Official recognition to the Bhasha Andolon martyrs; Himanta Biswa Sarma proposes memorial

The 11 martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect the integrity of Benaglis living in Barak Valley and for whom Bengali remains an official language in Assam are finally going to get officially recognised. Since 1961 various organisations, the family members of the martyrs have been demanding for government recognition. Today, during his budget presentation, Finance Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma under the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Assam proposed the establishment of Basha Sahid memorial in Barak Valley to recognise the martyrs.

On March 15, 2018, North Karimganj MLA, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha raised the issue in one of the question hours in Assembly. Responding to Purkayastha’s question, Sarma said the government will recognise the ones who lost their lives and asked for their, and their family members’ name.

Key person of Bhasha Shahid Station Demand committee, Rajib Kar, welcomed Sarma’s announcement and said, “Kabindra Purkayastha when he became an MP raised this point 14 times in the parliament. Sarbananda Sonowal after becoming the Chief Minister visited Barak Valley 18 times. We met him each time and mentioned about this. He assured that the state government is working on an official recognition.”

Kar believes an announcement like this right before the elections can strengthen BJP’s position in Barak Valley. “Everyone will welcome this announcement wholeheartedly and shower blessings on the state government for this,” he opines.

Former union minister and veteran politician, Kabindra Purkayastha is also buoyed by the announcement, “It is our good fortune that BJP has formed the government in Assam. Only because we have a BJP government in the state, an announcement like this have been made,” Purkayastha says.

Purkayastha added it is a glorious day for him and for entire Barak Valley. The 11 martyrs (in no particular order) are- Kanailal Niyogi, Chandicharan Sutradhar, Hitesh Biswas, Satyendra Deb, Kumud Ranjan Das, Sunil Sarkar, Tarani Debnath, Sachindra Chandra Pal, Birendra Sutradhar, Sukamal Purakayastha, Kamala Bhattacharya.