View source for Assamese people

{{Short description|Socio-ethnolinguistic group in India}}
{{Distinguish|People of Assam}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Assamese people
| image = Bihu in Assam.jpg
| caption = Assamese youth in modern Bihu dress
| population = {{Circa|15.3 million|lk=yes}}<ref name="nationalencyklopedin">Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in ''[[Nationalencyklopedin]]''</ref>
| region1 = {{flag|India}}
| pop1 = 15,311,351
| ref1 = <ref name="Census 2011">{{cite web|title=Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and the mother tongues - 2011|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/C-16_25062018_NEW.pdf |access-date=3 November 2019}}</ref>
| region2 = 🇮🇳 [[Assam]]
| pop2 = 15,095,797
| ref2 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/assam-population</ref> 
| region3 = 🇮🇳 [[Arunachal Pradesh]]
| pop3 = 53,951 
| ref3 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/arunachal-pradesh-population</ref> 
| region4 = 🇮🇳 [[Meghalaya]]
| pop4 = 39,628 
| ref4 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/meghalaya-population</ref>
| region5 = 🇮🇳 [[Bihar]]
| pop5 = 2,087
| ref5 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/bihar-population</ref>
| region6 = 🇮🇳 [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| pop6 = 10,356
| ref6 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/uttar-pradesh-population</ref>
| region7 = 🇮🇳 [[Delhi]]
| pop7 = 8,573
| ref7 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/delhi-population</ref>
| region8 = 🇮🇳 [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
| pop8 = 4,090
| ref8 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/punjab-population</ref>
| region9 = 🇮🇳 [[Karnataka]]
| pop9 = 9,871
| ref9 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/karnataka-population</ref>
| region10 = 🇮🇳 [[Tamil Nadu]]
| pop10 = 2,594 
| ref10 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/tamil-nadu-population</ref>
| region11 = 🇮🇳 [[Kerala]]
| pop11 = 5,796
| ref11 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/kerala-population</ref>
| region12 = 🇮🇳 [[Maharashtra]]
| pop12 = 12,842
| ref12 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/maharashtra-population</ref>
| region13 = 🇮🇳 [[Gujarat]]
| pop13 = 3,935
| ref13 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/gujarat-population</ref>
| region14 = 🇮🇳 [[Rajasthan]]
| pop14 = 2,877
| ref14 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/rajasthan-population</ref> 
| region15 = 🇮🇳 [[Haryana]]
| pop15 = 4,204
| ref15 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/haryana-population</ref>
| region16 = 🇮🇳 [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
| pop16 = 8,340
| ref16 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/jammu-and-kashmir-population</ref>
| region17 = 🇮🇳 [[Nagaland]]
| pop17 = 17,201
| ref17 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/nagaland-population</ref>
| region18 = 🇮🇳 [[Manipur]]
| pop18 = 2,453
| ref18 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/manipur-population</ref>
| region19 = 🇮🇳 [[Tripura]]
| pop19 = 2,129
| ref19 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/tripura-population</ref> 
| region20 = 🇮🇳 [[West Bengal]]
| pop20 = 7,342
| ref20 =<ref>http://www.populationu.com/in/west-bengal-population</ref>
| region21 = {{flag|Bangladesh}}
| pop21 = 5,000
| ref21 = <ref>https://www.timesofindia.com/city/guwahati/assamese-rockstar-in-bangladesh-challenges-caacophony/amp_articleshow/73998341.cms{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

| languages = [[File:Assamese Bengali letter A (red).png|15px]] [[Assamese language|Assamese]] 
(''<small>and dialects; [[Kamrupi language|Kamrupi]] • [[Goalpariya language|Goalpariya]]</small>'')
| religions = ''<small>Mostly</small>:'' [[File:Om.svg|17px]] [[Hinduism]]

(''<small>[[File:Patch of the 45th Infantry Division (1924-1939).svg|13px]] [[Sanātana dharma|Traditional]] • [[File:Vishnu.jpg|12px]] [[Ekasarana Dharma]]</small>'') 
''<small>Minority</small>:'' [[File:Allah-green.svg|17px]] [[Islam]]• [[File:ChristianitySymbol.svg|17px]]•''<small></small>:''[[Christianity]]• [[File:Khanda.svg|17px]] [[Sikhism]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Mission roots brings Assamese Sikhs to Punjab|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mission-roots-brings-Assamese-Sikhs-to-Punjab/articleshow/4262528.cms|access-date=2 September 2017|work=The Times of India}}</ref>
| related = [[Bodo-Kachari people]], [[Indo-Aryan peoples]], [[Tibeto-Burman and Tai peoples of Assam]]
| native_name = 
| native_name_lang = 
}}
{{Contains Asamiya text}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}

