**Executive Summary**
This document is the English rendering of Prime Minister’s address during Bagurumba Dwhou, a traditional Bodo cultural programme in Guwahati on January 17, 2026. The address focuses on the importance of Assamese and Bodo culture, the BJP government's efforts to promote Assam’s development, and its critique of the Congress party's alleged neglect of the region.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Celebration of Assamese and Bodo Culture:**
* Emphasis on establishing the identity of Assam through grand events.
* Recognition of “Bagurumba Dahou” as a medium to honor the Bodo tradition.
* **BJP Government Initiatives:**
* Consideration of the culture of Assam as the pride of all India.
* Giving national identity to Bihu and working towards UNESCO recognition for Charaideo Moidam.
* Status of the Assamese language as a classical language.
* Granting the Bodo language the status of an associate official language of Assam.
* Establishment of a separate directorate to strengthen education in the Bodo language.
* Recognition of the Bathou religion and declaration of a state holiday for Bathou Puja.
* Establishment of statues of Lachit Borphukan and Bodofa Upendranath Brahma.
* **Peace and Development:**
* Praise for the 2020 Bodo Peace Accord and the return of trust to the region.
* Financial assistance provided to youths for rehabilitation.
* **Critique of the Congress Party:**
* Accusation that the Congress party created instability in Assam for political gain.
* Allegation that the Congress party neglected the Bodoland region and welcomed infiltrators.
* **Infrastructure and Welfare:**
* Formation of the Bodo-Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council.
* Allocation of 1500 crore rupees for development in the Bodoland region.
* Establishment of medical colleges, nursing colleges, and para-medical institutions.
* Establishment of a separate Welfare Department and Bodoland Administrative Staff College.
* Infrastructure projects, including highways and the Kokrajhar to Gelephu railway project.
**Impact Analysis**
**People of Assam and Bodoland:**
* **Impact:** Celebrates their culture, highlights development initiatives, and addresses past grievances.
* **Action Required:** Continue to participate in cultural events, support peace initiatives, and engage in the development process.
**Bodo Youth:**
* **Impact:** Acknowledges their role in peace and development.
* **Action Required:** Continue on the path towards peace and development.
**BJP Government:**
* **Impact:** Highlights the government's initiatives and policies in Assam and Bodoland.
* **Action Required:** Continue to implement development projects and foster peace in the region.
**Congress Party:**
* **Impact:** Criticized for alleged past neglect and negative actions in Assam and Bodoland.
* **Action Required:** N/A. (The document does not specify any direct action required from the Congress Party. It only critiques their past actions and policies.)
Key Entities Referenced
Guwahati: Location of the Bodo cultural programme where the PM delivered the address.
Assam: State with significant Bodo population, referenced for its culture, development, and connection to the Bodo region.
Bagurumba Dwhou: Traditional Bodo cultural programme at the center of the PM's address.
Bodoland: Region and Bodo society are key focus areas, subject to initiatives like the Bodo Peace Accord and welfare programs.
Bodo Peace Accord (2020): Agreement aimed at resolving conflict and promoting peace in the Bodo region.
Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address during
Bagurumba Dwhou, a traditional Bodo cultural
programme in Guwahati
प्रव तथ: 17 JAN 2026 8:47PM by PIB Delhi
Namaskar! Khulumbai!
What is the news? Heartfelt greetings and love for Magh Bihu and Magh Domashi.
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya Ji, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji, my colleagues in
the Center Sarbananda Sonowal Ji, Pabitra Margherita Ji, Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly
Biswajit Daimary Ji, Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council Hagrama Mohilary Ji,
Ministers of the State Government, all distinguished citizen brothers and sisters, and my brothers and
sisters of Assam.
It is my good fortune that I have been getting the opportunity to closely observe the culture of Assam and
the Bodo traditions here. As Prime Minister, as much as I have come to Assam, no PM has come before. It
is always my desire that the art and culture of Assam get a big stage. Through grand events, its identity
should be established in the country and the world. Continuous efforts have been made for this even
before. Whether it be Bihu-related events on a large scale, the expression of Jhumair Binodini, the grand
Bodoland Festival held in Delhi a year and a quarter ago, or other cultural programs, I do not miss any
opportunity to receive the wonderful joy that is in the art and culture of Assam. Today, once again, this
event of Bagurumba is going to take place. This event is a living celebration of Bodo identity. This is also
a respect for the Bodo society and the heritage of Assam. I give my best wishes and many congratulations
to all the people associated with the event, and especially to all the artists.
Friends,
‘Bagurumba Dahou’ is not just a festival. It is a medium - to honor our great Bodo tradition, it is a medium
- to remember the great personalities of Bodo society. Bodofa Upendranath Brahma, Gurudev Kalicharan
Brahma, Rupnath Brahma, Satish Chandra Basumatary, Moradam Brahma, Kankeshwar Narzary, there
have been many such great personalities who have given strength to social reform, cultural renaissance,
and political consciousness. On this occasion, I respectfully bow to all the great personalities of the Bodo
society.
