Since my childhood, I had a dream - and the dream was to see the mighty Brahmaputra river especially as it enters the Indian territories. Little did I imagine that my dream would be fulfilled one day when I was invited by His Excellency the Governor of Assam, the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam and Shri Pradyut Bordoloi, Chairman of the Organising Committee to come and inaugurate the Dehing-Patkai Festival which coincides with the important Winter Harvest Festival of Bhogali Bihu. I was very happy to note that this festival has been named after one of the tributaries of Brahmaputra, that is, the Dehing and the associated mountain range Patkai which divides India from Myanmar.

Bio-diversity

The very fact that the festival has been named after a great river and an important mountain range speaks volumes for the harmonious relationship which exists between the people of this area and their beautiful natural surroundings. Since time immemorial, the people from this area of the country have learnt to develop a close and harminous relationship with mother nature. However, this relationship assumes much greater significance in richly endowed States like Assam because of the enormous range of bio-diversity which occurs in this region. As you are aware, this bio-diversity is under threat from many areas and the Eastern Himalayas have been listed as one of the 'bio-diversity hot spots' of the world. That is to say, the bio-diversity of these areas is seriously threatened. It is, therefore, incumbent upon all of us to work together to protect this bio-diversity for our own use as well as for our future generations. I am reminded of a saying by Mahatma Gandhi that 'Nature can cater for every man's need but not for every man's greed'. We have seen around us how destruction of forests has taken place and unless we put forest utilisation on a regulated and scientific basis, it would not be possible for us to maintain and retain our bio-diversity for any length of time. And bio-diversity as you all know takes care of many critical aspects of man's survival on planet-earth. Coupled with modern advances in the field of bio-technology, this can provide us with solutions to many of our problems of backwardness and underdevelopment.

It is in this context of preserving our bio-diversity that I was glad to learn of the programme of micro-chipping of elephants undertaken by the Government to track the movements of elephants and to get a better understanding of their behaviour in the context of human-elephant conflicts. This is but a small step in understanding mother nature and also in ensuring that we do not push animals like the tiger and the elephant into extinction.

Brahmaputra River

From times immemorial, people of the Northeast have grown and prospered on the banks of the great Brahmaputra river. As I have mentioned, it was always my wish to see the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and I am very happy today that this wish has been partly fulfilled on the occasion of the Dehing-Patkai Festival. While this mighty river is the lifeline of the region and it also locks an enormous amount of power within its bosom, it also brings misery to low lying areas of Assam during times of flood. On the other hand, there are vast areas of the country which face enormous drought. To take care of this recurring problem of drought and floods, we are thinking of how to balance the excess waters of some river-basins with the deficient water of others. For this, a mega-project for the networking of rivers across the country is being thought of. Water from the surplus basins will be transferred through means of canals and links to basins which are deficient thereby taking care of the floods and the droughts at the same time. As a by-product, we also hope to generate a lot of electricity through this project. When this project fructifies, it will solve the perennial flood problems of States like Assam.

Patkai Range

The name of the festival is also based on the Patkai Range which divides India from Myanmar. The name gives a natural flavour to the celebrations as a whole but as I see it, there are two more features of the Patkai Range which are very important. Firstly, the Ahom King Chao-Lung Siu-Ka-Pha entered the Kamrup country in the year 1228 AD with 9000 followers through this very Patkai Range. And the Chukafa Harmony Arch which has been just inaugurated today signifies and commemorates the entry of this famous King into the Indian territories. As such, the Patkai Range has become the Eastern gateway into mainland India. Secondly, the Patkai Range is also home to one of the biggest bio-diversity reserves in the form of various National Parks. Here again, the emphasis is on bio-diversity and I am glad to see that the mountain range has entered into the folklore of the region.

Communal harmony

The biggest and most important message we get from the inauguration of the Communion Archway named after the legendary figure Chau-Lung Siu-Ka-Pha was the initiative of this first Ahom King to unite the various tribes and the seven different parts into which the whole area was divided into the unified State of Kamrup. In so doing, he not only gave up his own traditions and culture of, he encouraged all the tribes and different people to live in peace and harmony with each other and with nature. This, to my mind, is the biggest lesson we have to learn from Chao-Lung Siu-Ka-Pha. His liberal attitude of developing harminous relations was followed by his descendants who ruled Assam for almost 600 years and instead of imposing their own religion, they patronized the traditional Hindu religion of the local people and developed the Assamese language, culture and traditions into a homogenous sub-nationality of the Indian nation. Such concepts of peace, harmony and a unity of minds are really praise-worthy. No wonder Chao-Lung Siu-Ka-Pha called this area the Mung-Dun Sun Kham or the Land of the Golden Harvests. And today on the occasion of the Bhogali Bihu, we celebrate one such golden harvest and we remember the great philanthropist Ahom King Chao-Lung Siu-Ka-Pha.

The Festival

I am very happy to see the initiative and efforts of the State Government to have institutionalized the Dehing-Patkai Festival which is now being held every year. And I am very happy to note that this festival gives an opportunity to all the different tribes and also the other people of this area to come together on a common platform and to exhibit their spirit of unity and also to give the visitors a glimpse of the richness of their cultural heritage. I also find many excursions and outdoor activities have been planned in this festival especially in field areas of adventure tourism and eco-tourism. This will give the local people as well as the visitors a feel of the common thread of unity which flows through the myriad tribes, castes and people of this State of Assam and the adjoining regions.

I would like to thank the Governor, the Chief Minister and the State Government of Assam for giving me this rare opportunity for attending such an interesting and culturally rich festival. I have been very happy to catch a glimpse of the cultural richness and the skills of the local people especially in the areas of art and crafts. In the morning today I had occasion to go around some of the villages of this area and what touched me most was the fact that despite being placed in a difficult position, the people of these areas have not lost any of their love, affection and hospitality. I have been deeply touched by the warmth of your hearts and the high regard you give to the concepts of peace, harmony and unity of minds. I have been overwhelmed by the hospitability, the love and affection which even the poor people of these have showered on me. What can I give in return? I can give you a mantra ! --- Live in peace and harmony with each other and with mother nature and you will reap rich rewards from mother nature ! Wherever I have gone in the North-East, I have seen that the whole area is very rich in natural resources like oil, tea, gas. The areas have enormous tourist potential. It is for all of us to encourage the tapping of this potential so that we can march confidently towards a happy, prosperous and a developed India in 2020.

The Dehing-Patkai Festival coincides with the winter harvest festival of Bhogali Bihu which is one of the very important festivals of this part of the country. It therefore doubles my pleasure to be amongst you all on this happy and festive occasion. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes and greetings to all the people of Assam on this occasion of Bhogali Bihu.

Thank You !

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