BAM AND FREEDOM MOVEMENT:

During Freedom Movement from 1920 to 1947 Bam Muslims with small population in the range of 4000-8000 during the period played an important role and gave leadership at District/Provincial  level.It is amazing that situated in the remote southernmost part of  Cachar District without any communication in those days Bam did play a prominent role  in freedom movement.The contribution of the freedom fighters and their sacrifice have been aptly recognized by Government of India and many have been given Freedom Fighters pension and decorated with  Tamrapatra.But irony is that they have gone in to oblivion and present generation hardly knows about them.There is no memorial after any of them in Bam.The present generation, the beneficiary of their struggle and sacrifice may like to pay tribute to their memory in befitting manner by naming Public Institutions and places in Bam after the name of Freedom Fighters of Bam.There is also need for detailed biographies of the Freedom Fighters of Bam.The present writer has  limitations and could not do justice to the  Freedom Fighters of Bam-the unsung and forgotten heroes.The intelligentsia of Bam may take up the project of documenting the life and times of Bam Freedom Fighters. Following are some of the leaders of Freedom Movement from Bam:

Shajid Raja Mazumdar: Sajid Raja Mazumdar of Islamad was afront ranking freedom fighter of Cacahar District. He joined the non-cooperation movement called by Mahatma Gandhi and went to jail in 1922 .His coprisoners were Tarun Ram Phukan,Bishnuram Medhi,Satindra Mohan Deb ,Ashok Kr.Chanda and others at Silchar Jail. He was Vice President of Silchar Mohokuma Congress Committee   and member Cachar District Congress Committee in 1936 .He was also member of Pradeshik Congress Committee (BPCC) in 1940. As true Gandhian he did not seek any office after India achieved independence in 1947 but engaged himself in social activities and died in 1971.In recognition of his sacrifice he was given Freedom Fighters Pension.But he did not get the recognition as he deserved.An autbiography left behind by him throws light on the Freedom Movement and is an invaluable historical document.This has been bublished in the 2017 issue of BARAK Magazine published by Minority Welfare Society Guwahati.

Maulana Mashad Ali Barbhuiya: Maulana Mashad Ali Barbhuiya of Islamabad an alumnus of Rampur Madrassa,UPjoined Khilafat movement and non-cooperation movement and worked closely with Shajid Raja Mazumdar and went to jail together.Arecipient of freedom fighters’ pension Maulana Barbhuiya passed away in 1964.His widow Jamila Khatun ,an nonagenarian is still receivingfamily pension @ Rs.10500.00 pm.Maulana Barbhuiya suffered imprisonment for nine months in 1921,1922 and 1923 for joining freedom movement. He was awarded Tamrapatra posthumously in 1997 by the Government.

Maulana HormuzAli:Saptagram; Freedom Fighter and recipient of Freedom Fighters’pension.

Mahabbat Ali Barbhuiya:Saptagram:A freedom fighter and recipient of Freedom Fighter’s Pension.

Mahabbat Ali  Laskar:Loknathpur:A political sufferer for joining freedom struggle and recipient of Freedom Fighter’s Pension @Rs.200.00 sanctioned in 1974 .Born in 1901  he joined Non-Cooperation Movement  in 1921  and in the middle of January  1922 he was arrested from his village and was tried by the then Deputy Commissioner,Cachar, G.D.Walker I.C.S and was awarded  six months imprisonment  at Silchar Jail.He died on 16.11.1975

Abdus Samad Laskar:Rajghat:Abdus Samad Laskar popularly known as Samad Mullah joined freedom movement and suffered and in recognition he was granted Freedom Fighters Pension.He passéd away in July 1986.He was awarded Tamrapatra in 1997 posthumously.

Some of the other known Freedom Fighters of Bam under banner of Congress party are:Krishnajiban Purkayastha, Binode Behari Das,  Gourmoni Nath,Ananta Kr.Das,Debendralal Choudhury,Aswini Kr Dutta,Tutiraja Barbhuiya,Moulvi Ozir Ahmed,Moulvi Abdul Hamid, Moulvi Ambar Ali  ,Moulvi Habib Ali ,Anfar Ali Choudhury, Alaudddin ,Asaddar Ali ,Deshanta Barman  and others.

Ahmad Ali Laskar:In his early youth during last part of freedom struggle, Ahmad Ali Laskar known as Ahmad Ali Miyasab of Bangram was a Muslim league follower and participated in League movement and took leading role during Sylhet referendum.  After independence he did not join any political party. 

ROADS AND COMMUNICATION OF BAM:PART-ll

The backbone of road network of Bam in the eastern bank of river Rukni is 18.2 km Bhagabazar-Mizoram NECroad. It crosses riverRukni at Bhagabazar,runs alongside  river Rukni upstream and passes through the villages Rajgobindapur, Shyamacharanpur,Jamalpur,Sewrartol ,Tulartol FV,Khulichera,Dholaikhal FVand  joins Saiphai in Mizoram.Another road to the east originates from Bhagabazar and passes through RajgobindapurKhashpur,Rajnagar,Bidyaratanpur, Bishnupur and Gamalpur where other local roads join.This is the main road links of Bam in the North of Dholaibzazar,an important focal point of Bam.The hinterland of Dholai Bazar in Bam region is served by 5 km DholaiBazar –Sadagram -Lantugram- Ramprasadpur,  road which goes to Kabuganj via Bekirpar-Narsingppur  alongside Silchar Aizwal NH No.54 and Rukni river. The other road -Dholai- Sadagram- Mahadebpur- Sukhtola  road leaves Sukhtola the last Bam village in North East sideof Bam ata distance of 6 kmand joins Kabuganj -Amjur -Amraghat Road at Darmi Bazar and opens up Bam to South Eastern part of Cachar.Other Many village roads links numerous villages with the main roads

