciation would be ‘Okjam’ or ‘Akjam’ which can never be acceptable.
To conclude it may be said that the name of this state is written as ‘Assam’ in English, though it does not echo the sound of the word that we use or write in Assamese. In Assamese the pronunciation of the second letter of the word is ‘kh’; but in English, we use ‘ss’ in place of ‘kh’ in Assamese. But we the people of Assam are accustomed to what we have possessed traditionally. We are acquainted with the name ‘Akhom’ in Assamese and ‘Assam’ in English. The difference is only in sound not in meaning, so I think the name of the state should remain what we have inherited from our forefathers to which we are well accustomed. And hence I support ‘Assam’ instead of Asom or Axom.
Here is to say more that if it happens that the name of the state must reflect the sound, not letters while writing in English then it must be ‘Akhom’ instead of ‘Assam’ or ‘Asom’. And if ‘Akhom’ is not acceptable to most of us then the name of our state must remain ‘Assam’ in English. The government must give up its whimsical decision. 0 0 0.
Whether Asom
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N. B. The article ‘Whether Asom, Axom, or Assam-Where is the End of Controversy’ originally belongs to the book ‘Articles on Contemporary Affairs‘ by Menonim Menonimus.
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