GUWAHATI, Nov 24 - Researcher Rajib Hari Kaushik, who had conducted a seven-year-long research on the origin of the melody of the State anthem of Assam, �O Mor Aponar Desh� between 2007 and 2014, has alleged that the notation prepared on the basis of his findings has now been plagiarised and a certain person has been named as the composer of the tune prepared on the basis of that notation.
Kaushik had found that the tune of the anthem originated from a German boatmen�s song, which travelled to Assam through the Scout and Guides soir�es between 1921 and 1930, and groups of musicians of the State were involved in giving it its present shape.
Kaushik, in a letter to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, said that he was made a member of the committee, which was formed by the State government to remove all the differences of opinion on the song and its tune. The committee authorised the Asam Sahitya Sabha to prepare a correct notation of the song and to determine its composer. The Sahitya Sabha prepared a notation and arrived at the decision that the tune of the song was developed through collective efforts basing on a German boatmen�s song, as per the findings of Kaushik. It also made the song sung on the basis of the notation and the Sabha prepared a CD of the song on its own to preserve its well-accepted correct tune.
These decisions of the Sahitya Sabha were sent to the government committee. By this time, noted publisher Surya Hazarika prepared a CD of the song under the same musician, who earlier led the chorus team of the Sahitya Sabha, to sing the song basing on the notation prepared in accordance with the findings of Kaushik. Most surprisingly, the composer of the melody of the song was named by Hazarika as Kamala Prasad Agarwalla, contrary to the well-accepted findings of Kaushik.
Kaushik, who has been complaining before the government committee of a conspiracy to steal his research findings and then to use them for some vested interests, lodged a protest against the �immoral act� at the meeting of the government committee held on October 1, 2015.
But to his utter surprise, the minutes of that meeting recently retrieved by Kaushik have revealed that the song prepared by Surya Hazarika �on behalf of the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Samaj� has been recommended by the committee to the State Cabinet for its approval.
Significantly, Kaushik said in his letter to the Chief Minister, Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra was not authorised by the government committee to prepare a CD on the song or to determine who the composer of the song�s tune was.
This is nothing but an insult to Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, the lyricist of the song, the Assamese people and to the entire humanity, said Kaushik and prayed for the intervention of Chief Minister Gogoi to set things right at the earliest.
