Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tripura Buranji

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. I withdraw from this discussion. (non-admin closure) TrangaBellam (talk) 18:42, 22 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Tripura Buranji

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I am unable to locate any reliable source which discusses our subject significantly, other than a few pages over a government publication (ed: Satyadeo Poddar) mentioning it as a small book which is little known now-a-days. That Poddar's volume from 2016 does not contain any bibliographic entry in its discussions of Tripura Buranji (apart from a college magazine) is significant and highlights the total lack of scholarship on the subject.

WP:GNG notes that multiple sources [with significant coverage] are generally expected for granting an entire article to any topic and thus, I am proposing a redirect to Buranji. TrangaBellam (talk) 19:16, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of History-related deletion discussions. TrangaBellam (talk) 19:16, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of India-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 19:36, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose: The manuscript has been discussed by multiple scholars in the Poddar edited volume. The manuscript itself was edited and published by the Government of Assam and these independent scholars writing on Tripura history agree with the publisher. As has been shown in the article itself, Tripura Buranji has been used as a primary source by these authors to provide the history of Tripura. Since authors such as Sarkar and Chaudhuri have significantly covered this manuscript, as can be seen from cited references, it does not meet the criterion for deletion. Chaipau (talk) 20:16, 13 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Not multiple but two scholars in about four pages for a single government publication. I have already noted their commentary in my nomination statement about the manuscript being hardly known and hardly studied. Also please do not misrepresent scholars to portray that the subject passes our notability tests. TrangaBellam (talk) 06:24, 14 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I am appalled by the misrepresentations by TrangaBellam. The two scholars he mentions are I Sarkar and B Chaudhuri. He has not counted others already available in the reference/citation: N B Bhattacharjee, K Satchitananda, T Misra, S K Bhuyan; besides many others who are not mentioned in citations such as J B Bhattacharyya ([1], [2] etc.) Chaipau (talk) 11:43, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Chaipau, please provide WP:Full citations for two source that establish WP:GNG. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 11:51, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Kautilya3 Please look below. There are not just two but multiple sources that have noted the significance of this document. I have mentioned just two (regarding historical source and travel writing), but there are many other areas where this document is notable (Assamese lietrature, as Chaudhuri mentions) and where it provides critical inputs such as for trade (Bhattacharjee 1987) and description of medieval diplomatic protocols (Bhuyan 1938, not described here). Chaipau (talk) 01:01, 17 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Per sources listed on the article and also this one which provide enough coverage. --Yoonadue (talk) 03:32, 16 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep Sources laid out above confirm that subject pass GNG. Dhawangupta (talk) 11:41, 17 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Keep There is enough verifiable reliable sources based on the references provided which shows it pass GNG 🐲 ꯂꯨꯋꯥꯪ ^{ꯋꯥ ꯍꯥꯏꯐꯝ (talk)} 17:19, 22 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

General Notability

Tripura Buranji is an edited and published version of an 18th century manuscript that has been noted (1) as a primary source of extant historical events, and (2) as a remarkable example of pre-colonial travel writing in India. The book is not a popular book, but it is available in many university libraries around the world because of its academic notability.^[1]

Primary Source of historical events

Many authors have long noted the Tripura Buranji as a primary source: N N Acharya (1957),^[2] and I Sarkar (2016)^[3] A fuller account of the incidents and description is culled from this document is given in synopsis by Chaudhuri (2016),^[4] and regarding the document, he says: "Apart from being a highly valuable document of history it is also an unique piece of ancient Assamese literature written in lucid language. The small book, though little known now-a-days, is a treasure house of information vividly depicting the contemporary social, economic, cultural and political tradition prevailing in the region in the first and second decades of eighteenth century."^[5]

Travel writing

(Satchidanandan 2008) placed the Tripura Buranji to a category of Indian travel writing that included Kalidasa’s Meghadootam and Sandeshakavyas, Namdev’s Tirthayatra, and Vidyapati’s Bhuparikrama.^[6] N K Bhattacharjee singles out the Tripura Buranji in this group.^[7]

Other mentions

Beside being a source for historical events during the missions three visits, the manuscript/book also has been noted for information regarding trade involving regions other than Assam and Tripura.^[8]

