Guwahati: Pune-based social, cultural and educational organisation Sarhad has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to name the Mumbai-Guwahati Express after Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika during the cultural icon’s birth centenary year.
In a letter dated August 22, Sarhad founder-president Sanjay Nahar asked the Prime Minister to rename Train Nos. 15647/15648 Mumbai-Guwahati Express as the “Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika Express”.
Sarhad said it had been seeking the renaming of the train since 2015, citing Hazarika’s role as a cultural link between Mumbai and Guwahati and his efforts to strengthen ties between the Northeast and the rest of India.
The organisation said it had undertaken initiatives with Hazarika, including programmes that used music as a means of addressing violence. It said it continued such initiatives after his death with the consent of his family.
According to Sarhad, naming the train after Hazarika during his birth centenary year would recognise his contribution and hold significance for people in the Northeast.
The organisation also enclosed a copy of a letter it sent to then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on April 10, 2015, making the same proposal.
The 2015 letter had also sought the renaming of Train Nos. 15617/15618 Naharlagun-Guwahati Intercity Express as the “Lummer Dai Sampriti Express”. Sarhad said the proposal was in recognition of Lummer Dai, Arunachal Pradesh’s first recognised Assamese-language author, and his contribution to strengthening ties between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
In its latest communication, Sarhad urged the Prime Minister to initiate the renaming of the Mumbai-Guwahati Express.