Guwahati, Mar 8: The contributions of Assam's Hindi-speaking people in strengthening their language and developing their adopted home needs to be documented, former director general of Assam Police G M Srivastava has said.
He lauded the efforts of poet-writer Soumitram, whose book 'Assam Mein Hindi Ke Vikas Mein Hindi Bhashiyon Ka Yogdan' (Contributions of Hindi-speakers in development of Hindi in Assam) was released by the former top cop at a programme here on Monday.
Srivastava, who will be completing 50 years in Assam since his posting as a young IPS officer in 1973, said, "There is a large Hindi-speaking population who have made Assam their home. They have assimilated into the society and also contributed to the development of their mother language."
"There was a need to document their contributions and I am glad that this book has done that," he added.
Soumitram said that the book is a result of the search for identity that Hindi-speakers have in different parts of the country.
"Even if someone from Bihar has settled in Assam for generations, he is called a 'Bihari'. And when he goes to Bihar, there he is called an 'Assamese'," he said.
"There is a constant struggle for identity. My attempt is to document the contributions of the people who have helped the community etch its identity," Soumitram added.