16. ROADS AND COMMUNICATION of BAM:Part I

Up to 1950 Bam had little infrastructure of roads and communication and remained largely isolated from mainland Cachar District.Present NationalHigh way No.54was not a motor able road. It was village road maintained by Local Board, the local self-government at that time. People used horses,bullock carts and boats for transportation of their farm produce. River Rukni connected with Barak river system in the north served as means of communication for trade and commerce.Till 1955nearest place connecting Bam with Silchar by motor was Kabuganj, a distance of 16km from Bhagabazar.Bus service with rickety buses ,engines ignited by using handles, was introduced in 1955.Harun Rashid Laskar of Bangram  known as Ticket Master used to issue tickets at Bhagabazar.Riyazuddin  Laskar  a senior citizen of Bhagabazar recalls that bus fare from Bhagabazar to Silchar in upper class seats wasone rupee seven annas and one rupee  by lower class seats . The travelling time was about three hours for a distance of 35 km   kucchha and dusty road .Initially only one bus would leave at 7.00 am and  return at 3.00 pm.Premtola  at Silchar was the bus station .Rickshaws made their appearance  in Bam in around 1958.  Telephone-came in 1990 and electricity in1983 .Post office at Dholaibazar served  entire Bam.The post man would come to Bhagabazar on Tuesday and Saturday the two weekly market days and spread in a sheet of cloth all the letters in post cards.The addressee or any of his acquaintance was at liberty to pick up the letters.Now there is a full-fledged post office at Bhagabazar.At present Bam is served by 16 sub post offces -8 under Dholaibazar Post Office and 8 under Bhagabazar Post office. Landline phone was introduced in 1990 but it has gone defunct. Now almost everybody is using Mobile Phone.

     Since 1950 situation has changed beyond recognition. It is now a typical case of village of Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle. Now road network in Bam is quite widespread. The backbone of this web of road network of Bam is provided by four laneSilchar –Aizawl NH No 54arterial road.Entering Bam at Ramprsadpur, south of Dholaibazar,27 km from Silchar ,it runs side by side with River Rukni in the western fringe of Bam and passes through  Sadagram,Dholaibazar, Saptagram, Bhagabazar , Rajghat and takes a detour at Channighat and enters Mizoram at Lailapur forming a semi-circle from Dholaibazar to Lailapur.
     Another State PWD Road runs  through 9.00 km western diameter of this semicircle connecting Dholaibazar-Arjanpur-Gurudayalpur-Joydhanpu FV-Hatalmara-FV-Loknathpur-Joydhanpur-the villages in the foothills of Rengti Hills the Western Boundary of Bam  and joins NH 54 at Lailapur. Many link roads connect NH54 and Dholai Lailapur PWD road .Another  road branches out from NH 54at Channighat and runs towardsouth viaHowaithang,French Nagar,Khulicherra FV,Napithkhal and Napithkhal FV thelast village of BAM towards Mizoram border. This completes the road network of Bam in the western bank of river Rukni.

Road to progress:NH 54 enters Bam at Ranfadhi,Ramprasadpur and  goes to Mizoram

                               

 SPREAD OF MODERN EDUCATION IN BAM: PART -III

Bam Bidyapith High School, Bhagabazar is the junior partner of Bam Nityananda HigherSecondary & Multipurpose School, Dholaibazarin illuminating Bam with modern education. Started as Bhagabazar ME School in 1952, it was elevated to High School with the 1957 batch of Class VI students of the ME School and Astar Ali Laskar of Tundurkandi village,Sonai as single teacher. Mohiuddin Ahmed of Kazidahar, an I.Sc from Cotton College and BA from 1957 batch of G.C. College joined as Head Master in 1958 leaving his service of Cooperative Officer. He was the architect of Bam Bidyapith High School.Shahabuddin Ahmed, the Inspector of School; Cachar guided him in giving shape to this new school. Now a day when Provincialized High Schools are failing to compete with Private High Schools, Bam Bidyapith High School is consistently producing good results recording 91% pass during ten year period from 2007 to 2016 when 942 students appeared in High School Leaving examination and 857 students came out successful. The school recorded 100% pass during five years from 2008 to 2012.This has been possible due to a teachers, students and guardians triangle effect and general interest of Bam people towards modern education.

                                                        BAM BIDYAPITH HIGH SCCHOOL

       The role of Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary &Multipurpose School and Bam Bidyapith High School in shaping the destiny of Bam is immense. These two schools are the ‘Oxford’ and ‘Cambridge’ of Bam; the two universities without which Europe could not have been what it is today. Bam too could not have been what it is today without Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary&Multipurpose School and Bam Bidyapith High School. Education given by these schools over more than half a century has the multiplier effect. Following the footsteps of these two schools other Schools have been set up making secondary education easily accessible to every village student. At present there are  ten other High Schools and one Junior College in Bam which are:Hawaithang HS School, Mujahid Ali High School, Islamabad;Singer Hawar High School,Jamalpur;Dinesh Dev Public High School ,Bidyaratanpur; Radiant Academy (Private English High School) Bhagabazar;Bam Nova Kumar High School,Mahadevpur;B.R.Ambedkar High School ,Channighat;Holy Life High School Bhagabazar;Ideal High School ,Dholai;Mothurapur High School,Jibangram besides M.A.Laskar Jr.College Bhagabazar.Other than local schools the KV Vairengte and Army School Vairengte in Mizoram, just five Km from Bam  are also accessible to students from Bam who want to study in English Medium. However there is no degree college in Bam. After 10+2 level Bam students go to Colleges in Silchar town or Janata college nearer home or MC Das College .Mashad Ali Laskar Junior College, a recognised Junior College with more than 350 students is under consideration for up gradation to Degree College.

