Assam: CM Sarma Urges Tiwa Community To Refrain From Religious Conversion

GUWAHATI: Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, has urged the Tiwa people to be true to their culture and identity and to keep away from the recent trend of religious conversion. CM Sarma was present at Jonbeel Pothar in the Morigaon area on Friday for the second day of the three-day ancient Gova Deoroja Jonbeel Mela.

The Tiwa monarch Gova Roja Deep Singh Deoroja was present today, along with the heads of the other Tiwa "kingdoms". Since the Middle Ages, the Tiwa royal families have traditionally supported the Jonbeel Mela, which is most known for its barter system of commerce between the communities of the surrounding hills and plains.

Speaking to a crowd at the Jonbeel Mela, the Chief Minister described traditional food as one of the State's most distinctive cultural practices because of its uniqueness, including its use of the barter system for trade, the collection of taxes, and the holding of royal assemblies for Tiwa monarch Gova Roja—practices that are typically absent from other modern occasions.

Sarma also gave the custom of the Jonbeel Mela credit for creating a forum for communication between various hill and lowland ethnic groups. According to the Chief Minister, these contacts eventually helped to strengthen links between different ethnic communities and eliminate prejudice. Because the Tiwa community places such a high value on its history and culture, the Jonbeel Mela has been held every year for generations in its original form.

In addition, the Chief Minister stated that the Jonbeel Mela was held primarily for economic reasons and that it continued to do so in addition to being a venue for the promotion of peace and unity among groups. Additionally, the Chief Minister gave the Tiwa rulers "Raj Bhatta."

The Chief Minister also announced that 20 bighas of land at a suitable location would be given to the Jonbeel Mela committee as soon as possible in order for the ritual to be carried out there starting the next year, giving in to a long-standing demand of members of the Tiwa community.

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