GUWAHATI: The Assam Government's decision to change the name of the State to Asom will take effect only after Parliament passes an amendment to the Constitution in this regard.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Tuesday that the State Government would be required to send a proposal to the Centre for passing legislation in Parliament and only then could the required notification for giving effect to the new name be issued. He said the recommendation would be sent in due course.

What statute says

Article 3 of the Constitution states that Parliament may by law alter the name of any State "provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired."

According to some scholars, the word Asom means unequalled or uneven. In ancient times, Assam was known as Pragjyotishpura and as Kamarupa in early medieval times. Some scholars attribute the origin of the word to the Ahoms who ruled the State for 600 years from 1228 till 1826. The Ahoms belong to the Shan people who called themselves Tai but were called Ahoms by the local people. Noted scholar Satyendra Nath Sarma wrote in his book Assamese Literature: "While the Shan invaders called themselves Tai, they came to be referred to as `Âsâm', `Âsam' and sometimes as `Acam' by the indigenous people of the country.

The modern Assamese word `Âhom' by which the Tai people are known is derived from `Âsâm' or `Âsam.' The epithet that applied to the Shan conquerors was subsequently transferred to the country over which they ruled and thus the name Kâmarûpa was replaced with `Âsâm,' which ultimately took the Sanskritised form, Asama, meaning `unequalled,' `peerless' or `uneven.'"

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