Bongal is a term used in Assam to refer to ''outsiders''. Assam has been settled by colonial officials (''amlahs'') from Bengal pre-Independence and
Hindu Bengali refugees in the post-Independence periods. The Muslims peasants from East Bengal settled in Assam are now referred to as
Miya. The term lent the name to the
Bongal Kheda movement of the 1950s and 1960s which sought to drive out non-Assamese competitors and to secure jobs for the natives.
History
The term ''Bongal'' came into prominence in the
Buranjis, where they were used to describe ''foreigners'' from the west of the
Ahom kingdom. The term may have been derived from 'Bangala', the name of the
Mughal province of Bengal. Initially the term might have stood for the people of Bengal, but later it is said to have stood for any foreigner.
Because of its geographic location, the approach to the
Ahom kingdom from mainland India was through Bengal.
The British came to be known as ''Boga Bongal'' (''white Bongal'').
Ahom general
Lachit Borphukan is said to have referred to the Mughals as Bongals.
Over years of political seclusion, 'Bongal' became a term of suspicion, reproach and contempt.
When the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
annexed Assam to its Indian territories, many
Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valle ...
arrived in Assam by taking up administrative jobs in the government. The Britishers and the Bengali Hindus alike were referred to as Bongals. After the independence of India, the amount of increasing refugees arriving from the region of East Bengal and newly formed East Pakistan escalated tension among the
Assamese people
The Assamese people are a socio- ethnic linguistic identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic or micro-nationalistic. This group is often associated with the Assamese language, the easternmost Indo-Aryan language, an ...
and the tribes in the state. By May 1949 the number of total refugees reached two-and-half lakhs increasing up to 2,740,455.
The Assamese people viewed Bongal was someone who didn't belong Assam, an intruder whose presence threatened to marginalize them socially and politically.
The Britishers were called Boga Bongal, literally meaning 'the white foreigner'
and the Bengali Hindus were called 'Kola Bongal' literally meaning 'the black foreigner'.
In the 19th century Assamese intellectual discourse, anyone other than the people of Assam or the Hill tribes were called Bongals. They were described to be foreigners, uncivilized and filthy. An 1872
Assamese play by Rudra Ram Bordoloi titled 'Bongal Bongalini' lampooned the social problems created by the outsiders i.e. the Bongals, especially who came during the British rule.
The Assamese women who preferred to marry the Bongals, referred to as 'Bongalini's (feminine of Bongal), were described as promiscuous women and concubines of the Bongals.
After the
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, the term continued to be used for the Bengali Hindus. However, it was not used for the Bengalis only. In a broader sense, it was used to refer to any group that was perceived to be an outsider.
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
was described as ''Bongal Desh'', literally meaning 'the land of the Bongals' in
Assamese.
Bongal Kheda
In the colonial period, the British proclaimed Bengali as the
official language
An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
of
assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
even though both
Assamese and
Bengali were very different in nature and most of the populace were not familiar or knew the language. This was resented by the Assamese population as they saw it as a threat to their language and culture, this also led to Bengali people working in assam as most of the teacher's who came to assam were unfamiliar with the native Assamese language leading to illiteracy in the Assamese community and resentment for the Bengali Hindu's residing in assam. The resentment grew even further as After the
Independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
, the Assamese political leadership promoted the concept of Assam for Assamese which soon led to the demand of Assamese to be the sole official language of the state. Soon as the growing middle class populus of assam were still not getting jobs having a suitable educational background in their own state a resentment for
Bengali population of assam grew as they made up a huge chunk of Assamese job market as they were seen as more educated and had a better image in India than the Assamese people even though the Assamese populus was at par or even more capable than the Bengali population in their state. This grew resentment in the Assamese community and after many Instances of Bengali-assamese feuds this resentment soon led to the movement called '
Bongal Kheda', literally meaning 'drive away the outsiders(here referring to the Bengali populus)', which resulted in many protest, vandalisation of property and attack on the Bengali Hindus state-wide.
The movement that started in the early 1960s started again in different years throughout the sixties into the seventies and eighties leading to the even wider
Assam movement
The Assam Movement, also known as the Anti-Foreigners Agitation, was a popular uprising in Assam, India, from 1979 to 1985, that demanded the Government of India detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal alien (law), aliens.: "The citizenship ...
. In the seventies it spread to other tribal northeastern parts of assam with significant Bengali population with similar condition likes
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...
and
Tripura
Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
mostly under Assamese influence.
See also
*
Malaun
*
Dkhar
References
Sources
*
*
{{refend
Racism in India
Anti-immigration politics in India
Assamese nationalism
Persecution of Bengali Hindus