Losing ethnic identity is an inescapable phenomenon in human civilization. Many ethnic heritage of communities and tribes, especially the intangible cultural heritages, have been lost. They change with time, becoming something else they were never before. Communities assimilate with the local culture of the places they migrate into, losing their identities bringing in perfect cases of cultural iconoclasm. Communities forget their mother tongue, abandon their world view, spiritual philosophies and embrace the identities of another community. The Mech Tribe is a classic example of such a transition. This transition has left only the Surnames called “Mech ‘’ and “Meche ‘’ as the only common identity of this ancient and humongous group of people with a rich history. Or perhaps, the richest history among all communities of North East India.

To know the origin of a community we need to understand and realize a basic fact that no major community has ever migrated from outside to the land called Bharat in ancient times. This is particularly true in the case of the segment of land starting from East India to that of Laos, Vietnam and the whole of zomia land. The Ahoms have only crossed the Patkai range from ancient Myanmar to the Brahmaputra Valley. They are not aliens, neither the Hajongs nor the Chakmas. Therefore, we must firmly believe that all indigenous tribes and communities of North East India and that of areas adjacent to it are soil sons. They have been living here since the beginning of human civilization. The theory of migration is itself an alien concept imposed by the West. It is necessary to realize this fact to bring clarity in the understanding of the roots and history of aboriginal tribes and communities.

Now we clearly deny the claim that Mech or the Kacharies or the Bodos migrated from some other lands and settled in the Brahmaputra valley. They never migrated from anywhere. They are the soil sons of this land. They are the identity of this land. Leaving aside the theory of migration, there are three distinct aspects that can explain the origin of the Mech community. First, the earliest prehistoric kings and rulers of North East India. Second, the medieval history of Assam, And third, the modern history of India, especially the cultural renaissance period of India.

We must understand the meaning of the Sanskrit word “Mlechchha” when we discuss the ancient rulers of North East India, or Kamarupa. Mlechchha means someone who does not follow the Vedic culture. It means they are alien to the society that follows the Vedic culture. The Rakshasha, the Danavas and Asuras are therefore all regarded as Mlechchhas in Vedic culture. There are many references in the Rig Veda that indicate destruction of Rakshasas, Danavas and Asuras who were always associated with violence and barbarism. As far as the meaning of Mlechchha is concerned, the rulers of ancient Kamarupa come within its broad definition because they are referred to as Danavas and Asuras.

The early history of Pragjyotishpur or Kamarupa starts with the Danava dynasty. It is difficult to find an exact time period of its existence due to lack of literature and records. However, a rough estimate indicates that the Danava clan might have ruled much before the time of Shree Krishna, that is the Treta yuga. This dynasty was established by Mahiranga Danava as per the Kalika Purana. His actual name was Moirang or Mairong. A hill in Satmile on Guwahati-Shillong road is still named Moirang Parvat. In Kalika Purana, which is written in Sanskrit, the word Moirang was transformed to Mahiranga, being referred to as a Danava King of Kirat origin. Kirata is the Vedic word for the people living in hills and mountains with brute strength and strong physical features. The last of the Danava kings was Ghatakasura.

Ghatakasura was killed by Narakasura (Narak Asur), ending the Danava dynasty and establishing the Narak Dynasty. Narak became the progenitor of all the dynasties that followed. The Bhuma, the Varman, the Mlechcchas and the Pala dynasties gave way to clans of medieval Assam like the Mech, Kacharis and the Koches in the flow of time. The origin of the word Mech is Mlechccha, and hence the tribe. Therefore in Vedic terms, the Mech or Meche people are the descendants of the Mlechchhas, that is the Danavas and the Asuras, like all other aboriginal tribes and communities of NorthEast India. A section of Koch people even transformed themselves to Rajbongshis as Kashtriyas to escape the moniker of Mlechchhas, as in later times the term came up as a tool of social discrimination.

Medieval Assam: Transformation of the Mech- Islamization and Ahomization

The medieval history of Assam begins roughly with the Islamic and the Ahom invasion in the 13th century. The influence and stature of the Meches in ancient Assam before the advent of Ahoms, the Kacharis, the Koch and others can be realized from a person that changed the historic course of this large and dominant clan. This person is known today as Ali Mech, the first muslim convert of the land. Obviously his name was not Ali, it might have been given to him after his conversion to Islam, but his clan and Surname was Mech. He is known as the chief of the tribe living in the foothills of Kamrupa. He accompanied Bhaktiyar Khilji in this invasion of Tibet in 1206 AD. He converted to Islam becoming the first Muslim of Kamrupa even before the Ahoms invaded Assam.

As Ali Mech was the chief of the clan, his conversion led to a mass conversion of the people of medieval Assam into Islam. It is clear that the aboriginal muslims of Assam were originally Mech. It is also evident that in the beginning of medieval history in the 13th century the people living in Assam were all known as Mech. The advent of monikers such as Boro and Koch was, in fact, hundreds of years after the 12th century. It would be not incorrect to understand that Mech is central to all communities of modern Assam, including the Kacharis, the Ahoms as well as the Muslims. The Mech transformed to become the Muslims first.