The '''Assamese people''' are a socio-[[ethnolinguistic]]<ref>"As a socio-ethnic linguistic community, Assamese culture evolved through many centuries in a melting pot syndrome." {{harvcol|Deka|2005|p=190}}</ref> identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic<ref>"All this suggests that Assamese nationalism was a post-British phenomenon. As an ideology and movement it took shape only during the second half of the 19th century, when such questions as the preservation and promotion of the mother-tongue, jobs for the sons of the soil and concern over colonial constraints on development, began to stir Assamese minds." {{harvcol|Guha|1984|p=54}}</ref> or micro-nationalistic.<ref>" Assamese micro-nationalism began in the middle of the nineteenth century as an assertion of the autonomy and distinctiveness of Assamese language and culture against the British colonial view of Assam as a periphery of Bengal." {{harvcol|Baruah|1994|p=654}}</ref>  This group is often associated with the [[Assamese language]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Saikia |first=Yasmin |date=2004 |title=Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0822386162 |quote=the group that now identifies as Tai–Ahom were historically seen as Assamese people. However, the term ethnic Assamese is now associated by the Indian government at Delhi with the Assamese speaking Indo-Aryan group (comprising both Hindus and Muslims) of [[Assam]]. The latter group is the majority people of Assam, while the Tai-Ahom people were a dominant minority during the Ahom Rule''.}}</ref> though the use of the term precedes the name of the language.<ref>"Assamese language and literature played a major role in forming the Assamese cultural mind even before they came to be known as Assamese." {{harvcol|Deka|2005|p=192}}</ref>  It has also been used retrospectively to the people of [[Assam]] before the term "Assamese" came into use.<ref>"Yet once the community adopted Assamese as its name, even their ancient language started to be referred to as Assamese." {{harvcol|Deka|2005|p=192}}</ref> They are a ethnically diverse group formed after centuries of assimilation of [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]], [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]], [[Indo-Aryan people|Indo-Aryan]] and [[Tai languages|Tai]] populations.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9PkFF3uq_8C&pg=PA5 |title=Fragmented Memories |author=Yasmin Saikia|isbn=978-0822333739 |date=9 November 2004 }}</ref> The total population of Assamese speakers in Assam is nearly 15.09 million which makes up 48.38% of the population of state according to the ''Language census of 2011''.

==Definition==
The Government of Assam faced difficulties in defining Assamese people for [[Assam Accord]], due to linguistically and culturally heterogeneous population. Though there is a political dispute over the definition of Assamese people, in general; the people belonging to the state of Assam are referred sometimes as Assamese people or more appropriately as [[People of Assam]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/assamese-people-definition-rocks-assembly/article7055297.ece|title=Assamese People" definition rocks Assembly, ''The Hindu''|work=Special Correspondent|date=1 April 2015|access-date=15 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Meet the Axomiya Sikhs |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130324/spectrum/main4.htm |newspaper=The Tribune |location=Chandigarh |date=24 March 2013}}</ref> The lack of a definition has put stumbling blocks in implementing ''clause 6''<ref>Clause 6 of [[Assam Accord]]: "Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people."</ref> of the [[Assam Accord]], an agreement signed by the activists of the [[Assam Movement]] and the [[Government of India]] in 1985.<ref>''[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040715/asp/northeast/story_3496709.asp Assam dithers over Accord]'', The Telegraph, 15 July 2004.</ref> Since a legal definition is important to provide "constitutional, legislative and cultural" safeguards to the Assamese people, the [[Government of Assam]] had formed a ministerial committee to finalise the definition in March 2007.<ref>''[http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar2807/at01 1.40 lakh aliens deported since 1971] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529093954/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar2807%2Fat01 |date=29 May 2007 }}'', The Assam Tribune, 27 March 2007</ref><ref>''[http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar3107/at04 Move to define Assamese people] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529093319/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar3107%2Fat04 |date=29 May 2007 }}'', The Assam Tribune, 31 March 2007</ref> To address the ''clause 6'' issue, [[All Assam Students Union|AASU]] had announced a definition on 10 April 2000 which was based on residency with a temporal limit: ''All those whose names appeared in the 1951 National Register of Citizens and their progenies should be considered as Assamese''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hussain |first1=Wasbir |title=Of natives and aliens |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/of-natives-and-aliens/article28013077.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |language=en-IN |date=24 April 2000}}</ref><ref>''AASU joins 'Asomiya' debate'', The Sentinel, Guwahati, 1 April 2007</ref><ref>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928043657/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=apr0107%2Fat03 AASU flays Barman, Prafulla Mahanta]'', The Assam Tribune, 1 April 2007</ref>

