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The home minister said had it not been for Veer Lachit Barphukan, the Northeast would not have been a part of India. He was addressing a plenary session of the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of the legendary Ahom general.
He protected not only Northeast India but entire Southeast Asia from religious fanatic Aurangzeb, Shah said.
The home minister asked Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to translate literary work on the life and times of Lachit Barphukan into 10 Indian languages, including Hindi, so that children can take inspiration from him.
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Shah urged historians and students to identify 30 great empires in Indian history that ruled for more than 150 years in any part of the country and 300 warriors who showed exemplary courage to fight for independence of the country and conduct research and write extensively about them.
”If we do this, we will see that the true history of India will be established and the lies will end spontaneously. In India we now have a government which supports any endeavour to promote glory of the country. We will work towards reviving India’s glorious history,” Shah said at the event organised by the Assam government.
Shah said a nation that does not derive pride from its glorious past, that does not garner inspiration from its heroes can never create a bright future for itself and cannot create better citizens and a golden future.
The minister said Barphukan fought the Saraighat battle in adverse circumstances by taking together different tribes, using local resources to build small arms and boats to take on the mighty army led by Ram Singh of Amer.
”The Mughal army did not have that iota of partiotism and dedication for the country that Barphukan and his soldiers had. This was a victory of patriotism. They won and not only secured the sovereignty, culture and heritage of Ahom but also saved entire Southeast Asia from religiously fanatic invader Aurangzeb,” he said.
The home minister said that after this crushing defeat, foreign invaders from Delhi could never gather the courage to invade Assam again.
”If Lachit Barphukan was not there in Assam during those times, Assam and Northeast India would have never become a part of India,” Shah said.
He further said that the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Borphukan unveils a new episode of India’s history in which Assam rulers defeated Muslim invaders in different ages and secured the sovereignty of their motherland.
Shah said Assam Chief Minister Sarma unveiled stories of glorious stories of Ahom warriors from Maharaj Prithu who defeated Bakhtiar Khalji in 1206 to Lachit Barphukan who defeated the Mughals in 1671, and urged students of history to look at the exhibition organised on the occasion.
Shah said that right from 1206 to 1671 Assam was invaded 22 times by Muslim invaders but could not keep it under the thumb of Muslim rule for long because of relentless commitment of its people to independence.
He said it is because of this attitude, the Northeast has kept its culture intact. Its beautiful region, its language, culture, dresses, music and food remained untouched by foreign influences.
He said be it Akbar or Aurangzeb, Qutb ud-Din Aibak or Iltutmish, Bakhtiyār Khaljī or Iwaz Khali, Muhammad bin Tughluq or Mir Jumla, everyone has faced defeat in Assam by the valour of Ahom Kings.
Shah said the times in which Lachit Barphukan raised his sword against the Mughals, Chhatrapati Shivaji in the south of India, Guru Govind Singh in the north, Veer Durgadas Rathore in Rajasthan waged the same battle against the same enemy.
”On account of their relentless efforts, exemplary courage and sacrifice, the Mughal empire collapsed,” he said.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister of Water Resources and Public Affairs Pijush Hazarika, Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, and Justice (Retd) Ranjan Gogoi attended the event.