GUWAHATI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar inaugurated the 3rd edition of Lokmanthan 2022 in presence of Assam governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Thursday.
Organised by Prajna Pravah along with Intellectual Forum for North East in association with Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Lokmanthan 2022, a national colloquium is being organised on ‘Lok Parampara of India’ as the core topic which will witness elaborate deliberation on the culture, traditions of the country with special reference to Northeast.
Speaking on the occasion, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “It is a privilege for us that our state is hosting the 3rd edition of Lokmanthan which is rooted to Indian ethos and traditions. I am sure deliberations at this platform will generate much awareness on the rich culture, traditions, life-style of the people of Northeast and the country. This will also lead to a celebration of the great cultural legacy of Bharatbhoomi.”
He said, “Bharatvarsha is not just a nation state that came into being in the 19th century, but a living entity. India nurtures one of the oldest civilizations of the world. The sense of Indian identity is not a 19th century phenomenon when India began to imagine itself as a nation state. The sense of India is a civilizational continuity of the past several millennia. It is true that the European colonial powers could not succeed in destroying the ancient beliefs and traditions of the indigenous population of India. It was because of the inherent power of sanatan civilization that remained unbeatable in the face of European powers.”
The Assam chief minister said, “A major characteristic of Indian civilization is that it does not consider the country only as an inert political entity. For us, our nation is akin to our Mother, a vibrant goddess whose every geographical appearance – the landscape-rivers-hills and mountains finds a place in the verses and hymns of the Indian scriptures.”
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that Northeast had deeply enriched the great ancient Indian civilisation.
Eminent 15th century Vaishnavite saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev was the first to associate Bharatvarsha with Assam and referred to it as its motherland.
Referring to eminent litterateur Birinchi Kumar Baruah, Sarma said that the litterateur commented that the conception of India as our mother country was conceived by Sankardeva five centuries ago who wanted the people to feel proud of being born in his holy country of Bharatvarsha, as India provides an immense opportunity for development of men’s moral and spiritual potentialities, the Assam CM added.