One Hundred Years Of... Vicissitude

New histories, social work and indigenous faith revivalism have been the three pillars of the RSS' approach in Northeast India, where 'national integration' and Hinduisation are their top agenda

- Snigdhendu Bhattacharya

THE Dimasa Kachharis of Northeast India are descendants of Ghatotkach, asserts Gouranga Roy, calm and confident.

Ghatotkach, he explains, was the son of demoness Hidimba and Bhim, the burly Pandava sibling in the Mahabharata. When asked where the story comes from, he replies without hesitation, “It’s all in the Mahabharata. Bhim and Arjun both have northeastern connections.”

Roy is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) prant pracharak for Dakshin Assam, effectively the senior-most functionary of the organisation’s South Assam unit. His area of work spans the tribal district of Dima Hasao in central Assam, the three districts of the Barak Valley in lower Assam and neighbouring Mizoram.

The Dimasa Kachharis, a tribal community of Sino-Tibetan origin, live largely in Dima Hasao, with smaller populations spread out in Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Cachar. Believed to be among the earliest settlers of the Brahmaputra valley in upper Assam, they moved southwards following Ahom attacks in the 13th century. The community’s migration trails from Dimapur in present-day Nagaland (13th-16th century) to Maibang in Dima Hasao (16th-18th century) and later to Khaspur near Silchar in the Barak Valley (18th-19th century).

During their rule from Dimapur, the royal family came under Hindu influence and several kings issued coins with images of, or in the name of, Hara-Gouri. It was around this time that the Dimasa dynasty began claiming Hidimba lineage and called their kingdom Hirimbapur or Heramba.

This is largely a local legend and a contestable one. According to northern Indian mythology, the native land of Hidimba and Ghatotkach lies in Manali, where the Devi Hidimba temple draws a large number of pilgrims.

But in the RSS ecosystem, the boundaries between history, myth and legend are often blurred.