New Delhi: If not for Lachit Borphukan, some parts of today’s Northeast would have been Islamised. Assam might have ended up in Pakistan during Partition. This was the underlying message of Union Home Minister Amit Shah which he conveyed at an event in Assam recently.
Killing by silence
Through the battles of Saraighat and sub-battles like the Itakhuli Ronn, Borphukan succeeded in denying the Mughals to gain control over Assam. But, these valourous stories of Borphukan and Ahoms are missing from our school textbooks. And neither have we heard anything about in our political discourse. Congress stalwart Hiteshwar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi, belong to the Ahom clan. Yet they have never uttered a word praising the legendary warrior Lachit Borphukan.
The reason behind this should not surprise us at all. The valour of Borphukan and Ahoms, does not fit into the narrative of the Left-Islamists cabal. This cabal remains silent regarding all icons who stopped Islam in its tracks. These warriors denied Mughals from taking over the Indian culture.
Indian history is full of valorous Heroes who fought the Islamic invaders, tooth and nail. Lachit Borphukan is one of them.
Lachit Borphukan is relevant even today
Even today Borphukan is relevent, considering Assam’s demographics. Here the Muslim population has blaoted from 24.68 percent in 1951 to 34.22 percent in 2011. Currently it is ominously pushing to 40 percent.
This is quite a worry. As the demographics change, the culture of the nation too changes, which results in Partition. Changed demography resulted in partition of India, and, it was not the first time. There are plenty of examples to this effect. The Israel and Palestine stalemate is the biggest of them.
Borphukan’s story is relevant today in terms of inculcating nationalistic and patriotic values in the youth. He had beheaded his uncle after he found him resting, instead of keeping himself busy in building a dyke to thwart the Mughals. After beheading, Borphukan famously said, “My uncle is not greater than my nation.”
We should teach these stories in schools to instill the values of nationalism and patriotism. Otherwise Islam might take over India just it has done in Afghanistan which was once ruled by Hindu kings.