Jorhat’s Statue of Valour watches over battle for Ahom pride
Pranab Barpatragohain plans to start a restaurant on his plot opposite the entrance gate of an underconstruction park sporting MelengHollongapar’s newest landmark — the Statue of Valour.
The 125foot statue depicts Lachit Borphukan, the iconic Ahom general revered for leading the Battle of Saraighat in 1671 to prevent the Mughal army from occupying Assam. The park encompasses the maidam, or earthen pyramid, where he was buried after the battle.
“The park and the statue are expected to attract visitors and boost business in the neighbourhood,” said Mr. Barpatragohain.
“This statue may change the face of our area, but it should have been inaugurated after completion,” said one of his neighbours.
Divided opinion
Opinions about the Statue of Valour, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9, are perhaps as divided as the support for the two top candidates — BJP’s Topon Kumar Gogoi, who is eyeing a second successive term; and challenger Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress. The latter had won the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the adjoining Kaliabor seat, which metamorphosed into Kaziranga after the 2023 delimitation exercise.
The nerve centre of the constituency is the elite Jorhat town, said to be Assam’s tea capital because of the surrounding plantations, about 300 km east of Guwahati. The park is almost as far from the eastern edge of the town along NH715 as the Sukhapha Samannay Kshetra is from its western edge.
Dedicated to Swargadeo (or emperor) Sukapha, who came from China’s Yunnan to establish the Ahom dynasty that ruled Assam for 600 years until the British takeover in the 1800s, this represents Ahom pride as much as the Lachit statue park. But while the park is perceived to have a BJP stamp, the Kshetra is associated with the Congress. Former CM and Mr. Gaurav’s father, the late Tarun Gogoi, laid its foundation in December 2015. The Ahom community, to which the Gogois belong, make up the majority of voters in the Jorhat constituency, and are believed to have a soft corner for Mr. Gaurav.