The name "Assamese" is though of British colonial coinage.  Assamese is an English word meaning "of Assam"<ref>{{harvcol|Grierson|1903|p=393}}.  Also, ''-ese'' is the English suffix with etymological roots in the Latin ''-ensis''—"[u]sed to form adjectives and nouns describing things and characteristics of a city, region, or country, such as the people and the language spoken by these people." [[wikt:-ese]].</ref> though not all people of Assam today are Assamese people.

==History==
Assamese as a nationalistic identity was seeded when the [[Ahom kingdom]] came under repeated attacks from the [[Bengal Sultanate]] in the early 16th century and the people banded together under [[Suhungmung]] (1497–1539) to resist a common enemy.  The kingdom not only succeeded in resisting the invasion, but a general pursued the invaders to the Karatoya river and freed most of the [[Kamrup region|Kamrup]] and [[Kamata kingdom|Kamata]] regions.<ref>"The idea of a composite Assamese or Asomiya 'jati' or nationality took shape during the later part of the Ahom rule. This process had started during the first Muslim invasion from neighbouring Bengal in the 16th century when the people were brought under an Ahom or Assamese banner against the common enemy. Not only were the Ahom successful in repelling the Muslim invasions, but by the 1530s the Ahoms had freed the greater part of Kamrup and Kamata from Muslim occupation and "extended their dominion right up to the Karatoya in Murshidabad in the west and almost to close proximity of Dacc". {{harvcol|Misra|1999|p=1264}}</ref> One of the earliest icons of Assamese nationalism, [[Mula Gabharu]], belong to this period. Significantly, Suhungmung settled those Muslim soldiers who stayed back after their unsuccessful invasion.

The process of identity formation sped up during the rule of [[Pratap Singha]] (1603–41) when the [[Mughal empire|Mughal]]s began [[Ahom–Mughal conflicts|repeated incursions]] from 1615 and continued through the [[Battle of Saraighat]] in 1671 and beyond when the Ahoms took direct control over western Brahmaputra valley.<ref>"During the rule of the Ahom monarch, Pratap Singha (1603-41) consolidation of the Assamese community was further sped up because of the common fight against Mughal incursions and encroachment on Assam territory. The Ahom victory over the Mughals in early 1616 was followed by the defeat of the Mughal army led by Ram Singh in the Battle of Saraighat in March 1671" {{harvcol|Misra|1999|p=1264}}</ref> Many Muslim soldiers and professionals who had accompanied invading armies or immigrated peacefully since the 13th century, including those from the 16th century, were given power and eminence by the Ahom kings, and they in turn helped the Ahoms in repelling the Mughals.<ref>"The Ahom rulers gave positions of power and eminence to the Assamese Muslims and the latter took active part in resisting successive Mughal attempts to overrun the region. The assimilation of this segment of Muslims into Assamese society was so complete that the historians who accompanied the Mughal expeditions into Assam noted that they were more Assamese than Muslim." {{harvcol|Misra|1999|p=1264}}</ref>  This was also the time when the [[Assamese language]] progressively replaced the [[Ahom language]] in the court and outside.<ref>"Incidentally, literate Ahoms retained the Tai language and script well until the end of the 17th century. In that century of Ahom-Mughal conflicts, this language first coexisted with and then was progressively replaced by Assamese (Asamiya) at and outside the Court." {{harvcol|Guha|1983|p=9}}</ref> As a result of the Ahom kings increasingly patronizing Hinduism alongside the proselytizing activities of [[Ekasarana Dharma]] since the 16th-century—a large section of the [[Bodo-Kachari peoples]]  converted to different forms of Hinduism in the 17th-18th century and a composite Assamese identity comprising caste-Hindus, tribals and Assamese Muslims began to form.<ref>{{harvcol|Misra|1999|p=1264}}</ref>

