Guwahati
The Chief Ministers of neighbouring states of Assam have appreciated and applauded the Himanta Biswa Sarma government’s move of installing statues of tribal freedom fighters from their States at the newly-inaugurated ‘Amrit Udyan’ in Guwahati.
Sarma had on August 23 inaugurated the park and unveiled statues of eight tribal freedom fighters of the Northeastern region. The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur have taken to Twitter to express their gratitude to Sarma for the initiative.
One of the tribal freedom fighters is Mizoram’s Rani Ropuiliani, who had spoken against the British diktat on taxes. She was held captive for two years before she died. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga thanked Sarma for honouring her.
“Thank you so much Shri @himantabiswa Ji for honouring one of our most beloved heroes! This noble gesture is a true representation of solidarity among the North Eastern states!,” Zoramthanga tweeted.
For his part, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu took to the micro-blogging site to thank Sarma for the gesture: “My special thanks to Hon CM of Assam Shri @himantabiswa Ji for unveiling the statue of Arunachal Pradesh freedom fighter Moje Riba at #AmritUdyan, Guwahati.”
Moje Riba was a freedom fighter from Arunachal Pradesh who was arrested by the British for resisting colonial rule.
With a statue of legendary Manipuri commander Bir Tikendrajit Singh, who had rebelled against the British and was later hanged, also installed at the park, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh too thanked Sarma.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Hon’ble CM of Assam, Shri @himantabiswa Ji for unveiling the statue of Jubraj Bir Tikendrajit in Guwahati. This is indeed a true honour for our great freedom fighter who has fought gallantly against the British empire,” the Manipur Chief Minister tweeted.
The statues of Rani Gaidinliu, a Naga leader who was arrested for her resistance to the British and was set free only after Independence, Bidrohi Ratanmani Reang of Tripura who had led the Reang revolt against the British and was later killed in captivity by the British troops in Agartala, and Helen Lepcha alias Sabitri Devi of Sikkim have also been installed.
Statues of Khasi chief U Tirot Sing Syiem, who was deported to Dhaka for fighting against the British and died there , and Dimasa leader Sambhudhan Phanglo of Assam, who sacrificed his life for the motherland, also find a place in the park.
A railway station in Manipur had earlier been named after Rani Gaidinliu by the Narendra Modi government which is also setting up Tribal Freedom Fighters Museums and statues of other tribal leaders in different States across India.
Completed in a record time of just one year, the Amrit Udyan is built at a cost of Rs 14.81 crores on 14 bighas of land in Guwahati’s Hengrabari area. The land for the project was procured by the Assam government from the Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board at a cost of Rs 25 crores.
After inaugurating the park, the Assam Chief Minister had said that the Amrit Udyan was built in line with the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations and exuded confidence that it would be able to instill a sense of patriotism in the minds and hearts of the youth and at the same time accord due recognition to these extraordinary personalities.
