Notes regarding the term ‘Hājo’

It is possible that the term ‘Hājo’ originated from a Bodo word. ‘Hājo’ means hill, which is at a few miles north-west of the city of Guwahati in the present Kāmarūpa district of Assam. Some says that Hājo is named after the name of ‘Hāju’, the grandfather of the Koch king Visvasingha. According to this view, the Koch had established its capital in this village and named ‘Hāju’, the founder of this dynasty. In 1581 the Koch king Narnārayaṇa divided his kingdom into two parts. The western part of the kingdom came to be known as Koch Bihar and the eastern part as Koch Hājo.

Referring to Koch Bihar and Koch Hājo, Gait writes,

“The former name also survives but the only trace of the latter is in the town called Hājo, a few miles north of Gauhati.”

Hājo, a sacred complex, mentioned in the purāṇas, Yoginī-Tantra, ancient history and vaiṣṇava literature, is a paradise for the sociologists, linguists and folklorists. In the histories written in the period of the Mughals, it was known as Sujabad or Sujanagar after the name of Shujauddin, the governor of Bengal and son of the Mughal emperor Shahjahan and who constructed a mosque at the Shrine of Ghiasuddin. Sujauddin stayed here for some time in 1660 A.D. and endowed the mosque with land and people. Hājo is a place of historical, cultural and religious importance with its age-old temples, shrines, mosques etc . Politically, the area was under the royal camps of the Kochas, the Mughals and the Ahoms at different times mentioned in the Assam History. From the religious view-point it was a confluence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam under the patronage of different political powers and religious personalities. There was an influx of people belonging to different ethnic groups with their cultural traits.

Referring to the age-old cultural heritage of tolerance and acceptance of the people of the area, P. Goswami says,

“It is perhaps the only place in the state where one may find shrines dedicated to Śiva, Pārvati, Mādhava or Viṣṇu, the Buddha and to a Muslim saint, thus bringing together persons belonging to various and even conflicting faiths.”

In spite of its diversities in religion, race and language, it is a holy land of tolerance and social integration. While people in the world are fighting among themselves in the name of communalism, Hājo stands as an exemplary place for communal and social harmony where the sound of the drum and the Azan can be heard at the same time. A socio-cultural study of Hājo is of paramount importance for a better understanding of the beliefs and practices, customs and traditions, festivals and institutions of the locality. Some noted scholars, British officials and writers have dealt with certain aspects of the socio-religious institutions of the area. P.C.Das, in his doctoral thesis Hājo: A Socio-Cultural Study brought into light the socio-cultural aspects of the people of Hājo. While considering the advent of Muslim in Assam, Hājo played a significant role since 13th century A.D. but it was from the beginning of the 17th century A.D. that the area became more popular to them when the Muslim rulers consolidated their position. The Muslims played a decisive part in the socio-political activities of the area. It was by this time that a shrine called Poa mecca was marked as an important centre of Islamic religion and culture. Das, P.C: The Blessed Land, p.2.