Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on January 20, unveiled the book titled ‘Assam’s Braveheart – Lachit Barphukan’ during a program at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The initiative of the Assam government, the book, authored in English by eminent writer Arup Kumar Dutta, seeks to acquaint the nation with the extraordinary life and sacrifices of the legendary 17th-century war hero Lachit Barphukan, who valiantly defended Assam against the Mughal Army.
This book not only chronicles the rich and untold historical events of Assam but also captures how the legacy of Lachit Barphukan has had its influence on the posterity.
The book has been translated into 23 Indian languages. The authors involved in this translation work are Gyan Prakash Tekchandani and Sundardas V Gohrani (Sindhi), Wahengbam Kumari Chanu (Manipuri), Rajeshwar Singh Raju (Dogri). Munjuluri Krishna Kumari (Telugu), Suren Talukdar (Assamese), Pradeep Kumar (Hindi), Lalchand Saren (Santhali), Devayan Bhaduri (Bangla), Harkamalpreet Singh (Punjabi), K Shivlingappa Hadihalu and Veerendra Rabihal (Kannada), Bindumadhava Kulkarni (Marathi), RS Bhaskar (Konkani), Kannayan Dakshinamurthy (Tamil), Vijaydeo Jha and Sanjay Jha (Maithili), Khagen Sharma (Nepali), Subhash Chandra Satpathy (Odia), Baldevanand Sagar (Sanskrit), Swarnaprabha Chainary and Phukan Chandra Basumatary (Bodo), S Salim Kumar (Malayalam), Mirza AB Baig ( Urdu,), Nissar Azam (Kashmiri), Vinod Patel (Gujarati) and Deen dayal Sharma( Rajasthani).
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed gratitude to union home minister Amit Shah for suggesting the book’s publication in different Indian languages, enabling the younger generation to learn about Lachit Barphukan. Sarma acknowledged the hard work of the author, Arup Kumar Dutta, and the translators, emphasizing the need to glorify Indian heroes like Lachit Barphukan in history books.
To ensure the widespread reach of Lachit Barphukan’s heroic tale, Sarma announced plans to release translated copies of the book in various states through programmes in association with respective state governments. Additionally, a mega theatrical performance on Lachit Barphukan, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be staged across India, featuring around 500 artistes.
The programme was attended by Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu, Assam publication board’s vice chairman Sumanta Chaliha, writer Arup Kumar Dutta, translators of the book, and other dignitaries.
