Government committed towards cause of indigenous ethnic communities: CM Sarbananda Sonowal

A Correspondent

TANGLA/MANGALDAI: All roads led to the Daoharu Fwthar at Khoirabari in Udalguri district on the concluding day session of the 59th annual conference of Bodo Sahitya Sabha as a gathering of more than one lakh thronged the venue. The open session was attended as chief guest by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, “When a race decides to preserve its identity with determination then only it can succeed. Bodos with a great sense of discipline and unity is a living example that when a community joins hand in hand, no force on earth can act as an obstacle in their march towards growth and development.”

He reiterated that the Bodos through their sincerity, hard work, and determination, along with other indigenous communities, had given a holistic and bold outlook and boosted the spirit of the greater Assamese society to establish themselves in the world platform.

He further said, “The government is working with BJP’s motto of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikash, Sabka Viswas’ and it is always committed towards the cause of the indigenous ethnic communities.” “There must not be any doubt regarding the Assam Government’s commitment to safeguarding the interest of the indigenous people as it will not allow the control of sons of the soil over Assam to weaken at any cost,” he asserted

He also said that the Assam Government had already announced that Rs 10 crore would be provided to the corpus fund of Axam Xahitya Xabha, Rs. 5 crore to Bodo Sahitya Sabha and Rs. 3 crore each to the other indigenous Sahitya Sabhas in Assam under Bhasha Gaurab Achoni. This one-time grant would be provided to a total of 22 indigenous Sahitya

Sabhas so that the language and literature of all communities could be protected, he said.

He also lauded the efforts of Bodo Sahitya Sabha which ever since its inception has advocated to enrich the foundation of Bodo education and literature. He also praised the efforts of the organization for its initiative to digitize Bodo literature and said that science and technology were important tools for sustaining a language. Sonowal also ceremonially launched a mobile app named ‘E-Thunlai’ and e-book and e-library projects of Bodo Sahitya Sabha.

He also lauded the efforts of Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) led by BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary for taking efforts to promote a sense of harmony and brotherhood among the communities of the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD), which in turn had returned peace to the trouble-torn region. Sonowal also announced that more good news would come to BTAD very soon and the long-pending demands of Bodo people would soon be fulfilled. He also exhorted that all the literary bodies of the State should hold regular interaction for inclusive growth and development.

Referring to the Assam Government’s initiative to provide a one-time grant of Rs 50,000 to 1,000 writers of the State, the Chief Minister urged young writers and litterateurs writing in various indigenous languages of the State to aspire for winning awards like Nobel Prize so that Assamese identity could be strongly established at the global stage.

Speaking on the occasion, BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary thanked the Assam Government for granting Rs 5 crore to Bodo Sahitya Sabha’s corpus fund and he hoped this amount would bolster the Sabha’s activities in future. He also informed that efforts were being made to insert a clause in the proposed Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) which would be signed between the Union Government, Assam Government and the NDFB along with other Bodo organizations to start courses of Bodo language in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Delhi University. He also lauded the efforts of the Union and State governments to resolve the long-pending political issue of Bodos by proposing the MoS wherein all the factions of NDFB were brought to the negotiation table.

Mohilary also asserted that Bodos were plagued by many socio-economic issues at present and the demand for separate statehood for Bodos would not be viable in this situation. He also opined that student community must be kept away from the purview of protests and demonstrations as it harmed their academic career and their participation would put their future put at stake. Assam Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma, Social Welfare Minister Pramila Rani Brahma, PHED Minister Rihon Daimary, Mangaldoi MP Dilip Saikia, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary, BJP State president Ranjeet Kumar Das, Bodo Sahitya Sabha president Torren Boro, noted linguist and professor of Oregon University, USA, Scott Delancy, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Anju Narzary along with many other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

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