Assam in History and Memory: Restructuring the Past in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Contents: Introduction. 1. Buranjis: The Written Past. 2. A Landmark Year: 1829. 3. Modern Historiography of Assam. 4. History as Mnemonic Pattern: The Tale of Princess Jaymati. 5. History and Nation. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

Assam in History and Memory examines the shaping of Assamese historiography in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A major theme of this study is the fascinating local tradition of buranji literature, which gives primacy to historical memory and has played a key role in the creation of the modern Assamese past. The book also explores the complex relationship between vernacular historiography, Assamese nationalism, and the construction of an Assamese linguistic identity in the colonial and postcolonial periods. In tracing such historiographical transformations, the book identifies the changing political, social and cultural contexts in the colonial period, when the politics of identity were reworked and the modern Assamese past was restructured.