Page:Growth of Asamiya Language.pdf/14

4 THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE ASAMIYA LANGUAGE been accepted by Grierson in a slightly modified form. The ingenious hypothesis of Hoernelle was supported by Sir Tierbert Risley, the an- thropological expert, with the linguistic expert, Grierson, of the Census of 1901 According to the ingenious theory postulated and supported, the earlier wave of immigrants was of the pre-Vedic Aryans who spread themselves over the greater part of western and northern India and the later ware was that of the Vedie Aryans who "probably came across the northern frontier, and entering the Punjab like a wedge thrust the the early comers outwards in three directions. The Ingunge of the dlater band represents the speech of the earlier immigrants and the language of the Midland the speech of the later immigrants... There was no room for expansion to the west, but to the south it flowed over the Maratha country and to the east inlo Orissi, into Bengal and last of all, into Assam." (Grierson Encyclopaedia Britanica, Vol. XIV, p. 488) In appreciating the ingenuity of this hypothesis we must be warn- ed that it might not be literally applicable in practice. For instance, in taking this speculation of a theory Grierson had in his view only the present geographical position of Bengal and Asam, and seems to have been totally forgetful not only of the historical and cultural, lin- suistic and social spects involved, but even of geological aspects. On this aspect we find below the correct perspective as laid down by a modern Bengali scholar: "Bengal is the youngest part of India and as islands emerged from the primeval sea, slowly linking themselves together to the main land, they drew colonists from all points of compass, from Tibet and Nepal from Burma and Assam, from Chota-Nagpur and Gondawana and from Aryavarta sell...Her mixed origins and extra continental contacts put Bengal beyond to pale of Vedie civilisation. She played no conspicuous part in the legendary warfare of the Mahabharata. In recorded history her first appearances as a Buddhist country visited by Chinese pil- Pal of Gaur (in Malda district) marched with victorious armies across northern India and thereby made the presence of Bengal felt". (Bengali Literature, PEN, Bombay, pp. 3-4). Against this "antiquity of Bengal, we have: "The pre-historic king. dom of Prayolis which extended from modern Jalpaiguri to the back- woods of Assam, was one of the earliest Aryan colonies in this country". (Dr. D. C. Sen, History of Bengali Language and Literature, p. 1). So Bengal has little to produce of traces of languages of the outer band far less to claim any priority to Asam where the pre-Vedie Aryans are wrongly alleged to have entered "last of all"