Assamese is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by
the inhabitant of the state Assam. The development of the rich Assamese
language has several phases. the main distinctive periods are
(a) Early Assamese- from the fourteenth to the end of sixteenth century. That was the Vaishnavite period.
(b) Middle Assamese- from the seventeenth to the begining of the nineteenth century.
(c) Modern Assamese - from the begining of the nineteeth century to till the present times.
Assamese language that we proudly speak today has come across lots of bumps and barriers in the middle of nineteenth century. It was a very difficult period for assamese language. The current flourish in vernacular literature brought by some pioneering writers Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Gunabhiram Barua and Hemchandra Barua.
After the end of six centuries of rule by the mighty Ahom kingdom, the area (assam) took over by the British East India Company. In 1836, Brithsh Goverment adopted Bengali as the official language marked the coup de grace for the native tongue (Assamese). Assamese language was replaced by Bengali language in schools, colleges, courts and offices. This dark period of crisis was interrupted by the intervention of a few Baptist missionaries from America. Led by enthusiastic men like Nathan Brown and Miles Bronson the missionaries sought to get Assamese recognized as an independent language and to break the popular belief that it was a mere idiom of Bengali, a belief that the new Babus from Bengal and the Bengali intelligentsia were militantly advertising.
The first assamese journal "Orunoday" was published in 1846 which gave a force against the sustained threaten to the Assamese language. This was followed by a wave of literary growth in Assamese for instance, Gunaviram Barua's "Ram Navami" (1857), dealing with the theme of widow re-marriage, it was the first assamese play in western style, Hemchandra barua wrote stories in 1876. Through the works of Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Hemchandra Barua and Gunabhiram Barua the colonial government was pressurized which led to the re- adoption of Assamese as the province’s official language in 1873. The thirty-seven years of Bengali influence had seeped into the interiors of the indigenous cultural system. As a result of it, a number of misconceptions raised its head whose repercussion was akin in effect to the one against which Sankaradeva was fighting about three hundred fifty years before. This impact had gone into the psyche of the common people.
it was a high time towards the end of nineteenth century when the assamese students in culcutta for higher studies worked together for the development of modern assamese language. Lakshminath Bezbarua, Chandrakumar Agarwala, Hemchandra Goswami, Kenaklal Barua, Padmanath Gohain Barua. Rajanikanta Bordoloi headed the list of those who formed the galaxy of the modern writers in Assamese. The Asomiya Bhaxa Unnoti Xadhoni Xobha (The Assamese language development council) was formed over a tea party on 25th August 1888 in culcutta. It was through the efforts of Bezbarua and Chandra Kumar Agarwalla that the council published a magazine ‘Jonaki’. ‘Jonaki’ became a revolution of sorts and being ably guided by the devoted Bezbarua it stood out as the foremost platform for works in the Assamese language to be published.
(a) Early Assamese- from the fourteenth to the end of sixteenth century. That was the Vaishnavite period.
(b) Middle Assamese- from the seventeenth to the begining of the nineteenth century.
(c) Modern Assamese - from the begining of the nineteeth century to till the present times.
Assamese language that we proudly speak today has come across lots of bumps and barriers in the middle of nineteenth century. It was a very difficult period for assamese language. The current flourish in vernacular literature brought by some pioneering writers Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Gunabhiram Barua and Hemchandra Barua.
After the end of six centuries of rule by the mighty Ahom kingdom, the area (assam) took over by the British East India Company. In 1836, Brithsh Goverment adopted Bengali as the official language marked the coup de grace for the native tongue (Assamese). Assamese language was replaced by Bengali language in schools, colleges, courts and offices. This dark period of crisis was interrupted by the intervention of a few Baptist missionaries from America. Led by enthusiastic men like Nathan Brown and Miles Bronson the missionaries sought to get Assamese recognized as an independent language and to break the popular belief that it was a mere idiom of Bengali, a belief that the new Babus from Bengal and the Bengali intelligentsia were militantly advertising.
The first assamese journal "Orunoday" was published in 1846 which gave a force against the sustained threaten to the Assamese language. This was followed by a wave of literary growth in Assamese for instance, Gunaviram Barua's "Ram Navami" (1857), dealing with the theme of widow re-marriage, it was the first assamese play in western style, Hemchandra barua wrote stories in 1876. Through the works of Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Hemchandra Barua and Gunabhiram Barua the colonial government was pressurized which led to the re- adoption of Assamese as the province’s official language in 1873. The thirty-seven years of Bengali influence had seeped into the interiors of the indigenous cultural system. As a result of it, a number of misconceptions raised its head whose repercussion was akin in effect to the one against which Sankaradeva was fighting about three hundred fifty years before. This impact had gone into the psyche of the common people.
it was a high time towards the end of nineteenth century when the assamese students in culcutta for higher studies worked together for the development of modern assamese language. Lakshminath Bezbarua, Chandrakumar Agarwala, Hemchandra Goswami, Kenaklal Barua, Padmanath Gohain Barua. Rajanikanta Bordoloi headed the list of those who formed the galaxy of the modern writers in Assamese. The Asomiya Bhaxa Unnoti Xadhoni Xobha (The Assamese language development council) was formed over a tea party on 25th August 1888 in culcutta. It was through the efforts of Bezbarua and Chandra Kumar Agarwalla that the council published a magazine ‘Jonaki’. ‘Jonaki’ became a revolution of sorts and being ably guided by the devoted Bezbarua it stood out as the foremost platform for works in the Assamese language to be published.
All through the period, Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1864-1938), with an eminent
personality and with command over all aspects of Assamese literature, old and
new, stood as the uncrowned king over the domain of Assamese language and
literature. He was a short-story writer, dramatist, poet, humourist,
belle-letter writer, critic, novelist, biographer, writer of children
literature, folk-lorist and a great patriot. He also studied the Vedas,
Upanishadas and other scriptures and made comparative analysis with that of the
philosophical trait of the religion and literature of Sankaradeva.
Bezbarua was aware of the fact that the Assam was
nothing short of a confederation of numerous races and religions. His clarion
call to the youth was to break the narrow barriers of communal alignment and
weave a harmonious ‘Bor-Oxom’ ( Big Assam) of different communities, races and
groups. He exhorted the people to understand the land of Assam by conducting
studies on the region’s history, geography, sociology, traditions, indigenous
food, customs, monuments and folklore. He realized that along with Indian
independence, there must be bred a wave of Assamese nationalist sentiments. To
this end, two aspects were regarded primal; firstly development of Assamese
language and literature and secondly an expansion of the mass of educated
people in Assam.
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