GUWAHATI, Nov 28 - Two Myanmar-based Assamese women, whose ancestors were taken by the Burmese (Myanmarese) army as a ‘gift’ from the Ahom kings about 200 years back, were accorded felicitation at the Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir here today. The event was organised by city-based surgeon Dr Satyakam Phukan, teacher of North Guwahati College Dr Tapan Sarma and city-based businessman Binoy Sarma, who visited Myanmar between January and February 2013 in search of the people of Assam origin.
The ancestors of the two women, who were felicitated today, had to leave their motherland after the repeated Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, along with the Burmese armymen. Though these people have lost their language and culture, they still maintain that they are Assamese people. Initially, there were around 5,000 such people living in Myanmar. But today, a majority of them have assimilated into the Myanmarese society and those who are still maintaining their Assamese identity, are mostly settled in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar and Bhamo, another city of the neighbouring country.
The two women – Ratnamoyee and Rajani Devi – who came to the city, accompanying two groups of Manipuri and Bengali people of Mandalay, however, had to speak in Burmese during their felicitation. They said that they have a very weak economy. They have lost their language and culture. But they take great pride in identifying themselves as Assamese, they said. (Courtesy of TheAssamTribuneOnline)
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