                                                      M A Laskar Junior College

Next Section:Roads and Communication of Bam

SPREAD OF MODERN EDUCATION IN BAM-(Part II)

Secondary education took its roots in Bam quite early.Bam Nityananda Multipurpose High School now Higher Secondary School was the first High School of Bam.It started as ME school in 1922 with Manikya Chandra Nath Laskar as founder Head Master (Retd 1960) before its  elevation to High School in 1938. NityaNanda Barman donated Rs.1500.00 (Fifteen hundred)for establishment of the school. The pioneers of the school purchased some land and others also donated land bringing total land to twentfour bighas and school was named after him .Head master Manikhya Chandra Nath, the second graduate of Cachar(as stated by him) was  cast in the model of old world image of a Headmaster. He served the school as Head Master with distinction for thirty eight years,drawing awe and reverence from his students, respect of people and made the Bam Nityananda High School a premier high school of those days producing quality students who would later bring name and fame to school and reputation for Bam

         Some of the alumni of early years of Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School are:RajmoniNath BA(Hons),Joint Registrar in Cooperation Department, Government of Assam ;Bani Kanta Sinha,a Wharton PhD and Professor Emeritus IIM Kolkata; Ramkumar Das,MA,PhD, a London School of Economics alumnus , Principal Cotton College and Economic Adviser, Government of Assam;Hironmoy Nath,MSc,Retd. Professor of Physics,Karimganj College; Muslehuddin Choudhury MA, BT, former Principal Sonai N.G Higher Secondary School.Bimal Sinha,MSc,retd Professor,G.C.College;Professor NaliniSinha of NEHU ;Alauddin Choudhury,Deputy Registrar Gauhati High Court;Saadullah Choudhury, MA,BT,Senior Lecturer, District Institute of Education and Training;Biman Behari Sinha MSc,Australia,Sydney, Consultant World Bank ;Paresh Nath,an alumnus of Glasgow University who served in Civil Aviation Department Govt. of India; Binoy Bhushan Sinha,Professor Mathematics, Russia ;Ganendra Chackrabarty,MA,BT,retiredDeputy Director of Education, Tripura;Mahendra Roy, retired Subject Teacher,BNHS& MP School ; Kula Chandra Singha,retired Commander, Indian Navy and retired Additional Director (MM), ONGC;Nanda Mohan Barman ACS;  Dilip Kumar Purkayastha, retired Joint Director of Health Services, Assam ;Karunamoy Nath Laskar,MA,BT retired Vice Principal,BNHS & MP School ;Jatindranath Laskar,MA, BT,Lecturer, Silchar College of Education ;Digendra Chandra Purkayastha,MA,LLB,founder Head Master, Hawaithang High School and ex MLA ;Sushil Kumar Sinha,MA, B.Ed,Principal Silchar College of Education ;Nikhil Baran Das MA,ACS ;   Pulakeshi Sinha,MA,Ex MLA ;Dinendra Purkayastha,Joint Director,Veterianary Department; Dinesh Chandra Nath,Assistant Director,Veterinary Department ;Jay Prasad Goala, MA,BT Subject Teacher of English, BNHS & MP School;   Kalachand Sinha,Subject Teacher of English,BNHS&MP School,Jagadish Nath Engineer;Dr.Ramendra Choudhury,Senior Medical and Health Officer,Dholai Primary Health Centre;Harendra Barman,former Labour    Commissioner;Banka Behari Singha former Director Sericulture ;Suniti Kumar Barman,District Elementary Education Officer; Dr.Harendra Chandra Biswas,Assistant Director Health and Medicine GOI ;Mukul Ranjan Barman, Assistant Director,AIR-Silchar;         Debjyoti Biswas,M.Tech;        Diptendu Paul, MSc ;Surrya Kumar Singha MSc ;Pallabi Choudhury BE;Saurav Choudhury, BE;Binoy Paul-Engineer;Himadri Nath-Engineer;Roshen Ahmed Barbhuiya-Engneer ;Rabijul Ali Laskar,BA,LLB, Advocate.Other alumni followed their seniors in later years.

Spread of Modern Education in Bam to be continued.

Spread of Modern Education in Bam:Part I Modern school education in Bam made its beginning with establishment of lower primary schools, MV and ME Schools in the early years of Bam Settlement. School education in Bam made its debut in 1895  with establishment of three Lower Primary Schools.During this year No.157 Ramprasadpur Thambal LP School was established under Regional Board of Education with  Radha Charan Raha as founder teacher ,No.168 Mahadebpur LP School was founded under Local Board with Girish Das as founder teacher and No. 169 Debipur LP School was established under Local Board with Suryamoni Das as Founder Teacher.After that there was a considerable time gap in setting up next LP School in Bam.It was in 1920 ,No. 157 Hawaithang LP School was established under Local Board with pioneering effort of Sarpanch Masaraf Ali Laskar and  Kalaraja Choudhury as founder  teacher  .But even as it is certain that Kalaraja Choudhury of Rajghat was a teacher in this School there is a question mark regarding his being founder teacher.Next in 1923  came No.174 Bhagabazar Ilias Ali Laskar LP School with Anfar Ali Laskar as founder teacher and  No.175 Bidyaratanpur LP School .

Three vernacular middle schools served the Bam students after primary level. Channighat MV school was established in 1932(According to some source it was 1930)by Head Pandit Sri Mahaendra Chandra Sikdar,a highly respected teacher of his time. Umatara MV School Dholai was established in1939 after the name of Umatara -mother in law of Hiralal Dutta of respectable Dutta family of Dholaibazar.Jamalpur MV School was established in 1942(according to  other source it was 1929) with Bipin Bihari Das as Head Pandit.

Now there are 85 public LP School,12 ME Schools,4 MV Schools, two ME Madrassa in Bam dispensing the lower and upper primary education. In aggregate there is one public LP School per 1100 population.

T o be continued :

 Sufism:Dargahs and Mukams of Bam:

 Bam has the share of its Dargahs and Sufis. In the early part of last century one Rakhal Nath of Barjatrapur left his home and kith and kin and came to Charkisaha Mukam of Syedpur near Sonabarighat and followed Sufi way of spiritual pursuit and subsequently moved to Rajghat of Bam,made his Bhaitak at the residence of Suruj Ali and continued his Sufi way of spiritual pursuit and came to be known as Agunkhara Baba as he would eat red hot burning char coal as has been narrated t by  a first-hand witness. He died in 1929 and was buried in Islamic tradition. His mazar known as Agunkharar Mukam is situated at Rajghat ,37 km from Silchar on Silchar Aizawl NH 54 and people still visit the Mukam which is now managed by a regional Committee of social  workers of Bam.

Agunkharar Mukam -Bam, Rajghat-37 km from Silchar

  Another Sufi land mark of Bam is Panisagar Mukam in Loknathpur Village three KM from Dholaibazar in the Dolai –Loknathpur-Lailapur PWD Road. Legend has it that Pir Sahib of Panisagar Mukam used to be seen riding a tiger. The Panisagar Mukam is still active.

