Assam: Resentment over Renaming of Rupnath Brahma Memorial Park in Kokrajhar

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KOKRAJHAR: Tribal Right Protection Association (TRPA) has expressed strong resentment over the renaming of Rupnath Brahma Memorial Park of Kokrajhar as Bhupen Hazarika Memorial Park and termed the renaming as unjustified.

 In a statement, the president of TRPA Janaklal Basumatary, a retired IRS said the government of BTR had already exposed themselves as the shadow of Assam government by compromising every proposal. He said he had deep respect on Bhupen Hazarika who is a cultural identity of Assam and Assamese people, and similarly, Rupnath Brahma was also an icon of cultural and political identity of the BTC and Bodo tribal people, Bodo language and literature. “He is attached deeply with the Bodo culture, tribal politics, Bodo language and literature. His place of honour in public life of BTC cannot be replaced by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika who never represented the Bodo culture, tribal politics, Bodo language and literature,” he said adding that the decision to rename the Rupnath Brahma Memorial park into Bhupen Hazarika Memorial park was an ill-conceived intention to establish cultural and linguistic hegemony over Bodo speakers of BTC to keep them suppressed as ever before. He said the BTC sixth schedule administration was granted for protection and promotion of Bodo tribal culture, language and literature from such hegemony by crafty people with little more political power.

Basumatary said the government of BTR, Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) and ABSU, were duty bound to execute the provision of protection and promotion of Bodo tribal culture, language and literature and reserved politics and land rights of the Bodo tribal people provided under the sixth schedule of BTC administration. He demanded that the name of Rupnath Brahma Memorial park must be protected for the sake of protection of Bodo cultural, linguistic and literary identity. He also said the BSS should adopt a strong objection to this ill motivated decision to replace the name of Rupnath Brahma Memorial Park which is named after great Bodo tribal leader

It may mentioned that there is an LP School in the name of Rupnath Brahma where statue of Bhupen Hazarika was unveiled recently and the area was known as Rupnath Brahma Park. In late 2000, officers’ club was established near the Rupnath Brahma LP School and in a couple of years ago, statue of Mahatma Gandhi was installed in the corner of the pond of the park and after that it was called as Mahatma Gandhi Park and subsequently, the park is called as Bhupen Hazarika Park after installation of his statue recently near the Rupnath Brahma Memorial Park.

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