Guwahati, Dec 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday paid homage to martyrs of the Assam Agitation, a movement against illegal immigrants, at the ‘Swahid Smarak Kshetra’ here.
Shah was accompanied by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Accord Implementation Minister Atul Bora.
He laid floral tribute at the ‘Swahid Bedi’ (martyrs’ memorial) and walked around the memorial.
“Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah paid homage at the ‘Swahid Smarak Kshetra’, remembering the martyrs of the historic Assam Movement,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on X.
The home minister was presented with a replica of the ‘Swahid Smarak Ksehtra’.
Shah and Sarma also planted saplings in the complex.
“The Hon’ble Home Minister and HCM Dr. @himantabiswa also planted saplings as a mark of remembrance and respect,” the CMO said.
The memorial, inaugurated earlier this month, has a lamp, which always remains lit in memory of the 860 martyrs of the six-year-long movement that ended in 1985. The agitation was aimed at freeing the state from illegal immigrants.
The memorial also has a martyrs’ gallery, where the busts of those killed during the agitation have been placed, including that of Khargeswar Talukdar, the first martyr of the movement, officials said.
Talukdar died on December 10, 1979.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also visited the memorial during his two-day visit to the state earlier this month.
Built at a cost of Rs 170 crore, the memorial has water bodies, an auditorium, a prayer hall, a bicycle track and arrangements for a sound and light show, which will highlight different aspects of the Assam Agitation and the state’s history.(PTI)