   Aam Aami Mukkam on the western bank of Rukni river at Bhagabazar was in existence since beginning of the present settlement of Bam though it is not connected with any known Sufi or Darbesh. Its situation at a high hill top and Rukni flowing bracing the rocky and stiff foothill of the Mukam as like Mukam of Longar Shah of Fulertol, gives it an aura of mystery and spiritual fervency.      

Mosques and Idgahs of Bam: In the Islamic world the Mosque is the measure of intellectual, spiritual, cultural and economic progress of the people to which it belongs. Bam with 45055 Muslim populations has more than fifty one mosques including panjegan and Jam-e Masjids and thirteen Idgahs for Id prayers in the open field. The Bhagabazar Jame Masjid considered to be one of the largest mosques in Assam,is virtually the Jam-e Masjid of Bam and in the centre of the religious, cultural and social life of Muslim Bamians-the people living in Bam. Designed by reputed design Engineer Dr.Burhanuddin Barbhuiya, former Principal REC Silchar now NIT Silchar, the reconstructed two storied Bhagabazar Jame Masjid draws appreciation and wonders of visitors for its aesthetically designed interior. The entire amount for reconstruction of the mosque has been generated through donations locally from Bam. Apart from regular prayers Bhagabazar Jam-e Masjid has become a rallying point for Bam Muslim Ummah for causes dear to them. On the day of Id ul Fitre 2016 on July 6 more than 15000 namajis of thirteen Idgahs of Bam after Id namaz joined a rally under the banner of Bhagabazar Jam-e masjid and took out a procession against act of terrorism in the name of Jihad.The distinguishing feature of Bhagabazar Jame Masjid of Bam is its modern library stocked with more than 350 volumes worth Rs.170000.00 (Rs.one lakh seventy thousand).The selection of the titles speaks volumes about liberal outlook of mosque management. Apart

                                                             (Click to enlarge)
                                  A section of interior of  Jame Masjid Bam Bhagabazar

                                                      (Click to enlarge)

                                          Frontal view of Jame Masjid ,Bam Bhagabazar

from normal Islamic theological books a mosque library is expected to have,Bhagabazar Jame Masjid library is well socked with literary works of Rabinranath Tagore,Sarat Chandra Chaterjee,Syed Mujtaba Ali; historical book like History of Saracens,Spirit of Islam,works of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,A.P.J.Abdul Kalam and others.Not stopping here the Mosque library has added Geeta and biographies of Hindu saints.It is open to all. Local Hindu IAS aspirants use the mosque library for IAS preparation.

Practicing Islam after coming to Bam: Consolidation

Islamic history shows that wherever Muslims go , settle and live the first thing they do is , establish a mosque for offering prayers five times a day in congregation   and centers for teaching tenets of Islam. The Bam Muslims did no differently. After coming to Bam from different places of Barak Valley the early Muslim settlers needed mosques for offering prayers and Imams to lead the congregational prayer in the mosques and to teach children the tenets of Islam in Sabahi Maktabs .But there was dearth of qualified persons among the new settlers to act as Imams and teach at Sabahi Maktabs. Munshi Kabir Muhammad Mazumdar of Hawaithang and Maulana Mashad Ali Barbhuiya of Islamabad were   first settlers of Bam   with  formal qualification in Islamic theology. Around 1912 there appeared Pir Khurshed Ali from Karimganj and he started to establish Islamic Institutions with missionary zeal.He established Dar-ul-Foyez the first madrassa in Bam in 1915(estimated) at Saptagram. The Madrassa functioned from Saptagram for two years.  Later in 1917 Maulana Arjad Ali Choudhury and his cousin Maulana Abdul Hamid Choudhury of Rajghat Mufti Ghusti returned from Rampur, UP after obtaining Fazil Degree and devoted themselves in guiding the new settlers and help them lead the life in the way of Islam. At that period there were hardly 2000 Muslim population in Bam and it was difficult to sustain the Dar-ul Foyez Madrassa at Saptagram ensuring continuance of qualified teachers. The Darul Foyez Madrassa was shifted to the sprawling Rajghat residential campus of Maulana Arjad Ali Choudhury in 1918 who also donated one bigha land as wakf to the madrassa. Soon the number of students increased. Subsequently the Madrassa was shifted to Bhagabazar and then finally in mid-thirties to its permanent site at Rajghat(Rangaut).Pir Khurshed Ali had also established Dholaibazar Mosque in 1915.After completing his mission in Bam he left for Makkah , settled and died there. The exact date of his leaving Bam is not certain. In Bam there was in circulation putti written in Syleti Nagri eulogising life of Pir Khurshed Ali and the history of Darul Foyez Madrassa. After 1968 nobody has seen it.

Rajghat Dar-ul-Foyez Madrassa

      Dar-ul-Foyez was the first Madrassa of Bam.The start of early theological education had its effect among Bam Muslims. Darul Foez Madrasa produced many Mullas,Munshis and other alumni who went to become Maulanas from Rampur,Deobond and Banshkandi . Habib Ali Munshi,Munshi ,Enayatullah Choudhury,Abdus Samad Laskar,Maulana Irfan Ali Laskar ,Maulana Ambar Ali Laskar,Rashid Ali (Fesai Mullah),Mashahiad Ali Choudhury,Maulana Hormuz Ali ,Maulana Abdul Bari ,Maulana Arjumand Ali were early alumni of Rajghat Darul Foyez Madrassa . Early Bam also produced many eminent Hafaze-Keram including Hafiz Arifuddin  and Hafiz brothers -Hafiz Abdus Salam Laskar and Abdul Latif Laskar of Bangram who taught at Bhagabazar Hafizia Madrrassa and in their life time produced many Hafaze-Keram..

   Maulana Arjad Ali Choudhury also played a pioneering role in establishing Rajghat Pucca Masjid in 1929 and donated two bighas of land. Besides setting up mosque and madrassa Maulana Arjad Ali Choudhury and Maulana Abdul Hamid Choudhury created an ambience of spiritual pursuit and discourses in Bam during first half of last century under the guidance of their Murshid ,Hajrat Nashakha of Rampur under Naqsbandi-Mazaddadi tradion and both of them attained Khilafat  but passed away in mid-forties of last century at a comparatively young  age closely following each other. Other Muslim Scholars and spiritual leaders of Barak Valley and Rampur used to visit Bam at that time and environment of religious discourses prevailed. After their death their well-wishers started  construction of Mazar at their graves but the project was abandoned after the plinth level work as a result of objection from  descendants  of both.           

