Axom Sachibalaya- Shillongor Pora Dispuroloi – A colossal work on glorious past and vibrant present of the Assam Secretariat

Axom Sachibalaya- Shillongor Pora Dispuroloi is a meaningful work by someone who is very passionate about his own state, its people and its administrative machinery- the sole force that primarily has led the state while also evolving itself through many ups and downs. Workplace is always a revered abode for all working persons. A workplace may even attain the supreme veneration when it happens to be the centre of a state’s all administrative action. Mr. Razib Ahmed, former Under Secretary of the Assam Secretariat, is a familiar name in Assamese readers. Lately Mr. Ahmed has authored this comprehensive document that speaks of the glorious past and vibrant present of the Assam Secretariat, marking the rough and smooth roads it has passed through to fit itself in to the current framework.

Each page of the book is valuable in the sense that each contains useful information including the list of Assam premiers: Governors as well as Chief Ministers starting from the period of Colonial Government till 2021, implementation of President’s Rule in the state on four different occasions, election times etc. Copies of important notifications and orders are annexed which may serve as valuable references to the readers. Names of the departments encompassed within the secretariat also find places in a list that has stretched out to cover the latest. Having been administered by ten British Imperial Civil Service (ICS) officers as Chief Secretaries, the state came to be ruled by Indian ICS officers in 1948. Similarly, the British Governors were replaced by our very own Indian luminaries. The natures of working under supervision of different officers which simultaneously contributed to the growth of the secretariat are positive feature of the book to be cherished.

Since the book is all based on records and information and bears an extensive coverage from pre-British era till today, Mr. Ahmed had to work hard while accessing and accumulating data from various sources. He describes about the bitter-sweet responses he was received with by the staff while visiting the secretariat for this purpose, where he himself had been an officer few days back. At the same time the author also hints the readers to stay away from undue benefits, especially money which can even ruin lives at times. Through various mentions he describes how the faults made by some power greedy people helped the British to capture Assam from our own kings in the past.

It is well known that Shillong for its favourable climate and natural beauty was a chosen place of the British rulers of erstwhile Assam. Therefore, although they had initially decided to establish the capital in Guwahati owing to its various beneficial advantages, e.g., uninterrupted transportation through the river Brahmaputra, later they established it in Shillong on March 23, 1874, and set up the secretariat there in 1905. Shillong continued to remain the capital of the state of Assam even after the British had left India. Only in the year 1972, the Assam state capital was transferred from Shillong to Dispur of present Assam as Meghalaya had to set up its own capital in Shillong after it became a full-fledged state. This was soon followed by the shifting of the Assam Secretariat to Dispur. However, this administrative and governance consequence also brought with it some touching moments. The bonding built up among the people belonging to both the states while working together as colleagues in the Assam Secretariat situated in Shillong thus faced a sudden split. This emotional story of separation has been well narrated by the author without missing to talk also about the associated satisfaction of the people over the proposed gains on both sides.

Priced at rupees 250 and published by Sampriti Prakashan, Guwahati, this book is certainly a mirror for Assam as it generously describes the history of the powerhouse of a state that is integral to the great nation India which crafts its futuristic vision grounding upon its versatile past.

Chitralekha Baruah

(Chitralekha Baruah is a freelance-journalist and writer. She can be reached at-- [email protected])