GUWAHATI, Dec 19 - The Naoa-Khaoa festival of the Deshi Janagosthi was celebrated on December 16 at Jhagrapar Aqua Park near Dhubri town under the aegis of the Sadou Deshi Janagosthiya Sangsad, Assam. Naoa-Khaoa is a festival celebrated on the occasion of beginning of the consumption of the rice made out of the newly-harvested winter paddy. In other parts of the State, this festival is known as Na-Khowa.
During the celebration, a detailed discussion on the tradition of Naoa-Khaoa of the Deshi Janagosthi was also held at an impromptu meeting held under the presidentship of the Sangsad president AAM Enamul Haque.
Haque regretted that in the face of pressure from the migrant Muslims, the Deshi people who are autochthonous Muslims, are now going to throw their rich cultural heritage to oblivion.
Naoa-Khaoa festival keeps the cultural link of the Deshi Janagosthiya people with the other indigenous people of the State alive, he said, and suggested that there should be a separate census for the people of this ethnic group and they should be granted the status of other backward classes (OBC).
Abdulla Khandakar, a scholar who is conducting research on the Deshi Janagosthiya people, said in his address that though the people of this ethnic group have embraced Islam as their religion several centuries back, they have not accepted the Arabic culture completely at the cost of their original culture. They have been trying to keep alive their unique identity.
The function was also addressed by former assistant secretary of All Assam Students� Union (AASU) Rahul Das, Dr Akabbar Ali Ahmed, Gadadhar Kabi Chakra secretary Arhid Khan Peris, among others.
All the speakers underlined the need to conduct serious academic research on the Deshi Janagosthiya people and their culture.
Office-bearers of the Gariya-Mariya Jatiya Parishad Dhuhri and Bilasipara District Committee and the Deshi Yuva Parishad also took part in the function and other activities of the festival as well.