Guwahati: A Webinar on “Untold Stories of the Freedom Struggle from North East India”, a book written by veteran journalist and author Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap was organised by Press Information Bureau, Guwahati today. Participants including journalists from across the North east joined the webinar.
The webinar was moderated by B. Narayanan, Director General, North East Zone, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
While delivering the welcome address Narayanan said that the webinar aims to discuss the salient features of the book written by Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap.
He said that the book published by Publications Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is an attempt to highlight the supreme sacrifices of the freedom fighters of North East.
The main objective of this webinar is to take the tales of the unsung heroes to the masses, he added. Talking about the book Shri Narayanan said that this book will help the upcoming generation to know about the contributions and sacrifices of the freedom fighters of the region.
In his opening remarks Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap said that this book delves into the heroic deeds and sacrifices of individuals from this region, shedding light on their contribution to India’s fight for independence.
He said that the stories of patriotism and sacrifices of the Freedom fighters of North East have yet to be systematically documented in a comprehensive manner.
Non-inclusion of the tales of the anti-colonial movements of the region in works of history and textbooks on the other hand has led to a perception that North East had not been part of the freedom struggle at all, he added.
He further said that bringing out the stories from across the northeast was a big challenge because of lack of proper documentation of most of the incidents.
Dr Kashyap in his address spoke about the heroic acts of patriotism of those like Maniram Dewan and Kushal Konwar of Assam, Ranuwa Gohain of Arunachal Pradesh, Tikendrajit of Manipur etc.
He also deliberated on the Maniram Dewan story, Battle of Saraighat, first peasant’s uprising at Phulaguri, the role played by women of Northeast etc in today’s webinar.
The webinar was also attended by the officials of Press Information Bureau and Central Bureau of Communication of North East region.
The book titled “Untold Stories of the Freedom Struggle from North East India” has been published by the Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The book explains the stories of patriotism, courage and sacrifices from across the North-eastern region and also the unrecognised battles that the region fought against the heavily-armed British.