Historic Assam movement immortalised through Martyrs column: Sonowal

Guwahati, Dec 10 (PTI) Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said that the historic Assam movement against infiltrators has been immortalised by the ‘Shaheed Smarak' (Martyrs' Column), inaugurated during the day, and its spirit will guide the state in its enduring pledge to safeguard identity, culture, and existence.

Sonowal, along with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, dedicated the memorial site to the public and paid floral tributes to the martyrs of the Assam Movement, a six-year-long violent anti-foreigner agitation that began in 1979. On this day in that year, the agitation claimed its first victim.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said the unparalleled sacrifice and courage of the martyrs would forever inspire generations to contribute meaningfully to the journey of nation-building while safeguarding land, language, culture, and identity.

''The Assam Movement united the greater Assamese society for a national cause, and its spirit lives on today as an unending pledge to safeguard identity and existence,'' the Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways said.

Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken decisive steps to curb illegal infiltration—an issue that lay at the heart of the Assam Movement and posed a direct threat to India’s sovereignty and the state's demographic identity.

He recalled his visit in September 2016 to the India-Bangladesh border at South Salmara-Mankachar with AASU leaders, MLAs, and senior officials, undertaken under the Prime Minister’s guidance to assess border conditions firsthand.

Sonowal referred to key initiatives taken during his tenure as the chief minister of the state, including the provision of one-time financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to families of the martyrs in December 2016, and Rs 2 lakh each to those injured or persecuted during the movement, in March 2019.

''The Assam Movement is not just a historical chapter; it is the consciousness of identity and rights'', he said.

“With deep commitment to its sentiment, we are determined to build a new, secure, and developed Assam. The legacy of the Movement will remain far-reaching in safeguarding national unity, integrity, and the future of the state," Sonowal added. PTI DG NN