NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday recalled the heroic courage of all those who took part in the Assam Movement and said their “unwavering resolve and selfless efforts” helped preserve the state’s unique culture and identity.
He added that their valour also inspires us all to continue working towards a ‘developed Assam’.
“Swahid Diwas is an occasion to remember the extraordinary courage and sacrifices of those who dedicated themselves to the Assam Movement. Their unwavering resolve and selfless efforts helped preserve Assam’s unique culture and identity. Their valour also inspires us all to continue working towards a developed Assam,” said PM in a post on X.
Swahid Diwas is an occasion to remember the extraordinary courage and sacrifices of those who dedicated themselves to the Assam Movement. Their unwavering resolve and selfless efforts helped preserve Assam’s unique culture and identity. Their valour also inspires us all to…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 10, 2024
The Swahid Diwas is celebrated every year on December 10 to pay tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Assam movement. The civil disobedience movement was launched by the Assam Students Union (ASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AASGP) in 1979 against the infiltrators who entered Assam from Bangladesh. The movement ended in 1985 after the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the historic Assam accord that assured the detection of the illegal foreigners and promised to ensure Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal paid tributes to the people who sacrificed their lives in the Assam Movement.
Sonowal said, “From 1979 to 1985, Assamese people fought against infiltrators… I pay my tributes to all those who sacrificed their lives for their country in the Assam movement. It is only due to their sacrifices today that I have become a minister. We have to take forward the fight against these foreign infiltration into the country. We want India to always be secured. Today, Assam has emerged as an important centre in the Northeast.”
Taking to social media X, Sonowal wrote in a post that the Assam movement was a significant struggle for the protection of the Assamese identity.
“The Assam Movement was a significant struggle for protection of the Assamese identity and an important part of India’s modern history. On the martyrdom day of the first martyr of the Movement, Khargeswar Talukdar, I pay my solemn tributes to all the martyrs. Their sacrifice is our inspiration,” the post read.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa also took to social media X and said that the Assam government was building the Swahid Smarak Ksehtra to honour the martyrs.
“To protect the honour of Aai Asomi, thousands of people came out on the streets between 1979 and 1985 and voiced their strong dissent when the then Cong Govt decided to mercilessly fire upon Veers and Veeranganas of the Asom Andolan. On this fateful day in 1979, Swahid Khargeswar Talukdar became the first martyr of the Asom Andolan giving his life towards the cause of the motherland.Our Govt is building the Swahid Smarak Kshetra in Guwahati to honour all the martyrs and remember their supreme sacrifice,” the post read. (ANI)