Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal led the state on Sunday in paying rich tributes to the Ahom general Lachit Borphukan on his birth anniversary.
The programme was held at Kachomari Ghat along the Brahmaputra in Fancy Bazar area.
Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said the valour of Lachit Borphukan and his spirited resistance that kept the Mughal Empire away to win Assam and its territory is a glittering example of the rich legacy of Assam and its people.
The Battle of Saraighat was fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire led by Raja Ramsingh-I and the Ahom kingdom led by Lachit Borphukan on the river Brahmaputra at Saraighat and the battle was on by the Ahoms.
Paid homage to Lachit Barphukan on #VeerLachitDivas at a programme organised by NGO RAISED in Guwahati.
Interacting with the students & people present there, I urged them to imbibe ideals of the great Ahom General to build a united & strong society. pic.twitter.com/sd2lyALKpv
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) November 24, 2019
Sonowal said unflappable heroics of Vir Lachit and his patriotism which even did not spare his own maternal uncle to be complacent and negligent in duty towards motherland, needs to be emulated especially by young generation to revive the past sheen of the state.
He also said following the footsteps of Vir Lachit Borphukan, Assam can be transformed into a state second to none.
On the occasion of Vir Lachit Divas, Sonowal called upon the people of Assam to take a pledge to build a motherland of the dream of Lachit Borphukan.
Referring to the heroics of Vir Lachit, Sonowal also said acknowledging the gallantry of the Ahom general, a gold medal in the name of Vir Lachit was introduced at the National Defence Academy for the best cadet of the academy.
Sonowal said, “In this age of competition where ‘hard-labour’ has no alternative, we need to work hard emulating the footsteps of Vir Lachit Borphukan to re-establish our supremacy.”
He also said under the new dispensation, Assam has been marching ahead in all fields. Be it agriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, sericulture, Assam is on its way to re-establish its supremacy, he claimed.
Sonowal called upon the youth of the state to work hard and be an example in the world.
Chief minister Sonowal witnessed a shot skit produced by Anup Jyoti Chowdhury which enacted the Saraighat Battle on the occasion.
Sonowal also presented awards to the winners who participated in the art competition as a part of the programme which was organised by the Cultural Affairs department.
Education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, cultural affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley. Member of Parliament Queen Oja also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, chief minister Sonowal attended another Lachit Divas programme organised by a voluntary organisation ‘Raised’ at Lachit Borphukan Park in Jalukbari.