Notes

^ 1990 edition, 1938 edition etc.
^ " Tripura Buranji: published in 1938, by the department of Historical and Antiquarian studies, Assam. This was reproduced from an old manuscript written in 1724 by Ratna Kandali Sarma Kataki and Arjundas Bairagi Kataki, who had visited the court of the Tripura king as agents of king Rudra Singha on three different occasions between the years 1709-1715. The chronicle derives its importance principally from the circumstances in which it was compiled, the revelations which it contains of the pan-Indian interests of the Ahom monarch Rudra Singha, and the mass of information which it presents about the history, topography and customs of Tripura." (Acharyya 1957:34–35)
^ ”The history of North East India is primarily based on a valuable document known as Buranjis. The historicity of the Buranjis cannot be underestimated. Tripura Buranji popularly known as Tripura Desar Kathar Lekha, the name by which the original manuscript is known bears testimony about the history of the region of a crucial period. We are fortunate that there is a Tripura Buranji written by Ratna Kandali and Arjundas Kataki. It has been edited by S.K. Bhuyan and published from historical and antiquarian studies Gauhati 1990. In the introduction of this Buranji S.K. Bhuyan says that Tripura Buranji has been reproduced from an old manuscript in the British Museum, London. A photostate copy which was obtained in January 1936 through the courtesy of Dr. Lionel Barnett, the then keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts. The Tripura Buranji is no doubt a valuable document to study Assam Tripura relation vis-à-vis their relation with the Nawab of Bengal during Maharaja Rudra Shinga of Assam and Ratna Manikya of Tripura. It is interesting that some diplomatic relation was established between Assam and Tripura and the story runs as how Ratna Kandoli, and Arun Das Kataki played the role behind the screen.” (Sarkar 2016:5–6)
^ The full citation would be three pages long—and it describes the circumstances of the mission, the manuscript, and the critical information contained in it and gives some examples.(Chauduri 2016:26–28)
^ "Apart from being a highly valuable document of history it is also an unique piece of ancient Assamese literature written in lucid language. The small book, though little known now-a-days, is a treasure house of information vividly depicting the contemporary social, economic, cultural and political tradition prevailing in the region in the first and second decades of eighteenth century."(Chaudhuri 2016:26–27)
^ "In December 2002, Sahitya Akademi organized a seminar on 'Travel Writing in India' at Goa. Speaking in the seminar, K. Satchidanandan made an important point: "The idea of travel has always fascinated Indian imagination as is evident from the accounts of places and people in our folk narratives, epics, chronicles and plays. Though, like the novel, travelogue in the modern sense is often considered to be the product of the colonial encounter, one can also trace the elements of travel writing - again like that of the novel - to pre-colonial times." He then went on to show how elements of travelogue exist in the fictional accounts of the digvijays in the epics, in the lyrical reminiscences of home-sick lovers like the Yaksha in Kalidas's Meghadootam and later Sandeshakavyas, in the descriptions of holy places like in Namdev's Tirthayatra in Marathi, in Vidyapati's 14th century Sanskrit work Bhuparikrama, in the 18th century Asamiya work Tripura Buranji by Ratna Kandali and Arjundas Bairagi and the like.
^ "The last-named work is especially interesting where envoys of King Rudra Sinha (1696-1714) of Assam were sent to the court of Ratnamanikya, the King of Tripura, to seek support for the proposed invasion of Bengal in 1714. As K. Satchidanandan writes, "These envoys who went on foot along with escorts to Tripura through Cachar and the foothills of Mizoram have carefully recorded in the racy style of medieval chronicles, the landscape, habits, dress, manners and beliefs of the people, deities and temples and the intrigues for the throne within the court of Tripura." (Bhattacharjee 2003:6)
^ "This area had a long tradition of short i and long distance trade. Tripura Buranji, an Assamese chronicle, mentions that a flourishing market at Rungreng in South Cachar used to be visited by the people from the neighbouring states." (Bhattacharjee 1987:223)

References

Acharyya, Nagendra Nath (1957). The History of Medieval Assam (A.D. 1228 to l603) (PDF) (phd). University of London. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
Bhattacharjee, N K (2003). "From the Editor's Desk". Indian Literature. 46 (6). Sahitya Akademi. JSTOR 23341058.
Chaudhuri, Bikach (2016), "Tripura: A Peep into the Past", in Poddar, Satyadeo (ed.), History of Tripura: As Reflected in the Manuscripts, New Delhi: National Mission for Manuscripts, pp. 26–28
Sarkar, I (2016), "Manuscripts and History", in Poddar, Satyadeo (ed.), History of Tripura: As Reflected in the Manuscripts, New Delhi: National Mission for Manuscripts, pp. 5–6
Satchidanandan, K (2008), "Travel Writing in India: An Overview", in Bhattacharji, Shobhana (ed.), Travel Writing in India, New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: Despite the template, this article is still in AfD. Would appreciate some uninvolved editors looking at this.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Missvain (talk) 14:39, 21 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

[1] 1990 edition, 1938 edition etc.

