Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today inaugurated the 1st Bodoland Mohotsav, a two day mega event on language, literature, and culture to sustain peace and build a Vibrant Bodo Society.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Modi greeted the citizens of India on the auspicious occasion of Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepavali. He greeted all the Sikh brothers and sisters from across the globe on the 555th Prakash Parva of Sri Gurunanak Dev ji being celebrated today. He also added that the citizens of India were celebrating the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, marking the 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. He was pleased to inaugurate the 1st Bodoland Mohotsav and  congratulated the Bodo people from across the country who had come to celebrate a new future of prosperity, culture and peace. 

Terming the occasion as an emotional moment for him, Shri Modi remarked it was a highly opportune moment as it had ended 50 long years of violence and Bodoland was celebrating its first festival of unity. He added that the Ranachandi dance in itself displayed the strength of Bodoland. Shri Modi lauded the Bodos for creating a new history after years of struggle and mediation efforts. 

Recalling his opportunity to visit Kokrajhar after the 2020 Bodo Peace accord, Shri Modi remarked that the warmth and love showered on him made him feel one amongst the Bodos. He said he was pleased to feel the same warmth and love today even after four years of his visit. Shri Modi recalled his words to the Bodos that there was a new dawn of peace and prosperity in Bodoland, after witnessing the people choosing the path of peace by giving up arms. He added that it was truly an emotional moment for him. After witnessing the happy people and bright celebrations today, the Prime Minister underlined that a strong foundation has been laid for the bright future of the Bodo people. Shri Modi remarked that the development undertaken in the last 4 years in Bodoland was extremely important. “Bodoland has witnessed a new wave of development after the peace agreement”, exclaimed Shri Modi. He added that he felt satisfied today to see the benefits of the Bodo Peace Accord and its impact on the lives of Bodos. He further added that the Bodo Peace Accord had opened new paths for many other agreements. Shri Modi emphasized that more than 10 thousand youths in Assam alone have given up weapons, deserted the path of violence to return to the mainstream of development as a result of the accord. He added that it was beyond the imagination of anyone that the Karbi Anglong Accord, the Bru-Reang Accord and the NLFT-Tripura Accord would become a reality some day. Shri Modi remarked that the mutual trust between the people and Government was respected by both and now the Central Government and the Assam Government is leaving no stone unturned in the development of Bodoland and its people.

Highlighting the priority accorded by the Central and State Governments to the needs and aspirations of the Bodo community in the Bodo Territorial Region, Shri Modi noted that the Central Government has given a special package of Rs 1500 crore for the development of Bodoland while the Assam government had granted a special development package. He added that more than Rs 700 crore had been spent to develop the infrastructure related to education, health and culture in Bodoland. The Prime Minister remarked that the Government had taken decisions with utmost sensitivity towards the people who have given up violence and returned to the mainstream. He added that more than 4 thousand former cadres of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland had been rehabilitated while many youths had been given jobs in Assam Police. He further added that the Assam government had given assistance of Rs 5 lakh to each family affected by the Bodo conflict. The Prime Minister also noted that the Assam government was spending more than Rs 800 crore every year for the development of Bodoland.

Emphasizing the importance of skill development and availability of opportunities for the youth and women for the development of any region, Shri Modi underlined that SEED Mission was started. Explaining the SEED, Shri Modi said it meant welfare of youth through skilling, entrepreneurship, employment and development and expressed confidence that the Bodo youth were getting huge benefit from this.

Shri Modi said he was pleased to see the gun wielding youth in the past were now moving ahead in the field of sports. He noted the two editions of Durand Cup being held in Kokrajhar along with participation of teams from Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan was historic. The Prime Minister underlined that after the peace agreement, the Bodoland Literary Festival had also been held continuously in Kokrajhar for the last three years, denoting a great service to Bodo literature. He also greeted the people on the occasion of the 73rd foundation day of Bodo Sahitya Sabha being observed today. He added that it was a day of celebration of Bodo literature and Bodo language, with a cultural rally being held tomorrow.

Narrating his experience of the visit to the exhibition at the Mohotsov, Shri Modi said he witnessed the rich Bodo art and craft like Aronnaye, Dokhona, Gamsa, Karai-Dakhini, Thorkha, Jau Gishi, Kham and other products which have received Geographical Indication (GI) tag. He added that the significance of GI Tag helped in maintaining the identity of the products to remain linked to Bodoland and Bodo culture irrespective of where it is in the world. Highlighting that  sericulture had always been an important part of Bodo culture, Shri Modi underlined that the government had implemented the Bodoland Sericulture Mission. Noting that there is a tradition of weaving in every Bodo family, Shri Modi said that necessary efforts had been undertaken to promote the cultural heritage of the Bodo community through Bodoland Handloom Mission.

