All roads led to the Daoharu Fwthar at Khoirabari in Udalguri district on the concluding day of the 59th annual conference of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha as a gathering of more than one lakh thronged the venue.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended the open session as chief guest. He said, “When a race decides to preserve its identity with determination, then only it can succeed. Bodos, with a great sense of discipline and unity, are a living example that when a community joins hands, no force on earth can act as an obstacle in its march towards growth and development.”

“The government is working with the BJP’s motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and it is always committed towards the cause of the indigenous ethnic communities. There must not be any doubt regarding the Assam government’s commitment to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people as it would not allow the control of sons of the soil over Assam to weaken at any cost,” he said.

He added that the Assam government has announced that Rs 10 crore would be provided to the corpus fund of Asam Sahitya Sabha, Rs 5 crore to Bodo Sahitya Sabha and Rs 3 crore each to the other indigenous sahitya sabhas in Assam under Bhasha Gaurab Achoni. This one-time grant will be provided to 22 indigenous sahitya sabhas, he said.

He also lauded the efforts of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha, which, ever since its inception, has endeavoured to enrich the foundation of Bodo education and literature.

Sonowal also launched a mobile app, E-Thunlai, and ebook and elibrary projects of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha.

He lauded the efforts of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) led by BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary for its efforts to promote a sense of harmony and brotherhood among the communities of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).

BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary thanked the Assam government for granting Rs 5 crore to the Bodo Sahitya Sabha’s corpus fund and he hoped that this amount would bolster the Sabha’s activities in the future. He said efforts were being made to insert a clause in the proposed Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) which will be signed between the Centre, Assam government and the National Democratic Front of Boroland, along with other Bodo organisations, to start courses of Bodo language in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Delhi University.

He also lauded the efforts of the central and state governments to resolve the long-pending political issue of Bodo by proposing the MoS where all the factions of NDFB are brought to the negotiation table.

Mohilary said the student community must be kept away from the purview of protests and demonstrations as it harms their academic career and puts their future at stake.

Assam tourism minister Chandan Brahma, social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma, PHED Minister Rihon Daimary, Mangaldoi MP Dilip Saikia, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary, BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Das, Bodo Sahitya Sabha president Torren Boro, linguist and professor of Oregon University, USA, Scott Delancy, Sahitya Academy Award winner Anju Narzary and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.