DIBRUGARH, Nov 16 - The 140th birth anniversary of martyr Veer Birsa Munda, a tribal freedom fighter was celebrated on Sunday jointly by the Duliajan regional committee of the Mundari Sahitya Sabha (MSS) and the local population of Naoholia and Tipling at the playground of Tipling tea estate, Duliajan.
The MSS, a sociocultural and language revival body of the Munda tribes, observes Birsa Munda Jayanti on November 15 every year.
The event got off with the hoisting of the organisation�s flag followed by floral tribute at the portrait of Birsa. Several hundred people paid homage to the martyr at the swahid bedi prepared at the venue. Forest and Environment & Tea and Ex-Tea Tribes Welfare Minister Atuwa Munda, Dibrugarh MP Rameshwar Teli, Lt Nikhil Nimey, Company Commandant, JAT Regiment, Duliajan were distinguished guests who paid homage to the martyr.
The people dressed in traditional attires took out a cultural procession from the venue, singing and dancing with nagras, mandars, bows and arrows, and other traditional implements. The procession was flagged off by Michael Surin, general secretary, MSS. Jacob Munda, president, MSS led the procession.
An exclusive traditional performance by a 30-member cultural troupe from Rajabari, Jorhat captivated the people. A souvenir titled Maskal (light), edited by Probin Topno, a faculty member of the Bosco Institute, an MSW college, was also released during the occasion by Dr Titus Bhengra, a former teacher of DHSK College, Dibrugarh.
The opening session was attended by minister Atuwa Munda, MP Rameshwar Teli and other distinguished members from the area. Amal Kumar Horo, president of the organising committee, delivered the welcome address, while Leben Bhengra, working president compered the programme. The session was presided over by Jacob Munda, president, MSS.
