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Asam Sahitya Bhawan urges Assam govt to acquire and preserve historic Sahitya Sabha Bhawan in Kohima.
The Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASA) is pushing the Assam government to acquire the historic 121-year-old Asam Sahitya Sabha Bhawan (building) located in Kohima and preserve it as a heritage structure. According to the ASA such a move would enrich the state’s national life and further strengthen the Naga
The Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASA) is pushing the Assam government to acquire the historic 121-year-old Asam Sahitya Sabha Bhawan (building) located in Kohima and preserve it as a heritage structure. According to the ASA such a move would enrich the state’s national life and further strengthen the Naga-Assamese solidarity.
Recently an Asam Sahitya Sabha delegation visited Nagaland under the leadership of its president Dr Dhrubajyoti Borah to interact with the local people to ease the process of restoration and preservation of the structure.
A lesser known fact is that more than 20 years before the ASA was born, a precursor to this apex literary and socio-cultural body was formed in 1895 in Nagaland at the behest of the pioneering Assamese nationalist, Padmanath Gohain Baruah. Interestingly, Baruah also served as the first president of the ASA at its Sivasagar session in 1917.
Efforts have continued over several years for the preservation of the Kohima Sahitya Sabha building at Kohima – popularly known as Lal Ghar – as a heritage structure. Once preserved, it will also serve as a platform for the people of the two states to come together for literary and cultural interactions.
Preserving the Kohima Sahitya Sabha Bhawan and according it the heritage status would also be the perfect tribute to Padmanath Gohain Baruah, the most prominent figures of Assamese literature and Assamese nationalism.
“We have urged the Assam Government to develop the Lal Ghar as an Assam Bhawan and a cultural centre – and some space for Asam Sahitya Sabha. The old Kohima Sahitya Sabha Bhawan is dear to our hearts and can well be a much-needed symbol of harmony and camaraderie for the Assamese and the Nagas at a time when a little friction was palpable in the relations between the two due to the working of vested interest circles,” said Asam Sahitya Sabha president Dr Dhrubajyoti Borah.
He added that the people of Assam and Nagaland have shared a long bond since centuries. The Kohima Sahitya Sabha will help build further on these ties.
A Sahitya Sabha delegation also met CM Sarbananda Sonowal, seeking the State Government’s early action in taking over the heritage structure. It would also a befitting accomplishment ahead of the Sahitya Sabha’s forthcoming centenary celebrations, it said.
* Read the original story by Sivasish Thakur on www.assamtribune.com