It’s a whodunit that has haunted Assam’s literary circles for shut to 5 a long time. In April 1974, one of many state’s tallest poets, Nilamani Phukan, was accused of plagiarism. For the subsequent few months, the Jnanpith Award winner went round proving his innocence, rebutting the letter that had accused him of the literary felony. He was profitable for probably the most half, however refused to expose one remaining element: who had set him up.
On January 19 this 12 months, the 89-year-old Phukan died of age-related problems in Guwahati. Days after his dying, his as soon as protégé is ready to disclose the contents of a sealed letter that Phukan authored, a letter allegedly with names of those that betrayed him, a letter that he requested to be solely opened after his dying.
“That is seemingly among the many longest stored secrets and techniques of latest Indian literature,” mentioned Manoj Kumar Goswami, editor-in-chief of Aamar Asom, an Assamese each day. “Everyone seems to be now ready with baited breath on what the contents of the envelope will reveal.”
Beginnings of a scandal
In April 1974, an Assamese journal referred to as Aamar Pratinidhi, which had eminent Assamese singer, composer, songwriter and filmmaker Bhupen Hazarika as editor, carried a letter written by somebody named Mridupaban Barua. The letter alleged that Phukan’s poem Tuponitu teu muk khedi phurisil (he haunted me even after I was asleep) was only a translation into Assamese of an previous Spanish poem referred to as Nightmare.
The letter mentioned the poem was written by Leon Felipe Camino in 1834. In assist of those claims, the letter author submitted a duplicate of an English journal referred to as Echo, ostensibly introduced out from Kochi and revealed at a press in Vijaywada. The letter mentioned that in 1961, Echo had carried an article referred to as “A Galaxy of Worldwide Poets,” which contained the poem Nightmare written by Camino. Barua accused Phukan of merely copying the Spanish poem from the journal.
By this time, Phukan was 41 years previous and already a longtime identify in Assam’s literary circles.
“Phukan’s contribution to Assamese poetry is immense. He was a delicate man who delved deep into tradition, and his use of images was excellent. Every of his poems was akin to a portray,” mentioned Arcchana Puzari, a poet and retired professor of Assamese at Arya Vidyapeeth Faculty, Guwahati.
The letter precipitated a storm.
There have been those that backed the allegations and raised questions on Phukan’s integrity. Others dismissed the accusations and referred to as Barua a pretend, an assumed identification, created solely to smear Phukan’s picture. “Within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, Phukan’s poems had created fairly a stir and took Assamese poetry to higher heights. Some folks acquired jealous of this and conspired to tarnish his picture. That’s how the conspiracy began,” mentioned Goswami, who received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2022 for his e book Bhool Satya.
Efforts to counter the allegations
A distraught Phukan started an investigation into the allegations, determined to clear his identify. In September 1974, he revealed a chunk in Dainik Asom, an Assamese each day, the place he wrote extensively on the cracks that had appeared within the accusations.
There was no journal referred to as Echo that was revealed from Kochi and there was no press referred to as Raghavan in Vijaywada, the place the journal was mentioned to be printed, Phukan mentioned. Though there was an anti-fascist Spanish poet referred to as León Felipe Camino Galicia, he had not authored a poem referred to as Nightmare, he discovered.
“Phukan collected these particulars from JM Cohen, the editor of the Penguin Guide of Spanish Verse, and different consultants, together with from the Spanish language division of Jawaharlal Nehru College and embassies of Spain and Mexico in New Delhi,” mentioned Nitya Borah, a journalist and an creator.
“Amongst those that helped Phukan was the famed police officer KPS Gill, who was superintendent of police in Kamrup in 1974,” Borah mentioned.
“Gill helped Phukan collect particulars about Echo, the publishers and printers, or their non-existence, from his police colleagues in Kerala.”
The investigation additionally revealed that Echo was more likely to have been printed in Assam a number of years previous to the letter showing in Aamar Pratinidhi.
“The particular person, or group of individuals, went to nice lengths to lend credence to their allegations. However they weren’t profitable,” mentioned Goswami.
However, the one factor that Phukan didn’t disclose in his article was the names of the individuals who wrongfully accused him.
The sealed envelope
In 2004, Borah wrote a chunk in regards to the controversy in one other Assamese each day referred to as Asomiya Pratidin. An admirer and former scholar of Phukan, Borah was related to Aamar Pratinidhi.
“Quickly after the article appeared, I acquired a letter and a sealed envelope from Phukan. The letter mentioned that the envelope carried the names of the particular person, or folks, who made the false allegations. There have been clear directions to not open it until his dying,” Borah mentioned.
Phukan’s household and shut buddies confirmed that they have been conscious of such a letter.
With Phukan passing away on January 19, Borah mentioned he would open the sealed envelope on January 24 in entrance of a choose group of journalists and put an finish to a saga that had captured imaginations in Assam, and had tried to sully the identify of the state’s third ever particular person to win the literary Jnanpith Award in 2021.
Borah, nonetheless, has postponed the massive reveal for a couple of days. “I’ve acquired a letter from Phukan’s household requesting me to not open the envelope until the shradh ceremony was accomplished. The rituals might be over on January 31 and I’ll open the sealed envelope two or three days after that,” Borah mentioned.
The contents of the letter an entire thriller, Assam now waits with bated breath.
“It may very well be that Phukan hasn’t taken any names. However going by the state of his thoughts throughout the Nineteen Seventies, he might have chosen to reveal them,” Goswami mentioned. “We’ll solely discover out when the envelope is opened.”