Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Assam had much to celebrate for a whole lot of achievements, right from the classical language status to the Assamese language and Unesco’s cultural heritage tag to Charaideo Maidam to the ‘Green Oscar’ award to Purnima Devi Barman, fondly called Hargila Baideo, in 2024.
This is apart from the development of infrastructure, students’ welfare, the rise in exports of agricultural products, providing employment opportunities to the youths, etc. The state also witnessed the passing away of a lot of renowned personalities who excelled in their respective fields and made the state proud.
The Government of India providing the right status of Classical Language to the Assamese language is the outcome of the relentless efforts on the part of the Assamese litterateurs and others, including the Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX). It seems that it is justice done to the language and its literature that dates back to the era of Charyapada.
The next milestone achieved in 2024 is the UNESCO recognising Charaideo Maidam as a ‘UNESCO World Heritage’ site. This 700-year-old mount-burial system of the Ahom Dynasty was officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. After the achievement, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The Maidam making it to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the category of Cultural Property is a great win for Assam. Thanks to the Prime Minister!”
For the first time, the Election Commission of India conducted the Lok Sabha election in the state (along with the rest of the country) in delimited constituencies after 1976, which is indeed a milestone achieved on the political front.
Yet another milestone of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government in the state is surpassing its promised one lakh government jobs to the unemployed in the state without any controversy or hiccups.
The passage of the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriage and Divorce Bill, replacing the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, 1931, is indeed a significant development that has direct bearings on child marriage in the state.
The exports of agricultural products to outside the country are another achievement in which Assam has done much better than before. In 2022-23, the state exported farm products worth around Rs 4,000 crore. In 2024-25, the state is set to export farm products worth Rs 6,000 crore. The state mainly exports red rice, black joha, lemon, yellow pumpkin, litchi, ginger, beans, etc.
In the cultural field too, the state garnered many achievements. The ‘Village Rock Star-2’ of Rima Das became the joint winner of best film in the Busan’s Kim Jiseok Award. Apart from this, Rima Das also got the nomination as a member of the Academy Awards, 2024.
In the wildlife conservation field, biologist Dr. Purnima Devi Barman won the Whitley Gold Award, known as the Green Oscar, for her work in protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork.
The state also suffered the loss of personalities like Padmashree Birubala Rabha, who campaigned against witch hunting; music composer Nanda Banerjee; eminent journalist Sashi Phukan; actor-director Kulada Kumar Bhattachrya; mass singer Surya Das; prominent geologist Dr. Gokul Goswami; and others.
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