“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Cinema and literature have been used as a means of critique of politics and other institutions of the society, since time immemorial. In the past, the greatest of writers and cinema curators have jumped on the bandwagon of using their widely-accepted influence to mobilise the vast masses towards a collective action against a common adversary. Time and again, art has proved to be a powerful tool in shaping the perceptions of the public. In recent times, the most popular form of art, cinema has also been used as political propaganda by releasing films based on a political message just during election time.
Certain cinema industries can be traced back to its first cinema being of a political nature- the Assamese cinema industry taking one such bold step. Popularly known as Jollywood, its first film, “Joymoti”, made by one of Assam’s most eminent playwrights, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala in 1935 was based on Lakshminath Bezbaroa’s play about a 17th century Ahom princess, Soti Joymoti. ‘Joymoti’ was seen as a courageous move on the industry’s part because even in Indian cinema, a female protagonist in those times, was almost unheard of. Along with politically, or patriotically-driven movies, the makers and actors of those films enthusiastically involved themselves with the politically and socially sensitive atmosphere of Assam, and used their unabashed power of words to inspire the Assamese populace. That tradition continued, and took the form of artist-marshalled protests during the Assam Language Movement and The Assam Agitation (1979-1985) in the past and more recently, in the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and the National Register of Citizenship, all of it rooted in the protection of the Assamese culture.
The inception of the Assam Language Movement can be dated back to the time of the States Reorganisation Act (1956). Its demands revolved around the recognition of Assamese as the official language of Assam. One can find the origins of this aggressive need for such a demand, to the British Raj, when Bengali was imposed as the medium in the court of law and educational institutions in Assam, which left the indigenous Assamese intelligentsia exasperated. Bringing in of more Bengalis to Assam for employment and other purposes by the British govt., brought in a series of consequences- primarily the slow yet apparent death of the Assamese culture, interference in the political structure of Assam and the decline of Assamese literature. The Assam Sahitya Sabha (The Literary Society of Assam) consisting of Assamese icons in the fields of art, literature, music and cinema led the protests, and Assamese finally gained the status of the official language in Assam through the Assam Official Language Act (1960), which also had provisions for the safeguard of linguistic minorities.
The same concerns took over in the late 1970s, giving rise to the Assam Agitation which was a movement against illegal immigrants. Assam had faced an influx of immigrants, mostly Muslims, from Bangladesh (East Bengal) since 1920s, and from 1948-71 Bangladeshis of all faiths came to Assam. The people of Assam who make for a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious society, feared the same consequence as the Tripuris, the original inhabitants of Tripura, who have now been reduced to a minority with migrant Bengalis forming the majority. All the Assamese people wanted was to ensure the protection and provision of constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards for themselves, which they finally achieved in the Assam Accord, in which the government agreed to identify and deport any and all refugees and migrants
after March 25,1971.
Questions of illegal migrants and citizenship continued in the 21st century, with the recent Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, which amended the Citizenship Act of 1955, to give eligibility for Indian Citizenship to immigrants who are Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and Buddhists from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and who entered India on or before 31st December, 2014. The proposed nation-wide National Register of Citizenship (the twist being that those proposals are now denied by the govt), which already exists in Assam, will be an official record of all the legal citizens of India.
According to the NRC, the legality of citizenship will be based on the submission and verification of a prescribed set of documents before a specific date. Those who fail to prove their citizenship via the NRC, but claim to be a minority who fled religious persecution will be eligible for Indian citizenship on the basis of the CAA. India has been a highlight In international news the last month for the intense demonstrations and protests against CAA, across the country.
Most of mainland India opposes this Act, stating its barbarousness and calling it highly undemocratic on the grounds that it is discriminatory against Muslims, often stating a breach of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution which mentions “Equality for all before the law”. Along with that, the outright exclusion of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, Hindu refugees from Sri Lanka, and Buddhist refugees from Tibet, China has left citizens baffled with the govt’s blatant discrimination. While Assam vehemently opposes the Act, it does so from a fairly different perspective. Although Assam condemns the Act for its discrimination and lack of secularism, the state was in shambles with violence drastically doubling during protests, stating that it did not want Indian citizenship to be granted to any refugee, regardless of their community, over the same fears and concerns of loss of their political rights, culture and land, which had earlier given rise to the Assam Language Movement and the Assam Agitation.
Art being a channel for protection and expansion of culture, the shilpis (artists) of Assam, modelling after their inspirations such as Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Phani Sharma, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Lakshminath Bezbaroa, took the initiative of leading demonstrations and protests against CAA in December, 2019 which are continuing as we speak. Perhaps the most vocal of those leaders is Barsha Rani Bishaya, who is one of the most popular Assamese actors and has been relentlessly leading and mobilising big gatherings across Assam. Despite standing up to the apparently authoritarian government, the society’s patriarchal ways clearly come to light, on the basis of how much she has been trolled by people. Her personal choices with regards to her lifestyle are thrown into the limelight, with her critics constantly belittling her for the same. The critics claim that her personal choice to don “western” clothes and lead a life that was not “sanskari” in their eyes, deprived her of the right to fight for the culture and heritage of Assam. As if that was not enough, she had to take the flak by another set of critics, who challenged her ulterior motives, labelling her vocal opposition to CAA as personal vendetta against a person in power. Nevertheless, Barsha has been backed by a large number of protestors who have placed their faith in her, as she continues to live upto their expectations. Leading an all-women’s rally on 19th January in Guwahati, she hit back at her trolls and declared that she was steadfast in her demands to repeal the Act.
Zubeen Garg is another popular singer from Assam with considerable fame in Bollywood, who has called out the government’s policies outrightly and fearlessly. Considering his popularity among the youth of Assam, his all-encompassing influence and provocatively inspiring speeches summoned large crowds to protest against the CAA. In the anti-CAA protest held on December 20 which had thousands of ordinary citizens, Zubeen was one of the 40 artists including actors, writer and singers, who crooned his old songs with patriotic fervour, and addressed the large conglomeration of people, the responses of which clearly showed that his voice resonated with the public.
Many artist-protests were also organised across Assam, in which people conveyed their expressions of dissent and love for Assam through media such as songs, poetry, skits and
paintings. In addition to several politically unaffiliated artists categorically forming an opposition to CAA, two people from the ruling party responsible for the Act, actors Jatin Bora and Ravi Shankar handed in their resignation in order to stand with their home-state. Other artists showed their protest in their own ways with national award-winning director Jahnu Barua withdrawing his film from the 8th Assam State Film Awards, and Papon cancelling his concert in Delhi in light of the protests and police brutality in Assam.
As people laud Assam’s fight for its culture and, stand in solidarity with the Assamese people, one needs to understand that the term “Assamese” as a people, is in itself an area of major internal conflict. For the longest duration, the diversity of the state has given rise to antagonism among all ethnic, religious and linguistic communities residing in Assam, with the majority necessarily defining the term “Assamese’ in a way that questions the inclusion and belongingness of minorities in Assam. Though internal disputes continue to brew in Assam, it has been united in its opposition to the outrageous policy that CAA is. Perhaps, the people believe that a rare occurrence of winning the war before winning small battles, is the need of the hour.
Putting everything else at bay, as of now CAA is deemed as the antagonist that can only be brought down with a united front, with the echoes of Joi Aai Axom (Glory to Mother Assam)- be it in any language belonging to any culture in Assam.
-Faaria Hilaly
Celluloid: The Film Society of Miranda House 