TEZPUR — Assam Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the state has to draw lessons from Israel on
surviving even when surrounded by adversaries.
Speaking
to reporters on the sidelines of a programme to mark 'Swahid Diwas' at
Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district, Sarma said Assam's boundaries were never
safe.
"Historically,
we have shared boundaries with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and West Bengal. We
(Assamese people) are a minority in 12 districts," he said.
"We
have to learn from the histories of countries like Israel how using knowledge,
science and technology, and with indomitable courage, even when surrounded by
enemies it has become a strong country. Only then we can survive as a 'jati'
(community)," he added.
'Swahid
Diwas' commemorates the death of Khargeswar Talukdar, considered the first
"martyr" of the six-year-long Assam Agitation, which had ended with
the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985.
Addressing
a programme organised by Bharatiya Janata Yuba Morcha on the occasion, Sarma
said that even after nearly 40 years since the Accord, the "threat"
from outsiders has not disappeared.
He
claimed that while political safeguards have been ensured for the next few
years through the delimitation exercise, the people must strive for economic
self-reliance to keep the state from going away into the hands of "unknown
people".
"We
are at another crossroads now. The Assam Agitation was to safeguard the
identity of the Assamese people. But we have to admit that the threat has not
disappeared. Every day, demography is changing, every day indigenous people are
losing land rights," he claimed.
Holding
the Congress responsible for the Assamese losing their lands, he alleged that a
section of people within the state were siding with the opposition party,
ignoring the negative impact of its rule in the state.
"In
over 12 districts, we (Assamese) are a minority. These so-called patriots of
Congress, I want to ask them who they think they are emboldening by weakening
our own people. They are damaging our own community, our society," the CM
said.
"Patriotism
doesn't end with coming to an understanding and forming a government. After
forming the government, one has to fight with courage against enemies and
protect the 'jati'. And we are doing it with all our might," he asserted.
Sarma
said about 10,000 hectares of land, equal to the area of Chandigarh, has been
cleared from encroachment in the last three years.
He said
that while the political objective of the Assam Agitation was to drive out
infiltrators, its economic aim was achieving financial self-reliance and the
youth has the most crucial role to play in this regard.
"We
have shunned away from tiling our lands, pulling our rickshaws, driving our
buses. 'Achinakto' (unknown) people are doing these works and taking over our
economy. The youth have to protect us against this," he said.
"Emotions
cannot build a 'jati', it is built on work and 'bibek'. We have to work on
becoming self-reliant. Agitation has to be in the farming field, industrial
sector. Assamese people no longer support bandh, dharna, picketing, they
support the 'andolan' which will force these unknown people out," Sarma
asserted.
The CM
maintained that the delimitation of constituencies has ensured political
protection for "some years" and this time has to be used to ensure
protection of cultural and economic identity.
He said
the government is also working on safeguarding cultural identity.
"We
will be the only state which will have a medical college and a university in
every district. And we will also soon have at least one bridge over the
Brahmaputra in every district it flows through," he said.
