TINSUKIA, May 28 - The highest honour of the Motok community, Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha Award was presented to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a function held here on Sunday.
The function was held in sync with the 213th Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha Divas and Sanskritik Samaroh of the Motok community at the Rajkumar Longkeswar Gohain Khetra at the ITI playground here with a 4-day programme starting May 24 last.
The award was presented by socio-cultural, youth and student organisations of the Motok community led by Sadou Asom Motok Sanmilan and carried a seleng sador, a smarak of the Motok King Sarbananda Singha, besides a citation and cheque worth Rs 1 lakh.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted the people-centric administration of Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha and urged the people of the State to uphold his values in building a strong and vibrant Assam.
�Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha set up the Motok kingdom with the help of the people to serve their cause and governed the province with the advice and support of the people. Therefore, to keep his ideals alive, the people of the State would have to replicate his vision and ideas in different fields of their works,� Sonowal said, adding that the Motok community is an integral part of the Assamese society and they are known for their courage and bravery. This community would have to play a more important role in taking the Assamese community forward in the days to come, he observed.
He further said that Assam is a blessed land where legendary rulers like Swargadeo Chaolung Sukapha, Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha, Lachit Borphukan, Birangana Sati Sadhini and Bodosa were born. Similarly, spiritual gurus like Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva, Madhavadeva, Aniruddhadeva, Harideva and Damodardeva inspired the Assamese community with moral and ethical values. The Assamese community would have to follow their ideals and work with greater enthusiasm to promote peace, harmony and brotherhood amongst all communities of the State.
Claiming that the State Government is making all-out efforts to boost the abilities of the youth to face the challenges of the 21st century, Chief Minister Sonowal said that they were committed to preserve the culture, language and heritage of each of the communities irrespective of their size. He also exhorted the people not to panic under any circumstances and reaffirmed that the Government is working to protect the interest of all the communities with equal importance.
Underlining the flourishing economy of the State especially of the Upper Assam region during the British rule, Sonowal informed that the State Government is working to rebuild the economic condition of the State and has taken up a number of projects in this regard during the last two years.
�We want to build our economic foundation through agriculture. We have successfully developed a conducive environment for investment and industrialisation through Advantage Assam, which helps to strengthen our economy and cultural bonding with the South East Asian nations�.
He announced that the State Government would construct a Bhawan in the name of Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha at Guwahati with a museum to display the weapons and artefacts belonging to the period of Motok rulers. Land for this purpose has already been allotted, he informed. He also mentioned about taking up another project to showcase the rich culture and heritage of all the communities of the State and a building named �Ekota Bhawan� near Dhola-Sadiya bridge is under progress.
He also informed that a sports university would be set up at Chabua in Dibrugarh district in the name of Aniruddhadeva.
Addressing the gathering, Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley said that as per the direction of the Chief Minister, the Cultural Affairs Department would celebrate Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha Divas as a Government programme from next year, which will be organised at different places of the State.
He mentioned that the celebration would help to generate more awareness about Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha amongst the youth and promote harmony.
A souvenir was released on the occasion by Minister of State (i/c) for Power Topon Kumar Gogoi. In all, 14 leading personalities of the Motok community were felicitated for their contribution in different fields. Among others, MPs Pradan Baruah and Rameswar Teli, MLAs Bolin Chetia, Binod Hazarika, Rituparna Baruah, Sanjay Kishan, Terosh Gowala, Suren Phukan, Bhaskar Sarma, CEM of Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council Dipu Ranjan Makrari, Chairman of Assam Hydrocarbon Limited Punakon Baruah, Vice Chairman of Assam Housing Board Subhash Dutta, Commissioner and Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Department Pritam Saikia, Director of Cultural Affairs Barnali Sarma, Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia Oinam Saran Kumar Singh, SP Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta and a host of other dignitaries were also present at the function.
The president of Sadou Asom Motok Sanmilan Chandra Senapati presided over the programme. Earlier, the Chief Minister also took part in a cultural event showcasing the folk culture of Sonowal Kachari named �Rongkhola� at Gobindapur near Panitola. The cultural event was organised by the Tinsukia district unit of Sonowal Kachari Students� Union. Earlier, a cultural rally was organised to mark the occasion and flagged off by the MLA of Chabua Binod Hazarika. It was attended by distinguished people as well as cultural troupes representing different communities.