[2] " Tripura Buranji: published in 1938, by the department of Historical and Antiquarian studies, Assam. This was reproduced from an old manuscript written in 1724 by Ratna Kandali Sarma Kataki and Arjundas Bairagi Kataki, who had visited the court of the Tripura king as agents of king Rudra Singha on three different occasions between the years 1709-1715. The chronicle derives its importance principally from the circumstances in which it was compiled, the revelations which it contains of the pan-Indian interests of the Ahom monarch Rudra Singha, and the mass of information which it presents about the history, topography and customs of Tripura." (Acharyya 1957:34–35)

[3] ”The history of North East India is primarily based on a valuable document known as Buranjis. The historicity of the Buranjis cannot be underestimated. Tripura Buranji popularly known as Tripura Desar Kathar Lekha, the name by which the original manuscript is known bears testimony about the history of the region of a crucial period. We are fortunate that there is a Tripura Buranji written by Ratna Kandali and Arjundas Kataki. It has been edited by S.K. Bhuyan and published from historical and antiquarian studies Gauhati 1990. In the introduction of this Buranji S.K. Bhuyan says that Tripura Buranji has been reproduced from an old manuscript in the British Museum, London. A photostate copy which was obtained in January 1936 through the courtesy of Dr. Lionel Barnett, the then keeper of Oriental Books and Manuscripts. The Tripura Buranji is no doubt a valuable document to study Assam Tripura relation vis-à-vis their relation with the Nawab of Bengal during Maharaja Rudra Shinga of Assam and Ratna Manikya of Tripura. It is interesting that some diplomatic relation was established between Assam and Tripura and the story runs as how Ratna Kandoli, and Arun Das Kataki played the role behind the screen.” (Sarkar 2016:5–6)

[4] The full citation would be three pages long—and it describes the circumstances of the mission, the manuscript, and the critical information contained in it and gives some examples.(Chauduri 2016:26–28)

[5] "Apart from being a highly valuable document of history it is also an unique piece of ancient Assamese literature written in lucid language. The small book, though little known now-a-days, is a treasure house of information vividly depicting the contemporary social, economic, cultural and political tradition prevailing in the region in the first and second decades of eighteenth century."(Chaudhuri 2016:26–27)

[6] "In December 2002, Sahitya Akademi organized a seminar on 'Travel Writing in India' at Goa. Speaking in the seminar, K. Satchidanandan made an important point: "The idea of travel has always fascinated Indian imagination as is evident from the accounts of places and people in our folk narratives, epics, chronicles and plays. Though, like the novel, travelogue in the modern sense is often considered to be the product of the colonial encounter, one can also trace the elements of travel writing - again like that of the novel - to pre-colonial times." He then went on to show how elements of travelogue exist in the fictional accounts of the digvijays in the epics, in the lyrical reminiscences of home-sick lovers like the Yaksha in Kalidas's Meghadootam and later Sandeshakavyas, in the descriptions of holy places like in Namdev's Tirthayatra in Marathi, in Vidyapati's 14th century Sanskrit work Bhuparikrama, in the 18th century Asamiya work Tripura Buranji by Ratna Kandali and Arjundas Bairagi and the like.

[7] "The last-named work is especially interesting where envoys of King Rudra Sinha (1696-1714) of Assam were sent to the court of Ratnamanikya, the King of Tripura, to seek support for the proposed invasion of Bengal in 1714. As K. Satchidanandan writes, "These envoys who went on foot along with escorts to Tripura through Cachar and the foothills of Mizoram have carefully recorded in the racy style of medieval chronicles, the landscape, habits, dress, manners and beliefs of the people, deities and temples and the intrigues for the throne within the court of Tripura." (Bhattacharjee 2003:6)

[8] "This area had a long tradition of short i and long distance trade. Tripura Buranji, an Assamese chronicle, mentions that a flourishing market at Rungreng in South Cachar used to be visited by the people from the neighbouring states." (Bhattacharjee 1987:223)

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