 The Islamic education initiated in early Bam settlement helped development of sense of right and wrong through moral and spiritual values among the simple new settlers without much formal education.

    The early initiation of Islamic education gave Bam a tradition of Islamic education. It became a trend and since then many madrassas have been established. Since founding of Rajghat Dar-ul Foyez Madrassa the following Madrassas have been established in Bam and are imparting Islamic education now-Rajghat Pre Sr.Madrassa, Saptagram  Balika Hafizia   Madrassa, Islamabad Pre Senior Madrassa, Dar-ul-Islam Madrassa,Rajghat;Dar-ul-Foyez Hafizia Quariana and Darse Nizamia Madrassa,Bhagabazar; Dar-us-Salam Hafizia and Alia Madrassa, Hawaithang (North);Tafizul Quran Hafizia Madrassa ,Howaithang(West);Hafizia Madrassa,Jamalpur;Madrasatul Banat,Saptagram;Bam Senior Madrassa (Provincialized) Rajnagar, Rajghat ME Madrassa,Hazi Keramat Ali ME Madrassa.These madrassas have produced eminent Islamic scholars  and teachers who are rendering their services in Bam and outside of Bam .At present Bam  boasts of  dozens of maulanas,Fazil,MM,Hafaze-Keram,Mahaddis,Mudarris  .Setting a new trend Shamsuddin Barbhuiya of Hawaithang after completion of graduation from G C College and LLB from Assam University has joined Darul Ulum Debond for pursuing his Fazil Degree in Islamic theology . People of Bam are observing this development with keen interest.

 
NB:Next section -Mosques and Idgahs of Bam

  Traditional Society of Bam: In the beginning of settlement Bam had traditional economy. Farming was the mainstay of the Bam economy .They mainly produced paddy –two crop a year-  Ahu,the summer rice broadcast in middle of March to  April and  harvested in June to July, Sali the major crop ,transplanted  from July to middle of September and harvesting in middle of  November to middle of January  .The farmers were nearly unemployed or under employed during remaining months of the year when they would grow winter vegetables for home consumption and mostly idle away their time . During off season they would also visit relatives ,read Putthis like Ysuf Julekha,Halutunnabi,organise Gatter Gan,perform marriage ceremonies of sons and daughters at comparatively early age, attend waj mehfils,  preparing Chunga-the the traditional winter delicacy, go for fishing ,hunting or ,collecting honey from jungle. Life was simple and easy. The yield in the farm was very low despite land being fertile because of use of traditional variety of seed. The cash crop was minimal. Livestock was negligible. It was not exactly barter economy, but money was minimum in circulation. People got their cash  mainly from sale of surplus of paddy,supari(betel nut),plaintain ,eggs,poultry  fruits and vegetables mostly produced for domestic consumption.Business was unknown to them.Monthly salary of a LP school teacher was Rs.30.00 and price of one  ‘kati’ of rice-present day 2 kg equivalent-was eight anna or present day fifty paisa in early fifties of last century.

NB:Next post:Practicing Islam After Coming to Bam:Consolidation

 Areas where Muslims settled in Bam:

The first flush of Muslim population coming from different parts of Barak Valley initially settled in the west bank of river Rukni flowing South to North. Saptagram, Islamabad, Bangram (Bhagazar), Rajghat and Channighat are the present villages of this early settlement. At the same time others settled in the foothills of Rengti Hills two km West of River Rukni which gave birth to Arjanpur, Luknathpur, Jaidhahnpur, Howaithang  and Lailapur villages from North to South in that order. In course of time the Silchar Aizwal road would pass through this region giving an added advantage to the villages West of Rukni River.It is believed that  as a matter of policy the British Government allotted land to Muslim settlers in western side of Rukni and to Hindu settlers in the Eastern side of river Rukni .This might have been followed in early years but gradualy this policy seems to have been abandoned. In later years Muslims also settled in East bank of Rukni  mostly in Rajnagar GP, Jamalpur GP ,Shewrartol GP, Jibangram GP mainly in Gojalghat, Rajnagar, Khaspur,Narayanpur. ,Jamalpur,Shyamacharanpur Bidyaratanpur ,Khulichara, Bishnupur and other numerous villages.Hindu population also settled in the villages west of Rukni river.

P.S.Next section :Traditional Society of Bam

Early Muslim Settlers of Bam: The origin of majority of present Muslim population of Bam can be traced back to present Hailakandi District and various parts of mainland Cachar district and to some extent to Karimganj district then a part of Sylhet. No one came from present Sylhet of Bangladesh even though it was a part of Assam then. The villages in Hailakandi which has largely contributed to Bam populatin are Bilpar Dhumkar, Boalipar, Nitainagar, Algapur,Syedbond,Bahadurpur, Vichingcha ,Shahabad ,Bhadurpur etc.A large part of Bam popupation are from villages in the neighbourhood of Silchar of Cachar District such as, Bagpur, Kanakpur,  Krishnapur, Neairgram, Beranga,Udharbond, Madhurbond,  Krishnapur, Banskandi,Meherpur,Tikarbosti, Majhirgram,Bhuribail, Ruknipar, Ramnagar etc. Bam witnessed  another major inflow of Muslim population  immediately after  1950.This group of migrants are mostly from Tikarbasti ,Meherpur and villages in the immediate neighbourhood of Silchar town.They sold out their small holdings to town’s people at comparatively higher price and acquired more land in Bam.Silchar town expanded  rapidly ,developing land thus alienated by Muslim villagers.

