‘Assam should learn from Israel’: CM Himanta says state is ‘surrounded by adversaries’

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a ‘Swahid Diwas’ programme organised by Bharatiya Janata Yuba Morcha on Tuesday said that the state should learn from Israel. He urged the youth of Assam to learn the measures Israel took on nation-building.

In the speech he said, “I urge the Assamese people to study the history of Israel. The Middle East is surrounded by Muslim fundamentalists on all sides, including powers like Iran and Iraq. Amidst this, Israel has transformed itself into an invincible nation through technology, science and hard work despite being a small country. I urge the Assamese youth to read the history of Israel’s national-building.”

“Just as Israel has stood strong, we too stand firm like them. The process of Israel’s nation-building will inspire and empower us, teaching us how to remain resilient and invincible among unfamiliar people to overcome challenges and to build ourselves as an undefeated and courageous state. Lachit (Borphukan) defeated India’s most powerful army with traditional weapons. Lachit is our inspiration, Kanaklata is our inspiration, Shaheed Khargeswar Talukdar is our inspiration. Keeping their legacy alive, we shall build an invincible, brave and resolute Assamese nation filled with the essence of valour,” he said.

Moreover, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the programme, Sarma said that Assam’s boundaries were never safe. He said that Assam shares boundaries with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and West Bengal, and that the Assamese people are a minority in 12 districts of the state.

He said that it is important to learn the histories of countries like Israel to know how using knowledge, science and technology can make a country strong even if they are surrounded by enemies.

‘Swahid Diwas’ commemorates the death of Khargeswar Talukdar, who is considered the first martyr of the six-year-long Assam Agitation that ended with the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985.

Sarma said even after 40 years since the Accord, the “threat” from outsiders has not disappeared. Even though the Assam Agitation took place to safeguard the identity of the Assamese people, the threat has not disappeared and the demography is changing every day with indigenous people losing their land rights.

The Chief Minister said that Assamese people are a minority in 12 of the state’s districts, and blamed the Congress for weakening its own people. He said that around 10,000 hectares of land has been cleared from encroachment in the last three years.

Sarma said that Assamese people have shunned away from tilling their lands, pulling their rickshaws, driving their buses, giving way to ‘achinakto’ (unknown) people to take on these jobs as well as the economy. Sarma said only emotions cannot build a community, people will have to work towards becoming self-reliant.