Linguistic Influence of Persian in Assamese Language and Literature

Syed Atiquar Rahman

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2021.v03i02.86116

Linguistic Influence of Persian in Assamese Language and Literature

Author(s)	Syed Atiquar Rahman
Country	India
Abstract	The advent of Persian in Assam is the result of Muslim invasions, Mughal military campaigns, and diplomatic as well as administrative exchanges between the Ahom Kingdom and the Islamic rulers of India. Consequently, Ahom rulers of Assam were benefited a lot from their contact with the Mughals, particularly in advancing their military knowledge and their methods of administration to Indian standards. That is why Mughal administrative and military terminology became an integral part of the Assamese language. As such, a large number of Perso-Arabic words got mixed in with the Assamese language. Apart from this, some Sufi saints coming from Persian and Arabian countries settled in Assam. They built Khanqah and Dargah for providing Persian education and Islamic teaching. In the 13th century, Hem Saraswati, court poet of King Durlabh Narayan of the Kamata Kingdom, first used a Persian word like "Nafar" (meaning servant) in his poetic composition "Prahlada Charita", which appeared to have been the starting point of the flow of Persian and Arabic words to the Assamese language and literature. During the time of Ahom rule, especially in the time of Srimanta Sankar Deva (1449-1568 A.D.), Perso-Arabic words were frequently used in the Assamese language, viz. Farman (Persian), Haram Khor (Arabic + Persian), Baqi (Arabic). Even the people following the Vaishnavite faith also began to use Perso-Arabic words in their day-to-day conversations. These words penetrated into the Assamese language. In the middle of the 17th century, Ajan Fakir, the most renowned Muslim saint, entered the Ahom Kingdom. He composed a large number of devotional. Songs like Zikir and Zari in the Assamese language containing a lot of Perso-Arabic words like Musalman (Persian), Farman (Persian), Asman (Persian), Aji (Arabic), Kalima (Arabic), etc. Accordingly, the conquest of the Mughals resulted in a rapid development. Assam came into contact with the rest of the country. Then the cultural renaissance started in all spheres of life. Soon the influence of Persian became deeper and eventually Perso-Arabic words mixed with the Assamese thought, and a huge number of Perso-Arabic vocabularies entered into the Assamese language.
Keywords	Invasion, administration, development, conquest, influence.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 3, Issue 2, March-April 2021
Published On	2021-03-04
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2021.v03i02.86116

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Linguistic Influence of Persian in Assamese Language and Literature

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