Guwahati sept 20: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday said that ‘Tawang, in fact, is the last gift to the nation by the first Home Minister of the country, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel’ while expressing regret that the fact was lost in the history.
Flagging in the ‘Soul of India’ ride at the War Memorial, Khandu said that contributions made by Sardar Patel at the highest level and Major Bob Khathing at the ground level in bringing Tawang under the rule of India have never been recognized and therefore remained unknown to the people.
“This propelled us to conduct exhaustive research and bring to the fore the contributions of Sardar Patel and Major Khathing by establishing the Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing Museum at Tawang,” he informed.
He expressed gratitude to the riders of the Soul of India ride, which is a part of the process in establishing the museum.
Recognizing the need for the museum to convey the emotion of One Nation and narrate the broader story of India’s unity and diversity, a ‘Soul of India’ installation was conceived as part of the museum, which would house soil from iconic locations in each state and union territory, connected to India’s freedom struggle.
To operationalize the concept, the Soul of India Ride was drawn up.
The Ride commenced on June 13 with a team of three riders from the Royal Arunachal Riders and over one month they traversed 12000 km to collect sacred soil from different regions. Riders from across India contributed by collecting and sending soil from sites that were inaccessible during the main ride.
A total of 36 casks, each containing soil from these iconic locations, were today received by the Chief Minister, which will be featured at the Soul of India installation at the museum.
On behalf of the state government and the people of Tawang, Khandu expressed gratitude to the riders and all those involved in the task.
He informed that the plan is to inaugurate the museum on 31st October, which is celebrated as the National Unity Day commemorating Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.
“We are working to invite Home Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate the museum in the presence of Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and chief ministers or their representatives of the Northeastern states,” Khandu said.
Khandu later took stock of the status of the under-construction museum in detail.
Deputy Commissioner Kangki Darang, 190 Mountain Brigade Commander Brig Vipul Singh Rajput and others.
