Recalling a general's salute

The State government is set to celebrate Lachit Divas on November 23 and 24, 2022, at the national capital on a befitting, grand scale
Recalling a general's salute

The State government is set to celebrate Lachit Divas on November 23 and 24, 2022, at the national capital on a befitting, grand scale. The state and its people are agog with pride and excitement. This is a happy culmination of efforts made years earlier on a humbler scale. One cannot but fondly recall earlier memories of this day.

Way back, around 1998-99, the Lachit Park at the Jalukbari junction wasn't mauled and dwarfed the way it is now by flyovers. The Lachit Park was a humble presence with a towering statue of Bir Lachit (yes, he was then not spelt as 'Veer' yet). The Assam Tourism Development Corporation Ltd, in collaboration with the then Kamrup District Administration, with limited resources in hand, managed a rather humble affair at the park on this day. VVIPs from the government; representatives of the organizers and a few students from the University campus came to attend. That, more or less, made up the motley crowd.

Then, Lt. General SK Sinha (then Governor of Assam) decided to change things. He had avidly studied Lachit and was impressed by the bigger-than-life personality of the General. The Governor wanted something better – something befitting the status of Assam's lone military general of legendary fame. As the MD of the then-fledgling corporation, one was called up to the hilltop mansion. There were others present from different disciplines. To our pleasant surprise, His Excellency laid bare an already thought-out plan for the refurbishment and upgradation of Lachit Park. The statue would stay, but it had to be ballasted with granite slabs from the foundation to feet level; the pedestal will be in stark black granite to be contrasted with a layer of white macarana marble at the top fetched from Rajasthan. The park would be extended, opening up new ground for a children's corner. The slope of the railway track running along behind the park will be fully landscaped; the entry gate will need to be redone; the water body to the east (towards the railway bridge) will be cleaned, beautified and a cantilevered bridge will be erected to connect two sides of the pool. There was much more: the legend and the historical facts behind the victories of Lachit in his battles with the mighty Moghuls will need to be put up prominently in the park, including a replica of the inscribed Victory Pillar, a replica of which still adorns Raj Bhawan. There will be two large plaques in stone and granite carrying write-ups on the leadership and valour of Bir Lachit and to top it all, there will be a full-size replica of a painting of the battle of Saraighat (then adorning a wall at the Raj Bhawan) at a prominent place near the statue and this replica will have to be done in bronze. And more; all thought out meticulously by the Governor. The penny dropped when it was announced that the ATDC will have to be the executing agency.

There was no question of raising squeamish objections and as the MD of the corporation, one bowed. But, funds remained the main worry. We quickly worked out an estimate which, overall, came to about Rs 60 lakh which was no comfort at all to a fund-strapped ATDC. The then Commissioner and Secretary to the Assam Government in the Tourism Department understood our plight and asked us to state our difficulties and raise it to the Government, which we promptly did. The Governor's Secretariat convened a meeting. When pointed out that ATDC was somehow getting along from interest drawn on GoI funds and that any diversion would be tantamount to fiscal mismanagement, the young Secretary in the Governor's Secretariat did not appreciate this plain speak and snubbed me by saying that one didn't need to teach him Government rules! My skin (made thicker in all these years of playing second fiddle) shrugged it off. Anyway, a kind of a stalemate precipitated when I refused to budge and the matter was taken to the Governor again. The pleasant surprise came again from that level. Hearing me out (in the presence of the Secretary), the Governor took on himself the responsibility of providing the necessary funds to ATDC from the State Government in two instalments and advised me not to worry but get on with the work instead.

The rest of the story remains an inspirational experience for each of us in the team. Late SK Sinha spent countless hours in consultation with historian Late Heremba Borpuzary on the details of what was to be put on the plaques on Lachit Borphukan. One was lucky to be present in most of these and was awed by the diligence the Governor displayed in mastering the facts and virtually going over every word of the draft repeatedly. For reasons best known to him, he made me go over the final draft all over again – not at his office but by asking me to take it home. We had these write-ups etched on stone and granite at a place in the city and then got them shifted to their designated positions in the park. My eyes have never quite recovered from the strain of peering over what was etched closely on the slabs of granite. One remembers visiting Kolkata several times to check on the progress of the painting being cast in bronze, which we had somehow succeeded to persuade a master sculptor from Kumartuli to undertake. And what a task it was to have that huge and heavy object transported to Guwahati when ready!

Finally, the Park was ready and things were in their right places. It was a pleasure to see the glow of happiness on Governor SK Sinha's visage. He took two full days to get the final, agreeable translation of those famous four words – "Deshot koi Momaii dangor nahoii" – the legendary war cry that occasionally still arouses slumbering patriotism. After several trials, it finally settled at: "Uncle is not greater than country." The pains that the Governor took to ready up an impressive event on Lachit Day that year! He supervised everything – from invitee lists to the food menu. The turnout on D-day was impressive. Apart from the VVIPs and the glitterati, the entire top Military brass from Assam and Meghalaya were present in their perfectly ironed military green and shining brass to pay homage to General Lachit Borphukan. The entire programme was a hit. Our boys had gone to the extent of releasing a gaggle of geese and ducks into the pond's clear waters and what a refreshing site it was. As the Governor laid the wreath at the base of the statue meant for the purpose, the compere's baritone boomed in the air: "A General's salute to another General of yore!" Our chests puffed up in pride.

The park is now gone and shifted elsewhere. New highways have eaten up the work done then. What could have easily been named 'Lachit Poduli' was named after a hero of another kind? The annual event is managed elsewhere in the city. General SK Sinha is no more. But, on this day of paying homage to Bir Lachit, I cannot but recall with reverence the effort and the commitment the Governor had made to focus and project Assam's legendary General onto the national stage. Some months later, he followed this up with another show at the auditorium at Teen Murti complex in New Delhi attended by most VVIPs, including the then Chief of the Indian Army. The commissioning of the Best Cadet trophy in the name of Lachit Barphukan at the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla was also at his initiative.

The current arrangements by the Assam Government this time to perpetuate the memory of the great Ahom General is, therefore, a worthy, laudable effort to carry the legacy forward. After the departure of General Sinha, things seemed to have come to a still. This year's celebrations revive it all with a bang. I take this opportunity to add a salute to General Sinha also in this connection. He was never tired of iterating: "History has not neglected Assam, but historians have."

All this is in the realm of memory now. Institutional memory may have disappeared from the records of government departments. Every five years, a new slate is taken up. All efforts of the past get erased even in matters of history. Time leaves us behind; memories are all that remain. It's a homage to mankind's perpetual respect for history as we pay our tributes to Lachit Barphukan on a grand scale to give him his rightful place under the sun.

Shantanu Thakur

(thakur.santanu@gmail.com)

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