GUWAHATI, Nov 21 ? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made a commitment that the Central Government under his stewardship would take all the necessary steps to preserve the cultural heritage of Majuli island. The island is the largest inhabited river island on the earth and also the treasure- house of State?s Vaishnavite culture and religion.
The Prime Minster was giving away the Srimanta Sankaradeva Awards for 2002, 2003 and 2004 to renowned educationist and social reformer Late Indira Miri, renowned theatre personality of the country Habib Tanvir and noted Satriya scholar and Satradhikar of Natun Kamalabari Satra Narayan Chandra Goswami and noted classical singer Begum Parween Sultana, at a function at the Machkhowa Pragjyoti ITA Centre for Performing Arts here this evening.
The award was instituted by the State Government in 1986 to honour those personalities in the country who have dedicated themselves for making a new society free from class difference, religious intolerance and for spreading the message of integration of social justice and reforms. The award carries a cash amount of Rs 3 lakh, a citation and a gold medal.
So far 17 persons have been honoured with this award and this time Late Indira Miri was selected for the 2002 award for her outstanding contributions to social reforms and expansion of education. Habib Tanvir was selected for the 2003 award for his wholesome contributions to theatre movement in the country and to the diverse fields of Indian culture.
Narayan Chandra Goswami was selected for the 2004 award for his outstanding contributions towards propagation of Vaishnavite philosophy, literature and culture and Begum Parween Sultana for the 2004 award, her outstanding contributions in the field of Indian classical music.
The Prime Minister was responding to a request made by Narayan Chandra Goswami made during his award acceptance speech, for measures to protect the cultural heritage of the island, which provided shelter to Srimanta Sankardeva and his apostle Madhavdeva for seventeen years. The Satradhikar had also called for measures to implement the State Assembly resolution to safeguard the cultural heritage of the island.
The venerable Satradhikar had also called for expeditious steps to save the island from the erosion of the Brahmaputra and also to wrest the UNESCO recognition of a World Heritage Site to the island.
Reiterating that art and culture should become a powerful instrument in promoting national integration and unity of the country?s people amidst diversity, the Prime Minister said that his Government was committed to protecting the cultural heritage of Assam as well as that of the whole of India. He also made an appeal to the people to extend all sorts of cooperation to the Government steps to promote integrity of the country and unity of its people.
The Prime Minster was emphatic in his assertion when he said that the efforts at the resurgence of the country should not be confined to economic activities only. Other areas of activities like academic, cultural, etc., should also be covered by such attempts, he said.
Describing Sankaradeva as the visionary who brought Assam to the mainstream of the country, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that the Srimanta Sankaradeva Award would help popularising the ideals of the great saint of the State. He also exuded the confidence that the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra would help propagation of the ideals of the saint favouring pluralism and inclusiveness in the trying hours of the society.
Presiding over the function, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that at this hour the people of the State could draw inspiration from the great saint in respects of upholding the cultural integrity of the State with the rest of the country and in matters of integrating the castes and tribes of the State. The great saint had clearly exemplified personally that one could be an Assamese being an Indian. He had a pan-Indian vision while talking of greater Assam, said the Chief Minister.
Accepting the award Begum Parween Sultana called upon the State Government to encourage the young singing talents so that they could shine and draw accolades from the connoisseurs world over in the coming days. The renowned classical vocalist also enthralled the audience with her rendition of a few lines of one of her popular numbers? Khoj lahekoi dibi sakhi ?with the same freshness that she demonstrated about four decades back. That was the first light song she had ever sung. The song was recorded for the AIR Guwahati station in the 1960s.
Accepting the award on behalf of his mother Late Indira Miri, Utpal Miri thanked the Government and the people for nominating his mother for the award. Accepting the award on behalf of his uncle Habib Tanvir, Javed Malik said that Tanvir could not make it to the function because of his preoccupation with a theatrical show elsewhere.
He is working for spreading the same ideals Sankaradeva had upheld. He is extremely happy to receive the award and grateful to the Assam Government for nominating him for the award, Malik said. State?s Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Culture, Mrinal Kumar Barooah offered the vote of thanks to the guests, the recipients and the audience.