“Anti-national forces with covert agendas working relentlessly in Northeast”

Police with a miscreant who set Guru Ashan of historic Ganakkuchi Satra in Barpeta on fire on Thursday

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Plot to malign saints who shaped the society and culture of Assam five centuries back

By Nava Thakuria*

Guwahati: Condemning continued acts of vandalism at Satras and temples across Assam by rabidly communal malcontents, Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) – a forum of nationalists comprising local intelligentsia and prominent citizens of the Northeast,  has urged the State government in Dispur to take serious note of the situation as anti-national forces are waging a diabolical war against the unique cultural identity of India.

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The forum of nationalist citizens took strong issue against the latest shocking incident at Ganakkuchi Satra in Barpeta district of western Assam, in which a miscreant named Rafiqul Ali ransacked the centuries-old Vaishnavite monastery. On September 3 last, Ali sneaked into the sanctum sanctorum of the Satra and set fire to the holy book Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta and its sacred seat Guru Aasan, sending shockwaves among thousands of devotees.

Soon a large number of local residents gathered at the spot to catch the miscreant red-handed and turned him over to the police. Several devotees asserted that the act of vandalism had been planned with sinister intent by a shadowy circle which has been radicalising and inciting youths like Rafiqul Ali, a resident of Shantipur village in Bhella. He had previously ransacked a temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi at Keotkuchi village in Barpeta district. Ali was then termed ‘mentally disturbed’ by a section of minority appeasers.

“The 16th century Vaishnavite monastery at Ganakkuchi was established by Shrimanta Shankardev’s great disciple Mohapurush Madhabdev, where he stayed for 18 years preaching the message of neo-Vaishnavism among the people. Lately, a mischievous circle has been plotting to malign the two Vaishnavite saints who shaped the society and culture of Assam five centuries back,” said a PPFA statement.

The forum further questioned the suspicious silence of mainstream media outlets in Guwahati, which have glossed over the incident, citing the ‘mental imbalance’ of Rafiqul Ali. Notably, large numbers of social media users have slammed this conspiracy of silence, considering that the so-called ‘half-mad’ individual has selectively and stealthily desecrated a temple and a Satra.

Riju Pathak, an ardent follower of the two Vaishnavite saints, has strongly criticized the tendency of anti-social lumpens in targeting primarily Hindu places of worship. In an uploaded video message, Pathak commented that a motive behind the vandalism could be understood which would emerge as a threat to the oldest civilization in the world. He also criticized hundreds of Assam based ‘people’s organizations’ for maintaining silence over the matter.

Endorsing Pathak, the PPFA appealed to State chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal (also in charge of Home portfolio) to take personal interest in ensuring protection to all socio-cultural institutions. It further called upon the people of northeast India to stay vigilant against anti-national forces who with covert agendas are relentlessly working on behalf of foreign elements to jeopardize the unity, sovereignty and harmony of India as a nation.

*NJ Thakuria is a Guwahati-based senior journalist

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