   The first settlers must have been enterprising and adventurous lot of people in search of fortune and thrill of adventure for the unknown world. The less enterprising and lazy people would not have dared to venture out and walk down twenty to fifty Km through dense jungle infested by wild bests, poisonous reptiles and insects and risk of diseases looming large. The Hailakandi people took the shortcut route cutting through pass popularly known as Ronfarnhi of Rengti Hill which is eastern boundary of Hailakandi district opposite Bam via  Dwarbond , a distance of about 30-35 km. It was less arduous for people from main land Cachar district. They traversed through the jungle plains and no hills. But still it was jungle path.When settlement of Bam was going on in the last decade of nineteenth and early years of twentieth century there was no road from Silchar towards Bam.In 1905 only two PWD roads existed in Cachar district-Badarpur-Silchar-Jirighat road and Silchar-Chatla Hawar-Somairkona-Hailakandi road. Village roads –mainly cart roads maintained by local boards formed the basis of road communication in the then Cachar.There was no carriage except few bullock carts in Cachar.

 P.S :To be continued in the next section “Areas Where Muslims Settled in Bam”

New Settlement of Bam: The Present Era:

After shifting of Tippera capital from Rajghat  to Kailash Sahar in Tripura   back in time not yet determined  the population also dwindled and finally almost disappeared gradually and Bam became jungle again and continued to be so till the annexation of Cachar to British  India in 1832.After annexation British administration started to give  settlement of land  with the sole  objective of  increasing  the Government revenue . As per legend the settlement of land in Bam started after 1885. The exact date is not yet determined. But by 1^st May 1902 nearly 7000 acres had been settled at the rate of fifteen annas an acre and a new Parganah-Davidsonabad was created in 1903.Before new settlement started Bam region was under Inner Line regulation of British introduced in 1875.Nobody could cross this inner line which ran from Dwarbond  to Moinador via Ranfarnhi of Ramprasadpur  without  a pass and go to Bam. As per policy Government allotted one Hal (about 14 bighas) of waste/jungle land to a family. Following the opening up of Bam people from distant places started to migrate to Bam and every year number of families came and settled here cutting and clearing jungles fighting against malaria and other pestilence like cholera and smallpox and wild animals. Initial waves of settlers came and settled with land allotted by British administration. The late comers had to purchase land from early settlers or settle in forest land resulting in to development of many forest villages in the unclassed and reserved forest areas.

”

                                                         (Click to enlarge)
Inner Line passed through Ramprasadpur-27 km South of  Silchar and 3 km North of Dholai .Above is the 27 km post in Silchar Bhaga -Aizwal  NH 54.


RR  CC

                                                     






(Click to enlarge)

Ranfarnhi-the hilly path through Rengti Hills  following Inner Line  starts from present NH 54 (seen in the right of the NH)here at Ramprasadpur and served as path for coming to Bam from Hailakandi.This is the Northern boundary of Bam.



P.S :To be continued in the next section “The Early Settlers of Bam"

 Old History of Bam: 
The present Bam has an old history. Bam finds its mention in the History of Cachar written by Upendra Chandra Guha in 1912 under the title “Cacharer Itibritya”.According to Upendra Chandra Guha, in olden time Rajghat, a village in Bam by the bank of river Rukni thirty seven km south of Silchar was the Capital of Tippera kingdom. Subsequently the capital was shifted to Joypur near Kailash Sahar then to Manik Bhander  and finally to Agartala. Rajdhigi of Islamabad in Bam also finds mention in the book along with capital Rajghat.This Rajdhigi is still in existence and intact. Designed in the likeness of Joysagar of Ahom kings this 14 bigha Rajdhigi belonged to the Tippera Royal family. The vast tank has been converted in to fishery project by Assam Government in 1957.The banks of Rajdhigi are so wide that offices and residential quarters of Fisheries Department have been constructed on the Banks.

Raj Dighi of Tippera kings in Bam

  The reason for shifting the capital from Rajghat to Kailas Sahar and probable period is not known. Lieutenant Fisher, in charge of Cachar Affairs in his report on 29^th July 1831 to David Scott, Agent to the Governor General, North East Frontier stated that the survey team had found the Rukni river banks in Bam “still covered with remains of villages which were formerly well inhabited but have been abandoned within the last fifty years in consequence of oppressions to which the country has been subjected to”. This implies that Bam was inhabited by people up to 1781. It is not yet clear whether the people who lived in Bam up to 1781 were Tippera or any other people after Tippera people left Bam for Agartala via Kailash Sahar. By oppressions he might have meant the frequent Kuki or Lushai incursion which used to take place during that period. Early Bam people used to talk about Kukir Bhagan along with Mogor Bhagan and Jangir Bhagan. By word Bhagan they meant flight of a people to save the life from attack of other forces.

   The origin of the name Bam is shrouded in mystery. No one knows for sure how the region came to be known as Bam and since when. According to one source before partition of India many people from Sylhet came and settled in Hailakandi and Dholai of Hailakandi.Subsequently one section of these people from Dholai came to this southern part of Cachar and settled. As this place is located in the left side of Hailakandi and Dholai it was named as Bam -Dholai.There is some logic in this theory. The people who migrated from Dholai of Hailakandi might have named their new home after their old village. According to another version this place was backward and name Bam was given to signify backwardness. According to another opinion it was the last settlement in the left bank of Barak River and hence called Bam-the Bengali equivalent of left. According to another legend Ranfarnhi a hilly way through Rengti Hills near Ramprasadpur of Bam for going westwards to Hailakandi from Manipur, the region in question falls to the left of Ranfarnhi and hence called Bam. Yet according to another legend Bam came from Dimasa word ‘Bam Dig Dig’. Davidson discovered this place and entrusted Ganesh Barman for survey of the place. After completion of survey he found a beautiful round shaped region and exclaimed ‘Bam Dig Dig’ and the place came to be known as Bam. All these are legend and hypothesis. But there is no recorded history of origin of the name Bam. Till now mention of Bam has not been found in any official record of the Government. The first time the name Bam surfaced in print media was 1912 in Cacharer Itibritya written by Upendra Chandra Guha.The British Government created Parganah covering Bam region  and named it Davidsonabad Parganah after a Britiser- Davidson-most probably a tea planter in Cachar.The mention of Davidsonabad Parganah is found in the Statistical Account of Cachar-1879. In all probability British would have named it Bam Parganah if the name Bam existed at that time as all Parganas in Cachar were named after the places and no Parganah was named after any British personality. It is therefore likely that this region was named Bam in between 1879 and 1912 or earlier than that.B.C.Allen in his Assam District Gazetteers Volume I, Cachar-1905 and Hunter in his Statistical Account of Cachar 1879 mentioned this region either as Southern Cachar or inner line area but not as Bam. It is up to the future researchers to determine the date  and origin of name Bam more precisely.

