OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that 'Tawang, in fact, is the last gift to the nation by the first Home Minister of the country, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel' while expressing regret that the fact was lost in history.
Flagging in the 'Soul of India' ride at Tawang Memorial on Friday, Khandu said that contributions made by Sardar Patel at the highest level and Major Bob Khathing at the ground level in bringing Tawang under the rule of India has never been recognized and therefore remained unknown to the people, a CMO statement said here on Saturday.
"This propelled us to conduct an exhaustive research and bring to the fore the contributions of Sardar Patel and Major Khathing by establishing the Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing museum at Tawang," he informed.
He expressed gratitude to the riders of the Soul of India ride, which is a part of the process in establishing the museum.
Recognizing the need for the museum to convey the emotion of 'One Nation' and narrate the broader story of India's unity and diversity, a 'Soul of India' installation was conceived as part of the museum, which would house soil from iconic locations in each state and union territory, connected to India's freedom struggle.
In order to operationalise the concept, the Soul of India Ride was drawn up.
The Ride commenced on June 13 this year, with a team of three riders from the Royal Arunachal Riders and over the course of one month they traversed 12,000 kms to collect sacred soil from different regions. Riders from across India contributed by collecting and sending soil from sites that were inaccessible during the main ride.
A total of 36 casks, each containing soil from these iconic locations, were received during the day by the chief minister, which will be featured at the Soul of India installation at the museum.
On behalf of the state government and the people of Tawang, Khandu expressed gratitude to the riders and all those involved in the task.
He informed that the plan is to inaugurate the museum on October 31 next, which is celebrated as the National Unity Day commemorating Sardar Patel's birth anniversary.
"We are working to invite Home Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate the museum in presence of Chief of Defense Staff Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and chief ministers or their representatives of the Northeastern states," Khandu said.
The chief minister later took stock of the status of the under-construction museum in detail.
Tawang deputy commissioner Kangki Darang, 190 Mountain Brigade Commander Brig Vipul Singh Rajput and others were present on the occasion, the statement added. EOM
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