Our Correspondent
MANGALDAI: In a significant move, Sipajhar legislator Dr Paramananda Rajbongshi taking part in the session in Assam Legislative Assembly on Thursday raised the demand for enactment of an act for the well maintenance and the smooth management of the Krishak Swahid Memorial at historic Pothorughat in Darrang and to grant national honour and recognition to this glorious chapter of the history of the freedom struggle of India.
Mention may be made here that the Government of India on May 1, 1951 had enacted an act ‘The Jalliwanwala Bagh National Memorial Act’ to provide for the erection and management of a National Memorial to perpetuate the memory of those killed or wounded on April 13, 1919 in Jalliwanwala Bagh. As per the provisions of this Act, a Trust was also constituted with the Prime Minister as the Chairperson and Minister in Charge of Culture, Government of India, Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab and three eminent persons nominated by the Central Government as the Trustees.
“The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occured twenty five years after the historic Krishak Vidroh at Pothorughat on January 28 of 1894 where the colonial British rulers brutally killed 140 Krishaks and caused injuries to 150 marginal rural farmers for raising their voice against the enhanced land revenue imposed by the British. Parliamentarian of Darrang - Udalguri HPC Dilip Saikia has also tabled a private member bill in the Parliament for enacting an Act namely ‘The Pothorughat Krishak Swahid National Memorial Act’. In line with this act, it is the need of the hour to enact such an act by the state government” said Dr Rajbongshi in his speech in the Assembly. He also apprised the house on the praiseworthy initiative adopted by the Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma led BJP government in the state for smooth preservation and management of the Krishak Swahid Memorial at Pothorughat.
It may be recalled here that Dr Rajbongshi during his tenure as the General Secretary of the erstwhile Mangaldai District Students Union in 1982, took the initiative for celebration of the Krishak Swahid Divas for the first time by All Assam Students Union besides writing a drama on this historic episode followed by a film ‘Anol’ directed by him. On August 9 of 2023, Dr Rajbongshi accompanied by Parliamentarian Dilip Saikia and media persons Bhargab Kumar Das and Mayukh Goswami met the President of India at Rastrapati Bhavan and apprised her on the Krishak Vidroh at Pothorughat for the first time.
Replying to the question raised by Dr Rajbongshi on the floor of the Assembly, Minister Chandra Mohan Patowari said that prior to enact the Act, the state government would constitute a committee with Dr Rajbongshi, District Commissioner and Additional District Commissioner of Darrang and a historian as the member and this committee would submit a detailed report with suggestions to the state government.
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