PS:To be continued in the next section :"New Settlement in Bam". 

Please give your comment and views in comment section.

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People of Bam

PEOPLE OF BAM:


Composition

The total population of Bam as per 2011 census was 97,087 making it 5.59% of Cachar District population. The average population per village is 1115. Bam is the home of 14872 scheduled caste people and 3259 Scheduled Tribe people constituting 15.31% and 3.35% of total Bam population respectively. The remaining  population of Bam is comprised of others including caste Bengalee Hindus , a substantial portion of Hindi speaking people from Northern India. Bam is an anthropologist’s delight. There are Meitai Muslims,Maimal Muslims, Bengali speaking Muslims, Meitai and Bishnupriya Munipuri, ethnic Dimasa known as Barmans, Mizo, Khasi, Scheduled Castes of different shades, Nath community, North Indian, caste Bengali Hindus, mostly indigenous, all coming here from various places with so much diversity but coexisting  without any  schism. Bam is virtually a melting pot of different  communities coming from different part of Barak Valley and outside.

(Click to enlarge)

 A typical middle class home of Bam complete with betel nut ,bamboos and fruit bearing trees,a water tank (Pukuri) with split bamboo fencing  and a private approach road called Jangal

Image of Bam Outside

Bam is perceived differently by different people of mainland Cachar district and others in Barak Valley. It is almost like proverbial seven blind men ‘seeing’ an elephant. Some people refer it as Bam Dholai or Bam Bhaga perhaps suggesting that these two places are in Bam.Dholaibazar and Bhagabazar are only two emerging growth centers in Bam located in Sadagram and Bangram village respectively. Again, to some like  one retired Subject Teacher of Narsing HS School,Silchar Bam is a place somewhere in deep South of Silchar where milk is found in abundance. Yet again to retired Deputy Secretary to the Government of Assam,coming from Katigorah area, Bam is inhabited by rough and tough people. He still remembers that during 1950 riot after partition of the India while there was panic among Cachar Muslims and uncertainty was there the people of his area were hoping that Bam people would resist and that they were fighting on horseback. If Bam people gave away there was no hope. In the perception of a Cachar origin   CA in Guwahati, musclemen and tough people are available in Bam on hire to execute orders of eviction etc. But as a general rule, to the people of mainland Barak Valley the name Bam suffixed with Bouri, another notional region around Swadhin Bazar,east of Sonai and twenty km from Bhagabazar, makes  a phrase ‘Bam-Bouri’and conjures up an image of backwardness ,remoteness, lawlessness  and all that go with it. Bam continues to be an enigma to outsiders. This image of Bam has rightly or wrongly stuck and has not gone away even in this age of communication boom. Google Earth has not helped. Bam continues to be far removed from the psyche of the mainland Cachar as North Eastern Region continues to be far removed from the psyche of mainland India. But Bam people do not complain as Sardarjees no longer complain at Sardarjee jokes. Despite this negative image, Bam continues to draw investors as also brides from outside. Daughters of Minister, Tea Planter, Zamindar, Business Tycoon, Bureaucrats , Doctors and Technocrats  have gone to Bam as brides and lived happily.

P.S.:To be continued in the next section-"OLD HISTORY OF BAM"

Please give your comment and suggestions in the comment section.

Flora and Fauna of Bam

Plants and vegetation in Bam:Photo by Manjur Ahmed Laskar

Early Bam was a biodiversity hotspot. If Government had decided to preserve the area without settling the jungle land for human habitation, Bam would have been a wildlife sanctuary, sans the one horned rhinocerous. Early years of Bam abounded in wild life population. Bam was home to hoolock gibbons, deer, elephant, tigers, monkeys, river dolphins, numerous species of  birds like egrets, cranes, storks, heron, parrot, robin, fish eagle, mountain bamboo partridge, green pigeon, horn bill, woodpecker, bulbul, vultures, magpie robin,  house sparrow, tailor bird, jungle myna, dove, black cormorant and numerous other species.

As late as the middle of the last century, tigers would come to the localities and kill livestock of villagers and occasionally a deer would stray in to the villages. The hoolock gibbons would cry in chorus in the hillocks near human habitations at the twilight. Chirping of numerous varieties of birds would usher in the dawn for Bam inhabitants. Perhaps there was no law for the preservation of wild life. Village hunters would kill the tigers and carry it to the Dholai Police Outpost, and hand over the kill. There might have been a reward for killing tigers and leopards as the Government had a paid reward in 1904 ‘for destruction of 17 tigers and 16 leopard’ in Cachar.  With the growing human population, wild life of Bam has dwindled rapidly, if not vanished

Plants and vegetation in Bam:Photo by Manjur Laskar Ahmed

The enclosed area is a section of Bhuban  Reserved forest in  Bam between Sonai river in the east  and Bhaga Mizoram NEC road in the west .This is the home of major flora and fauna of Bam. 27 forest villages are also located in this section. Beyond Bam in the east  this reserved forest extends 10 km up to  river Barak  which forms the Cacharborder with Manipur.

Bam is rich in plants and vegetation. Betelnut, plaintain and bamboo forms the  greater  trinity  of trees, with which every home called ‘bari’ is decorated with, besides other fruit bearing trees like mango, jack fruit and other citrus fruits and trees.Valuable timber trees like nageasvar, jarul, gomari, sundi, ramdala, cham, rata, kurta, poma, gundroi, tula, kadam, simul are  available in Bam in abundance despite onslaught of human depredation. Besides trees there are numerous species of herbs, medicinal plants and orchids.

Of the total land area of 281.87 sq. km of Bam, as much as 65.91 % area is covered by reserved forest in the Bhuban Hill ranges, and provide a natural home for wild life and forest cover. The vast Bhuban reserved forest of Bam between Rukni river and Sonai river is contiguous with the vast Bhuban forest reserve of about 200 sq. km between Sonai river and Barak River, and together makes up more than 350 sq. km reserved forest, offering an opportunity for declaring it as a wild life sanctuary by the Government.

            

PS:To be continued in next section:People of Bam. Please give your comments and suggestions.