On the eve of British colonialism, the writers of that time included everyone in the Brahmaputra valley into the group called "Assamese".<ref>{{harvcol|Misra|1999|pp=1264–1265}}</ref>

==Demographic changes==
{{See also|People of Assam|Assam Movement#Political Demography of Assam}}
{{POV|date=March 2019}}
The issue of illegal influx has a 40-year history, starting with the [[Assam Movement|anti-foreigner agitation]] that began in 1979 under the leadership of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). In 1985, after hundreds of people died in course of independent India’s biggest mass uprising, the AASU, and other agitation groups signed an agreement with the Centre called the Assam Accord. It fixed 25 March 1971 as the cut-off date for detection and expulsion of [[Illegal immigration to India|illegal migrants]], meaning anyone found entering India after this date were to be detected and sent back.

According to an Assam government white paper, between 1985 and 2012, 2,442 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been expelled from the state.

As per 2011 census, [[Assam]] state had around 31.2 million people, out of which (15.1 million) were [[Assamese language|Assamese speakers]] comprising 48% of the state population, while (9.36 million) were [[Bengali language|Bengali speakers]] comprising 30% of the state population, and 6.73% spoke [[Hindi]] and its [[Hindi dialects|dialects]].<ref>https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/voting-on-religious-lines-bengali-speakers-may-help-bjp-congress-win-in-assam/story-d0P8ZgQGEZS4G39oWz8TJK.html</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=C-16 Population By Mother Tongue |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-1800.XLSX |website=censusindia.gov.in |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref> According to reports, in 1971 the number of Assamese-speaking populace was 60.89% in the census, with a population of (8.9 million), higher than their numbers in 2011. While the Bengali and Hindi-speaking population were at 19.70% (2.8 million) and 5.42% (7.9 lakhs).<ref>{{cite news |title=Assamese speaking population decreasing alarmingly |url=https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/india-critical-partner-for-us-in-meeting-indo-pacific-challenge-says-pentagon-525237 |access-date=19 February 2021 |work=The Sentinel |date=30 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Assamese Speaking Population Declines To 48.38 % |url=https://www.pratidintime.com/assamese-speaking-population-declines-to-48-38/ |access-date=19 February 2021 |work=Pratidine Times |date=29 June 2018}}</ref> The Assamese speakers constituted 48% of the State population according to the 2011 Census, and it is predicted that the 2021 Census (currently under way) will reveal the percentage to dip lower below 40%.<ref>https://assamtribune.com/assamese-speakers-in-assam-an-insecure-future/</ref>

In January 2019, the Assam's peasant organisation [[Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti]] (KMSS) claimed that there are around 20 [[lakh]] (2 million) [[Hinduism in Bangladesh|Hindu Bangladeshis]] in Assam.<ref>{{cite news |title=20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/20-lakh-bangladeshi-hindus-to-become-indians-if-citizenship-bill-is-passed-krishak-mukti-sangram-samiti/articleshow/67574226.cms?from=mdr |access-date=3 November 2020 |work=The Economic Times |date=17 January 2019}}</ref> According to the [[Census of India|census data]], the number of Hindu immigrants is difficult to ascertain and have been largely exaggerated.<ref name="FP">{{cite news |title=Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated - India News, Firstpost |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/citizenship-amendment-bill-bjp-chasing-ghosts-in-assam-as-census-data-shows-number-of-hindu-immigrants-couldve-been-exaggerated-5640511.html |access-date=30 January 2021 |work=Firstpost |date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

