Ahmed’s apology

In the highly-charged identity politics of current-day Assam, however, the Miya poets have been forced to go on the defensive with regard to questions on why they were not writing in standard Assamese and using their native dialects instead. In a statement on Saturday, they reiterated their connection to Assamese language and culture.

“Another allegation against Miya poetry is that it is a threat to the Assamese language. This is an utter lie. A huge majority of the Miya poems are written in Assamese, some in English and Hindi and a handful in local dialects.

Moreover, among the ten accused in the FIR, there are four researchers who have either completed or are in the process of completing their PhDs on Assamese language and literature. One of the accused is an acclaimed Assamese writer, propagator of Assamese language and literature and renowned public intellectual.”

Char Sapori Sahitya Parishad president Hafiz Ahmed urgently reiterated that he was also an Assamese and apologised for his poems. “As an Assamese myself, I have long been involved in the spread of Assamese language and culture – as every knowledgeable person in Assam knows,” wrote Hafiz in Assamese. “Yet if anyone has been hurt, we apologise.”

The fact that simply writing in their native language as a way to describe persecution could lead to FIRs and public pressure strong enough for Bengal-origin Muslims to urgently reiterate that their identity was Assamese, is perhaps an indication of just how vitally the state needed the Miya poetry movement in the first place.

As Assam prepares to render millions of Indians stateless via the National Register of Citizens, this attempt to silence Miya poetry is a red flag.