Sukapha, the first of Ahom, arrived in Assam in 1228 from a region across the Patkai range called Mong Mao. In this period the only two known kingdoms were present. The Kacharis, the Western side of Kamarupa and the Chutiyas, in the eastern side. Mech were the predominant Kacharis. The origin of the term Kachari is ambiguous. It might have roots in the Sanskrit word Kirat. Also, the Kochari word might have also come from the word Koch, as the earliest reference of both Koch as Kovachas and Mlechchhas are found in the Kalika Puran. Mech were the inhabitants of the area within the Kachari kingdom starting from North Bengal, Koch Bihar to the present-day districts of west Assam. Even today, the Mech population is scattered from the banks of the Meche river of East Nepal, North Bengal, Koch Bihar and all over Assam.

The Ahoms began a massive assimilation of the people of medieval Kamarupa through their administrative mechanisms. This assimilation known as Ahomisation lead to the conversion of the Mech to Ahoms. The famous Paik system of Ahom was a major instrument of this process of Ahomisation where the indigenous population of Mech, Kochari and Koch communities were given surnames like Bhuyan, Phukon, Bora, Saikia, Hazarika and so on. In modern times, the people with such surnames are considered to be either Koch or Mech or even Kocharis. The Koch kingdom was established by Biswa Singha in 1515, he was the son of Haria Mandal, who was again a Mech chieftain.

The Mech community underwent massive transformation in medieval history. The islamization starting with Ali mech, Ahomization, the Bhakti movement of Srimanta Sankar Dev as well as the rise of Koch kingdom incurred strong cultural transformation within the Mech community during a course of 800 years. Following such transformation the community lost its culture along with language, spiritual philosophy and traditional lifestyle. The Mech are the only people who underwent the largest transformation in the history of Assam, losing both its identity and population in the process of assimilation.

Losing the Direction: Social Change within Mech Community

During the colonial period several fundamental changes occurred in the society as a whole. The concepts of Scheduled Tribes, Castes and creed, language primarily arose as the offshoot of the divide and rule policy of the British. It was primarily in this period when disambiguation of the Vedic or Indian concepts became rampant. The abroginal culture, tradition, lifestyle and faith began to be looked down upon. The words like Mlechccha became synonymous to the lowly and the outcast. Gradually the traditional practice of worship began to be looked down upon by the neo Indians who were educated in English.

During this period, a British named Brain Houghton Hodgson coined the term Bodo in 1857. He assimilated the Mech, the Rabhas, the Dimasas, and the Koch under the common identity of Bodo. With the advent of this new term, the identity of Mech became obscured further. Mech became more of Mech-Kachari and Bodo rather than being Mech. The large idea of a greater Mech clan was lost in the new definitions of Bodo and Tribes of Assam. The road of the Mech community towards oblivion in this period was gradual and slow.

The last blow in the history of Mech during British rule came with the cultural renaissance. It was the religious transformation started by Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma that brought the ultimate deviation of the Mech people from their own tradition and identity. He was originally Kalicharan Mech, a social reformer who propagated Brahmoism or Adi Brahma Dharma among the Mech Kacharis or the modern Bodos. He attained diksha in the Brahma Dharma that originated during the cultural renaissance period in Bengal. It was a social revolution that went against the traditional practice of the Mech called Bathousim, the worship of the Sijou Plant as representative of the Father (Apha, in traditional language) of the creation.

The Mech people began to follow Brahmo Dharma, abandoning their religious practice. They formed a new clan within the community who are practicing Yajya while abandoning the worship of the traditional Sijou Plant. They changed their surnames to Brahma, delivering a permanent blow to their aboriginal and ancient identity. This changed identity helped them to escape the social discrimination that prevailed during that time. The Mech community was primarily targeted for being lowly and outcast as they bear the close resemblance to the Mlechchhas. It was the time when the Mech tried to hide their identities as Mech. The emergence of Brahmo Dharma that let them change their Surnames came out as a source of solace for the community.

Towards Oblivion: Present Day and Politics

At present, the Mech Community has shrunken down to strictly the surname of Mech like most of the tribal communities in Assam. The prevalent ambiguity of the origin of the community blended with the political division within the greater Kachari and Bodo community has become the perfect recipe for further destruction of its true identity. Now, most of the people with Surnames Mech have lost their language in the process of cultural assimilation. The Mech or Meche of East Nepal speaks Nepali, the Mech of North Bengal speaks Bengali, while most of the Mech of Assam speaks Assamese. Meanwhile, The Mech that could have still practiced the language in the districts of lower Assam has transformed into Brahmas, being no longer Mech. Only the Sijou worship is common among all Meches scattered in this vast area, leaving aside the Brahmas.

The latest policy of Assam to provide Autonomous Council and Developmental Council could be the last nail in the coffin of Mech Identity. As the Mech has acquired a Development Council under the Assam government, a section within the leadership, who seems to be serious about the community, are busy planning to change the history and the language of the Mech. They are reluctant to consider the language spoken by the Bodo people to be the original language of Mech. Sadly, new cultural traits are being invented to prove that Mech are a completely separate community from the Bodos. New Traditional dresses are being invented, new traditional homes are being designed and even a quest for a new and separate language is also being tried on. Sadly, such endeavors will only take the identity of the community to new depths of oblivion.

We, the Mech, must know and realize our rich history. We must seriously practice the beautiful art of being proud of who we are. The Mech must understand the circumstances that led to the present state and start contributing towards a sustainable harmony, politically, socially and culturally. Education and Economy must be the priority of our community. If we take care of these two, we will successfully overcome the waves of cultural iconoclasm and political warfare.