Census of India between (2001-2011) have shown that Bangladeshi Muslim population grows 5-7% in Assam specially in the bordering districts over the past decade.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Manan |title=Bangladeshi Muslim population grows 5-7% in Assam and West Bengal |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bangladeshi-muslim-population-grows-5-7-in-assam-and-west-bengal-2015180 |access-date=13 February 2021 |work=DNA India |date=1 September 2014 |language=en}}</ref> In February 2020, the Assam Minority Development Board announced plans to segregate illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants from the indigenous Muslims of the state, though some have expressed problems in identifying an indigenous Muslim person. According to the board, there are 1.3 [[crore]] (13 million) Muslims in the state, of which 9 million are of Bangladeshi origin.<ref>{{cite news |title=BJP wants to segregate Assamese Muslims from Bangladeshi Muslims, but some ask how|url=https://theprint.in/india/bjp-wants-to-segregate-assamese-muslims-from-bangladeshi-muslims-but-some-ask-how/363736/?amp |first=Mytithili |last=Hazarika|access-date=30 January 2021 |work=The Print |date=12 February 2020 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Assam plans survey to identify indigenous Muslim population |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam-plans-survey-to-identify-indigenous-muslim-population/article30780667.ece |last=PTI |access-date=30 January 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=10 February 2020 |language=en-IN}}</ref> Allegedly the number of 'illegal immigrants' in Assam of all religions is about 1 crore (10 million) and are scattered across the length and breadth of the state.<ref>{{cite news |title=TIME8 News {{!}} 1 Crore Illegal Bangladeshis' Name Included In Assam NRC: Shiladitya Dev |url=https://www.time8.in/1-crore-illegal-bangladeshis-name-included-in-assam-nrc-shiladitya-dev/ |access-date=30 January 2021 |work=TIME8 News |date=31 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=1 Crore Illegal Bangladeshis Residing In Assam: Dipanka Nath |url=https://www.pratidintime.com/1-crore-illegal-bangladeshis-residing-in-assam-dipanka-nath/ |access-date=30 January 2021 |work=Pratidin Time |date=17 January 2020}}</ref> A report reveals that out of total 33 districts in Assam, Bangladeshis dominate almost 15 districts of Assam.<ref>https://www.indiablooms.com/news-details/N/34467/hari-shankar-brahma-report-reveals-illegal-bangladeshis-dominates-15-out-of-33-assam-districts-massive-threats-to-indigenous-people.html</ref>

==See also==
<!-- Do NOT RED LINKS TO THIS SECTION. THE PAGES SHOULD LINK TO WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES OR EXTERNAL PAGES (WHERE MULTIPLE SOURCES HAVE BEEN CITED). -->
*[[Assamese Brahmins]]
*[[People of Assam]]
*[[Tribes of Assam]]
*[[Assamese Language Movement]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal| last = Barua| first=Sanjib| title ='Ethnic' Conflict as State—Society Struggle: The Poetics and Politics of Assamese Micro-Nationalism| journal= Modern Asian Studies| volume=28 |number=3| year=1994| pages= 649–671| jstor=313047 | doi=10.1017/S0026749X00011896}}
* {{Cite journal| last = Deka| first=Harekrishna| title = The Assamese Mind: contours of a landscape| journal= India International Centre Quarterly| volume=32 |number= 2/3| year=2005| pages= 189–202| jstor=23006027}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Grierson |editor-first=G A |year=1903 |title=Linguistic Survey of India: Indo-Aryan Family Eastern Group |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=5-1&pages=463#page/1/mode/1up |volume=V |access-date=30 January 2021 }}
* {{citation
|last=Guha
|first=Amalendu
|date=December 1983
|title=The Ahom Political System: An Enquiry into the State Formation Process in Medieval Assam (1228-1714)
|journal=Social Scientist
|volume=11
|issue=12
|pages=3–34
|doi=10.2307/3516963
|jstor=3516963
|url=https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/123456789/3259/1/OP_64_The_ahom_political_system.pdf
}}
* {{Cite journal| last = Guha| first=Amalendu| title = Nationalism: Pan-Indian and Regional in a Historical Perspective| journal= Social Scientist| volume=12 |number= 2| year=1984| pages= 42–65| jstor=3517093 | doi=10.2307/3517093}}
* {{Cite journal| last = Misra| first=Udayon| title = Immigration and Identity Transformation in Assam| journal= Economic and Political Weekly |volume=34 |number=21| year=1999| pages= 1264–1271| jstor=4407987 }}
*{{Cite journal|last=Sengupta|first=Madhusmita|title=Historiography of the formation of Assamese identity|year=2006|journal=Peace and Democracy in South Asia|volume=2|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/229189/pdsa_02_01_07.pdf}}
{{Refend}}

{{Assam}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Assamese people| ]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]