-NJ Thakuria
Guwahati: Eminent author, bureaucrat and a soft spoken Arunachali gentleman Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi was honoured with Siu-Ka-Pha award on Asom Divas on December 2. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal gave away the award carrying a gamocha, chabkan, hengdang, safura & a cheque of rupees three lakh to the Padma Shri awardee at a function held in Dibrugarh.
Addressing the gathering, Sonowal urged the people to keep alive Swargadeo Chaolung Siu-Ka-Pha’s principle and ideology of harmonious co-existence in a bid to build a stronger nation. He commented that Chaolung Siu-Ka-Pha was an embodiment of hard work and indomitable spirit.
“The way Siu-Ka-Pha overcame the challenges during his journey from Yunnan province (China) to Assam and established the great Ahom kingdom exemplified his courage and vision.
It was not an easy task for him to build a harmonious society in a land of myriad cultures, languages, customs and traditions, said Sonowal.
However, he added, Siu-Ka-Pha made this possible with his visionary strategies and policy of assimilation, which should be studied more extensively. Sonowal also narrated various steps taken by the BJP led government to establish Swargadeo Samannay Khetra at Charaideo in memory of 42 Ahom kings, installation of Siu-Ka-Pha’s statue at Dispur, Siu-Ka-Pha chair at Dibrugarh University, etc. He appealed to the people to support the government initiatives spreading the message of Siu-Ka-Pha.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Act East Policy has set the goal to transform Assam and the northeastern region as an important destination for the south-east Asian nations, Sonowal called upon the people to march ahead with Siu-Ka-Pha’s spirits. He observed that there was a need for further interactions between the people of the region and south-east Asian countries and exchanges of information about their shared history.
In presence of prominent Tai scholar Pushpa Gogoi, State cultural minister Naba Kumar Doley & revenue minister JogenMohan, Parliamentarians Kamakhya Prasad Tasa & Tapan Gogoi, legislator Chakradhar Gogoi, Sonowal also lauded the contribution of Sahitya Academy awardee Thongchi for his role in developing better bonhomie among the people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Hails from Jigaon village of West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh, Thongchi started his literary pursuits in Assamese language since his early days (even though it is not his mother tongue, but a dialect called Sherdukpen) as it was the medium of instruction in his State at that time. He was earlier honoured with Bhasha Bharti award, Phulchand Khandelwal Sanghati Bata award, Basudev Jalan award, Dr Bhupen Hazarika award etc.