                              


                               NOTICE

SUB: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ALUMNI OF BAM NITYANANDA HIGHER SECONDARY & MULTIPURPOSE SCHOOL (BNHS & MP SCHOOL) DHOLAI IN 

BAM OF CACHAR ,INDIA-PIN:788114.

Section 18 of BAM history will be devoted to write short biographical sketch of some of the important personalities of Bam from all walks of life. The process is on to collect the information from various sources. Apart from other sources attempt is now made to collect information through Bam-history.blogspot.in .In the first phase it is sought to collect the biographical sketch of the following alumni of Bam Nityananda Higher Secondary & Multipurpose School. The esteemed visitors to this Blog are requested to provide biographical sketch (in less than 500 words) of any of the following alumni of BNHS & MP School of early years who had brought laurel to the School and fame to Bam.

     1. Rajmoni Nath ,Joint Registrar in Cooperation Department,Government of Assam 2.Bani Kanta Sinha ,a Wharton PhD and Professor Emeritus IIM Kolkata; 3.Ramkumar Das,MA,PhD, a London School of Economics alumnus , Principal Cotton College and Economic Adviser, Government of Assam; 4.Hironmoy Nath MSc,Retd. Professor of Physics ,Karimganj College 5. Muslehuddin Choudhury MA ,BT, former Principal Sonai N.G Higher Secondary Schoo l6 .Bimal Sinha ,MSc,retd Professor,G.C.College7.Professor Nalini Sinha of NEHU 8.Alauddin Choudhury,Deputy Registrar Gauhati High Court 9.Saadullah Choudhury, MA,BT,Senior Lecturer, District Institute of Education and Training ;10.Biman Behari Sinha MSc,Australia ,Sydney, Consultant World Bank or Director  11.Paresh Nath,an alumnus of Glasgow university who served in Civil Aviation Department Govt. of India; 12.Binoy Bhushan Sinha,Professor Mathematics, Russia .13.Ganendra Chackrabarty,MA,BT,retired Deputy Director of Education ,Tripura14.Mahendra Roy,retired Subject Teacher,BNHS & MP School 15.Kula Chandra Singha ,retired Commander, Indian Navy and retired Additional Director(MM),ONGC 16.Nanda Mohan Barman ACS 17.Dilip Kumar Purkayastha,retired Joint Director of Health Services ,Assam 18.Karunamoy Nath Laskar,MA,BT retired Vice Principal,BNHS & MP School 19.Jatindranath Laskar,MA,BT,Lecturer ,Silchar College of Education 20.Digendra Chandra Purkayastha,MA,LLB,founder Head Master,Howaithang High School and ex MLA 21.Sushil Kumar Sinha, MA, B.Ed, Principal Silchar College of Education 22.Nikhil Baran Das MA,ACS 23.Pulakeshi Sinha, MA,Ex MLA, 24.Dinendra Purkayastha, Joint Director,Veterianary Department; 25.Dinesh Chandra Nath,Assistant Director,Veterianary Department 26.Jay Prasad Goala,MA,BT Subject Teacher of English, BNHS & MP School 27.Kalachand Sinha,Subject Teacher of English,BNHS &MP School,28.Hemendra Nath MA (Double) ? .29.Jagadish Nath Engineer 30.Dr.Ramendra Choudhury ,Senior Medical and Heaith Officer Dholai Primary Health Centre 31.Harendra Barman, former Labour    Commissioner 32.Banka Behari Singha former Director Sericulture 33.Nishikanta Das, ACS/IAS ,Director Census 34.Suniti Kumar Barman, District Elementary Education Officer 35.Dr.Harendra Chandra Biswas, Assistant Director Health and Medicine GOI 36.Mukul Ranjan Barman, Assistant Diector,AIR-Silchar, 37.Debjyotih  Biswas,M.Tec ?38.Diptendu Paul,MSc ?S39.urrya Kumar Singha MSc ? 40.Pallabi Choudhury BE?41.Saurav Choudhury,BE?42.Binoy Paul-Engineer?43.Himadri Nath-Engineer?44.Roshen Ahmed Barbhuiya-Engneer ? 45.Rabijul Ali Laskar,BA,LLB ,Advocate( The designations  given may not be  accurate in some cases and in some cases it is not available which is indicated as ?.)

The biographical sketch with photo may be mailed to jiya0786@yahoo.co.in. If it is not possible to provide the biographical sketch contact details of any one who you think can give information may be given in the comment section of this Blog or mailed. Your support will make the task easier.

Topography of Bam

Bam is basically Rukni Valley bounded by hills in three sides-west, south and east making Bam a treasure –trove of natural beauty. Rukni, a hilly river originating from Mizoram enters Bam at Bishnpur, coordinate 24.442242° N & 92.796534° E, and winds through the plains with gentle drainage gradient, 20 km from south to north through Bam dividing it in two parts horizontally before leaving Bam near Ramprsadpur, to join Sonai River at Sundari Part I in the South East of Kabuganj, after travelling a distance of 6 km from Ramprasadpur.

Rukni river flowing gently after entering Bam from hills of Mizoram:Photo by Manjur Ahmed Laskar (Click to enlarge)

Of the total 281.87 sq. km area of Bam, 185.96 sq. km area is reserved and unclassed forest constituting 65.91 % of total land area of Bam. Only 95 sq. km area of Bam land area representing 34.09% is revenue villages characterised by plains of Rukni valley scattered with small hillocks (tillas) in between presenting astounding beauty. It is generally high land with several rivulets joining Rukni as its tributaries serving as natural drainage. Of the 39 forest villages of Bam 27 are located in 142 sq. km reserved and unclassed forest area bounded by Sonai river in the east, Mizoram in the south and Bhagabazar Saiphai NEC Mizoram road in the west. Other 10 forest villages are scattered in another 27 sq. km reserve and unclassed forest areas in South West border of Bam touching Mizoram in the western bank of Rukni and 2 FVs are in the Rengti Hills. Most   of the revenue villages are lined up on both banks of the river Rukni throughout the valley. section 

Satellite view of Central Bam, east of Rengti Hills

(click to enlarge)

P.S.: To be continued in the next section - "Flora and Fauna of Bam"