Lachit protected NE's culture, identity from Mughals: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

 Dergaon police academy to be renamed in his honour: CM

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan had shielded not just the Northeastern region but the entire South East Asia from the onslaught of the marauding Mughals. He added that Lachit Barphukan protected the culture and identity of the North-East from being overrun by Mughal culture and civilization and but for him, the North-East would not have remained a part of India.

Addressing the celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday, Shah said that historians have written reams about the prowess of the Mughals, but it is difficult for people of the Indian mainstream to find out details about Lachit Barphukan's valour and military acumen. At the time when Lachit Barphukan was fighting against the Mughals in the North-East, several other kings and generals were also engaged in combat with the Mughals in several other parts of India, the Union Home Minister said, adding that such resistance ultimately led to weakening of the Mughal empire.

He said that the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan unveils a new episode of India's history in which rulers in Assam defeated Muslim invaders in different ages and secured the sovereignty of their motherland.

Referring to the debate over distortion of history, Shah said: "I often come across complaints that our history has been distorted, tampered with. These allegations could be true, but who stops us from writing the correct history now?" He appealed to historians to research and write about the glorious deeds of at least 300 bravehearts from 30 erstwhile empires and kingdoms of the country who resisted foreign invaders.

Shah asked Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was present at the event, to choose ten languages including Hindi so that the Centre can ensure that literature is created about Lachit Barphukan for dissemination among the younger generation.

The Union Home Minister termed Lachit Barphukan as a multifaceted warrior who was adept in all aspects of warfare. He said that in order to inspire the county's soldiers, a gold medal was instituted in Lachit Barphukan's name in 1999 for the best annual cadet of the National Defence Academy (NDA).

Shah said that peace and progress are prevailing now in the North-East, resulting in narrowing of the gap with mainstream India. There is a sense of mutual belonging, he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma said that Lachit Barphukan's valour and deeds have not attained renown at the national and global level as a result of historians' failure to write about him. Now the time has come to bold aloft Lachit Barphukan's life and deeds before all, he said, adding that the birth anniversary celebrations at the national capital is a step in that direction.

Sarma also announced on the occasion the police academy at Dergaon will be renamed as the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy.

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