ocated at a peripheral area of North east India, Barak Valley (erstwhile
Cachar) in the historical period from the pre-Christian era to its
annexation to the British territory in the early 19th century had
always been under some state powers which were not particularly
rooted to this soil. The last state power, the Dimasa had made Cachar
its home and the petty independent kingdom of Cachar experienced
an economic resurgence during the rule which, however, were to crumble
down towards its end making way for the European colonist to grab
the land. The colonists played tricks on the issue of succession
to the throne of Cachar allowing it to remain vacant for two years,
when they tried to win the consensus of the men in high place, and
finally annexed Cachar to the British territory (August 14, 1832).
The entire 19th
century in Cachar had been a period of consolidation and expansion
of colonial power. The advent of the Mutineers of 34 North Infantry,
Chittagaon in 1857/58, however, had extended the arena of Great
War into this land. But local participation to it was nil.
The trade unionist
began to penetrate the tea estates despite strong resistance by
the planters. The 1921 Chorgola exodus, a protest by the laborers
of Chorgola received a national attention that marked a beginning
an era of politics involving the tea industries. The tea laborers
in Cachar were kept out of the electoral roll to make sure the Sylhet
Referendum succeeds in transferring the entire Sylhet and part of
Karimganj sub-division to Pakistan, exactly what the leaders in
Assam willed. In the ultimate round of valley- tussle the Surma
valley being defeated, the valley of Barak remained sandwiched in
between the walls of Barail hills in the east and the international
border in the west.
Political events
in the Post-Independent years showed a strange feature. While waves
of mass protest on questions of language, culture swept the valley
in each decade, yet it hardly left any imprint on the arena of electoral
politics. The land which witnessed supreme sacrifices on the question
of language and culture, returned scores of representatives to parliament
and legislature who were hand in glove with political powers that
worked against its interest. Party wise, Congress continues to be
strongest political force in this region though in the early nineties
of last century, BJP made some inroads in the electoral arena in
the wake of Babri Masjid demolition. Communist party which had been
a vocal presence in the politics of protest of this region for almost
seven decades, failed to consolidate its strength. Left sprang some
surprises in elections in the periods preceding and following National
Emergency of 1975, but its support base ultimately dwindled in the
face of community based voting pattern and social alliances. Apart
from these outfits, of late, identity based political formations
like AUDF and others have entered the political arena of this region.
At the moment,
politics in Barak Valley is increasingly drifting away from the
need of the soil as enormous amount of black money is being pumped
in at all levels of society. Protest, which is expected to be the
core of politics in a land of martyrs, became a casualty.
1) Essays:~
(
a)
National Freedom Struggle: In Barak-Surma Valley of
Assam - Amit Kumar Nag
2) Literary Composition:~
(Bengali)
(
a)
স্বাধীনতা সংগ্রাম ও কাছাড় - হুরমত আলী বড়লস্কর(Independence Movement and Cachar - Hurmat Ali Barlaskar)
(
b)
বরাক উপত্যকার বাঙালি : অস্তিস্ত্ব ও অবয়বের সংকট - সুজিৎ চৌধুরী(Bengalies of Barak Valley: crisis of their existence & figures - Sujit Choudhury)