“Assam is a great strength of India's tourism sector, while Bodoland is the strength of Assam’s tourism”, said Shri Modi. Shri Modi was pleased that the dense forests of Manas National Park, Raimona National Park and Sikhna Jhalao National Park, which were once used as hide-outs, were now becoming a medium to fulfil the ambitions of the youth. He expressed confidence that the growing tourism in Bodoland would create many new employment opportunities for the youth.

Remembering Shri Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma and Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma for their contributions, Shri Modi remarked that Bodofa always put forward the democratic method for the integrity of India and the constitutional rights of the Bodo people while Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma united the society by following the path of non-violence and spirituality. He was satisfied that the Bodo mothers and sisters had dreams of a bright future for their children while every Bodo family now had the aspiration to give a better future to their children. This, he said, was due to the  inspiration of successful Bodo personalities in front of them, who have served the country by holding important positions like Shri Harishankar Brahma, former Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mushahary, former Governor of Meghalaya who have increased the prestige of the Bodo community. Shri Modi was pleased that the youth of Bodoland were dreaming of building a good career and the governments, both centre and the state, stood with every Bodo family as a partner in their progress.

Shri Modi remarked that the entire North East, including Assam, is the Ashtalakshmi of India and the dawn of development would rise from Eastern India to give new energy to the resolve of a developed India. Therefore, he said, the Government was constantly making efforts for permanent peace in the North East by trying to find amicable solutions to the border disputes between the states of the North East.

Emphasizing that the golden era of development of Assam and North East had begun in the last decade, Shri Modi said 25 crore people have come out of poverty in 10 years due to the policies of the Government. He added that lakhs of people from Assam have also defeated poverty. Highlighting that Assam was creating new records of development during the present Government’s tenure, Shri Modi said that the government has focused especially on health infrastructure. He added that in the last one and a half years, Assam was given 4 big hospitals, namely the Guwahati AIIMS and Kokrajhar, Nalbari, Nagaon Medical College, which have reduced people’s difficulties. He added that the opening of cancer hospital in Assam had given great relief to the patients of North East. Shri Modi remarked that the number of medical colleges in Assam was increased to 12 from 6, before 2014. He added that there was work underway to open 12 more new medical colleges, which would open new doors of opportunities for the youth.

Concluding his speech, Shri Modi remarked that the path shown by the Bodo Peace Accord is the path to prosperity for the entire North East. Noting that Bodoland is considered to be a rich abode of centuries-old culture, he added that we had to continuously strengthen this culture and traditions. He thanked the Bodos and wished them on the 1st Bodoland Mohotsav.

Governor of Assam, Shri Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Chief of Bodoland Territorial Region, Shri Pramod Boro, President of All Bodo Students Union, Shri Deepen Bodo, President of Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Dr Surath Narzary  were present on the occasion among others. The Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma had connected virtually over video-conference to the event.

Background

The 1st Bodoland Mohotsov, is a two day event being organised on 15th and 16th November. It is a mega event on language, literature, and culture to sustain peace and build a Vibrant Bodo Society. It aims to integrate the indigenous Bodo people residing not only in Bodoland but also in other parts of Assam, West Bengal, Nepal, and other international border areas of the North East. The theme for the Mohotsov is ‘Peace and Harmony for Prosperous Bharat’ with focus on the rich culture, language and education of the Bodo community along with other communities from the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). It aims to capitalise on the richness of cultural and linguistic heritage, ecological biodiversity and touristic potential of Bodoland.

Significantly, the Mohotsov is also about celebrating the remarkable journey of recovery and resilience ever since the signing of the Bodo Peace Accord in 2020 under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This peace agreement not only resolved decades of conflict, violence, and loss of life in Bodoland but also served as a catalyst for other peace settlements.

The session on “The rich Bodo Culture, tradition and Literature Contributing towards Indian Heritage and Traditions” will be the highlight of the Mahotsav and will witness deliberations on a range of the rich Bodo culture, traditions, language and literature. Another session on “Challenges and Opportunities of Mother Tongue medium-of-instruction through National Education Policy, 2020” would also be held. Thematic Discussion on “Indigenous cultural meet & discussion on building ‘Vibrant Bodoland’ Region through culture & tourism” will also be organised with the objective of promoting tourism and culture of Bodoland region.

The gathering included over five thousand cultural, linguistic and art enthusiasts attending the event from Bodoland region, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, other parts of India, and also from the neighbouring states of Nepal and Bhutan among others.

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MJPS/SR