Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India is filled with a sense of pride in its heritage and has left behind the colonial mindset. "Leaving behind the colonial mindset, the nation is filled with a sense of pride in our heritage. Today, India isn't only celebrating its cultural diversity but also proudly remembering historical heroes of its culture," PM Modi said.
In his address during the 400th birth anniversary celebration of Lachit Barphukan, PM Modi also said that great personalities like Lachit Barphukan and immortal offsprings of Bharat Maa are our constant inspirations for the fulfilment of the resolutions of this Amrit Kaal.
It has been the constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to honour the unsung heroes in a befitting manner and line with this, the country is celebrating 2022 as the 400th birth anniversary year of Barphukan, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. Barphukan (November 24, 1622-April 25, 1672) was the famous General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam who defeated the Mughals and successfully halted their ever-expanding ambitions under Aurangzeb.
Barphukan inspired the Assamese soldiers in the Battle of Saraighat fought in 1671, and delivered a crushing and humiliating defeat on the Mughals, the statement said. The heroic fight of Barphukan and his army remains one of the most inspiring military feats of resistance in the history of our country, it said.
In the recent past, the prime minister has attended several programmes on unsung heroes. In November, Modi attended a public programme ‘Mangarh Dham ki Gaurav Gatha’ and paid homage to Bhil freedom fighter Govind Guru.
In the same month, he also unveiled the 108-foot-long bronze statue of Sri Nadaprabhu Kempegowda in Bengaluru which commemorates the contribution of Kempegowda, the founder of the city.
In July, Modi launched the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebration of legendary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, While in June 2022, the PM inaugurated 'Kranti Gatha', a newly created Gallery of Indian Revolutionaries inside the underground British-era bunker at Raj Bhavan Mumbai, and in November last year, the PM inaugurated a Birsa Minda memorial in Ranchi.
Ten tribal freedom fighter museums, cherishing the memories of tribal freedom fighters from various states and regions, are also being constructed across the country.
In February last year, the prime minister laid the foundation stone of the Maharaja Suheldev Memorial in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. In February 2019, Modi laid the foundation stone of ‘Battles of Panipat Museum’, Panipat to honour the heroes of the various battles of Panipat. In 2015, he issued commemorative coin of a hundred rupees and a circulation coin of five rupees on Rani Gaidinliu.
(With agencies' Inputs)