Languages in Assam

Assam is one of the eight northeastern states in the south Asian country of India. Assam is the largest state amongst the northeast Indian states and also harbours the highest number of people in the region. The capital of Assam is Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati and has people coming in from all over the country. The state’s official language is an Indo-Aryan language; although there are several other languages spoken in Assam if we consider every community present in it. 

The languages in Assam are varied, ranging from Assamese to the Bodo language, which is one of its native indigenous tribes. Guwahati, the biggest city in Assam and the entire region of Northeast India, is a fast-growing city. It is called the gateway to Northeast India. Ahomiya is widely spoken in the city of Guwahati and is predominant. However, since it is the fastest-growing city in the region, it attracts people from different communities that each speak a different language. 

Assamese Language

More than 23 million people speak the Assamese language. It is an Indo-Aryan language known to have evolved before the 7th century A.D from the Magadhi Prakrit language and is written using the Assamese alphabets. The exact origin of the Assamese language has not been pinpointed, but it is believed to have been derived from the Kamrupi dialect of the Prakrit language. Linguists believe that the Indo-Aryan was most likely spoken in the urban centres of Kamarupa, which was surrounded by Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic communities and is believed to have a substrate of the Austroasiatic. 

Ahomiya

The Ahomiya language is mostly spoken alongside other few dialects, like Nagamese and Bodo-Kachari, in upper Assam, as referred to by the people of Assam. The upper Assam region consists of Guwahati, Dispur, Jorhat, and Dibrugarh. In the lower Assam region, a mixture of Sylheti Bangla and Karbi among few other languages and dialects is mostly prevalent. 

The Assamese language has been heavily influenced by several languages like the Ahom language mostly and other languages such as the Sylheti Bangla, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Rajbangsi, Maithili, and the Rohingya that shaped the language of Assamese we know today. 

Bodo-Kachari

The Assamese language is the native language spoken by the Ahom tribe of Assam. Assamese scripture is used at present, which is closely related to the Maithili language and the Bengali script. The early times had a strong literary tradition, examples of which can be seen in edicts and land grants found from the mediaeval era. Not all languages in Assam have a manuscript, which is why it is difficult to trace the exact origins of all the languages and dialects spoken in the state of Assam. 

However, the other languages of Assam, including the Bodo language, have been influenced by the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language and are spoken by the Bodo community people and the native tribes of Tripura known as Kokborok. The Bodo language is related to Dimasa, Tripuri, and Lalunga languages written with the help of other scripts like Bengali and Devanagiri. 

The majority of Bodo-Kacharis in the past lived around the Brahmaputra valley. They seemed to have reached there via Tibet and settled near the end of the Himalayan-mountain range that is located in the Northeastern region of India. The Bodo language was recognized as an eighth schedule Indian language in 2004 and was majorly spoken by the non-native speakers that shifted to that region. 

Dispur was declared as the capital of Assam in 1973 when Shillong was carved out of Assam to become a part of the newly formed state of Meghalaya in 1972. Before becoming the capital of Meghalaya, Shillong was an autonomous state within Assam, but there were clashes with the government of Assam for the difference in language and culture. Contrary to what most people might believe, Dispur is the capital of Assam in official terms and not Guwahati. It houses the Assam Secretariat and the Assam Legislative Assembly House, MLA Hostels, and the State Emergency Operations Centre at its centre. 

Being a part of Guwahati, Dispur also houses cultural centres like the Basistha Ashram, Shankardev Kalakshetra, and Jatia township located next to Dispur. It is the cultural and political hub of Assam and is an important centre for serving various purposes. The language predominantly spoken in Dispur is the Assamese language, also known as Axomiya, pronounced as “Ahomiya,” which was adopted by the natives and evolved throughout the centuries. 

Conclusion

The Assamese language has been spoken for the past few centuries by the Ahom community, who are the native and indigenous tribes of Assam. The Ahom language was the court language of the Ahom Kingdom, ruled the region for about 600 years, and successfully resisted the Mughal entry into the region. The Assamese language has been heavily influenced by its surrounding languages and, thus, can be called an assimilation of languages. Assam is famous for its tea valleys and wildlife sanctuaries that harbour the one-horn Rhino, unique in India and the world, with 90 percent of its population present in the Kaziranga National Park. Assam is considered the most diverse state in the northeast region as it attracts people from all over the country and its neighbouring states who either settle for work or tourism and exploration.