Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called 17th century Ahom general Lachit Borphukan a freedom fighter who contributed to India’s independence from colonialism, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said medieval saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva had premonitions of illegal immigration in Assam.
The problem of illegal immigration in Assam is widely believed to be an outcome of the British rule, the Partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.
“I am proud to be here by the mighty Brahmaputra, in the land of the great Sankaradeva. He was one of the brightest lights of India’s cultural nationalism who saved Assam. If Congress had succeeded with its conspiracy and politics of appeasement, this land would have threatened the national security because of infiltrators,” Mr. Adityanath said at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in central Assam’s Lanka on Wednesday.
He also addressed party rallies at Kalaigaon and Goreswar in north-central Assam.
“Sankaradeva alerted people to the issue of illegal immigration. That’s why Congress has never tolerated him. Congress has always resorted to appeasement to capture power, not caring about your progress or welfare. The people of Assam have paid a price for it for a long time,” he said.
The Congress slammed the U.P. Chief Minister for his “ignorance”.
“This underlines their knowledge about the culture they claim they are going to protect. Yogi- ji should have brushed up on Assam’s history before saying Sankaradeva battled infiltration in the 15th century,” Bobbeeta Sharma, the chief of the State Congress media department, said.
She reminded the U.P. Chief Minister that the saint-reformer was against idol worship and the exploitation of people by those who followed Manusmriti. Srimanta Sankaradeva believed in the assimilation of society and was against the caste system, she said.
“The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee would like to gift some Assam history books to Yogi- ji as well as the Prime Minister who said Lachit Borphukan was a freedom fighter,” she added.
A polymath, poet, playwright, socio-religious reformer, Sankaradeva is credited with devising new forms of music, theatrical performance (Bhaona), dance (Satriya) and literary language (Brajavali).
