Assam’s Sattras

Why in news?

Assam’s Sattras is gaining more attention due the upcoming state’s assembly elections.

What are Sattras/Thans?

They are monastic institutions created as part of the 16th century Neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement started by Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1596).
Each Sattra has a naamghar (worship hall) as its nucleus and headed by an influential Sattradhikar.
Monks also known as bhakats are inducted into Sattras at a young age.
They may or may not be celibate which depends on the kind of Sattra they are inducted into.
Now there are about 900 Sattras spread across Assam but the main centres are Bordowa (Nagaon), Majuli and Barpeta.
They promulgate Sankardeva’s unique worship through art approach with music (borgeet), dance (xattriya) and theatre (bhauna).
These sattras are of paramount importance for Assam people and lies at the heart of Assamese culture.

What is Sankardeva’s philosophy?

He propagated a form of Bhakti called eka-sharana-naam-dhrama, and embraced a society based on equality, fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifices.
His teaching focused on prayers and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship.
His dharma was based on the four components of deva (god), naam (prayers), bhakats (devotees), and guru (teacher).
These sattras acted as the centres of religious, social and cultural reforms for his movement in the 16th century.
But after the demise of Sankardeva, due to ideological differences among his disciples, Sattras got divided into four independent sectarian divisions.
Hence the institution deviated from its basic goal and lost its original reformative thrust.

What is the relationship between the Sattra and the State?

During the Ahom reign, Sattras received lots of donations in the form of land or money from the kings but they were kept out of political control.
Unlike temples, Sattras did not require state patronage because they were self-sufficient, grew their own food and could sustain themselves.
But now both the state and central government give annual grants to sattras in the hope for political support.

How has the Sattra emerged as a poll plank in recent years?

Over the years, there have been claims that Sattra lands are encroached by illegal settlers in surrounding areas.
In 2016 state assembly election and in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, Sattras and its encroachment became a focus area for political campaign.
In 2019, a bill was introduced in the assembly that empowers the state to remove encroachments from the land belonging to Sattras.
In August 2020, as part of Assam Darshan scheme 2.5 lakh was provided to each 8,000 Naamghars.

However the encroachment of Sattras is a politicised issue as the nature of settling is more economic than religious.
Encroachment is done mostly by the people who are displaced by floods or spurred by other economic factors.

Source: The Indian Express