Friends,
The BJP considers the culture of Assam as the pride of all India. India's history is complete only with the
past of Assam, the history of Assam. And that is why, in the BJP government, such big grand festivals like
Bagurumba Dahou happen, Bihu is given national identity, through our efforts Charaideo Moidam gets a
place in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the Assamese language is given the status of a classical
language.
Brothers and sisters,We have also given the Bodo language the status of an associate official language of Assam. We have also
established a separate directorate to strengthen education in the Bodo language. Because of this
commitment of ours, the Bathou religion has received recognition with full respect, and a state holiday has
been declared on Bathou Puja. It is the BJP only in whose government, on one hand, a grand statue of the
great warrior Lachit Borphukan is established, and at the same time, the statue of Bodofa Upendranath
Brahma is also unveiled. Similarly, the tradition of devotion and social harmony of Srimanta Sankardev,
the art and consciousness of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala Ji—the BJP government considers the respect of every
heritage and every pride of Assam as its good fortune. Coincidentally, today is also the death anniversary
of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala Ji. I offer my tributes to him.
Friends,
Today when I have come here, so much is going on in my mind! I am also becoming emotional thinking
that my Assam is moving so far ahead. A time when there was bloodshed every other day, today the
wonderful colors of culture are being decorated there! A time where there was the echo of bullets, today
there is the sweet sound of Kham and Sifung. Where there was earlier the silence of curfew, today the
tunes of music are echoing there. Where there was earlier unrest and instability, today such attractive
performances of Bagurumba are going to happen. Such a grand event is not just an achievement of Assam.
This achievement belongs to the whole of India. Every countryman is proud of this change in Assam.
Friends,
I am satisfied that my Assamese people, my Bodo brothers and sisters, placed their trust in me for this.
The responsibility of peace and development that you gave to the double-engine government, we have
shown it by fulfilling it with your blessings. The 2020 Bodo Peace Accord put a stop to the conflict that
had been going on for years. After this agreement, trust returned and thousands of youths left the path of
violence and adopted the mainstream. After the agreement, new opportunities for education and
development were created in the Bodo region; peace did not remain limited only to law and order, but
became a part of everyday life, and your efforts played the biggest role in this.
Friends,
If there is anyone at the center of Assam's peace, Assam's development, and Assam's pride, it is the youth
of Assam. The path that the youth of Assam have chosen for the establishment of peace, I and all of us
have to take it to a bright future. Ever since the peace agreement, our government has been working
continuously for the development of Bodoland. The government has carried forward the process of
rehabilitation at a fast pace; thousands of youths were given financial assistance of crores of rupees so that
they could make a new beginning!
Friends,
The result of the efforts of the BJP government is before all of us today. My talented Bodo youth are
becoming cultural ambassadors of Assam today. In the field of sports too, the sons and daughters of Bodo
society are bringing glory. Today, with new confidence, they are openly seeing new dreams, fulfilling their
dreams, and also giving speed to the development of Assam.
Friends,
When we respect the art, culture, and identity of Assam, there are some people who get troubled. You all
know people of which party do not like the respect of Assam? The answer is only one—the Congress
Party! Which is that party that opposed giving Bharat Ratna to Bhupen Hazarika Ji? The Congress Party!
Which party opposed the semiconductor unit in Assam? A minister of the Karnataka government of
Congress itself, who is also the son of the national president of Congress. He opposed why the
semiconductor unit is being set up in Assam.Friends,
Even today when I wear anything related to the culture of Assam, if the Gamosa, if the Gamosa is with
me, then which party mocks Assam? The Congress party.
Brothers and sisters,
For so many decades the Assam and Bodoland region remained cut off from the mainstream, only and
only Congress is responsible for this. Congress created instability in Assam for its political benefit,
Congress pushed Assam into the fire of violence; after independence, Assam also had its challenges! But
what did Congress do? Instead of finding solutions to those problems, Congress cooked its political bread
on them. Trust was needed but Congress increased division. Dialogue was needed, but Congress neglected
and closed the paths of conversation! Especially, the voice of the Bodoland region, the people of Bodoland
was never heard properly. When there was a need to heal the wounds of its people, when there was a need
to serve the people of Assam, Congress was then busy welcoming the infiltrators by opening the doors of
Assam for them.
Friends,
Congress does not consider the people of Assam as its own. Congress people like foreign infiltrators more.
Because they come here and become the staunch votebank of Congress. That is why during the rule of
Congress, foreign infiltrators kept coming, kept occupying lakhs of bighas of land of Assam, and the
Congress government kept helping them. I am happy that today the government of Himanta Ji is freeing
lakhs of bighas of land belonging to the people of Assam from infiltrators.
Friends,
Congress has always seen Assam and the entire Northeast with an eye of neglect. Those Congress people
who did not consider the development of the Northeast itself necessary, how would their attention have
gone to the development of Assam? Where would they have had the leisure to think about the hopes and
expectations of the Bodo region? That is why, Congress governments deliberately pushed this region into
troubles.
Brothers and sisters,
Our double-engine government is also doing the work of cleaning those sins of Congress. The pace at
which development is happening here today is before you. You see, we formed the Bodo-Kachari Welfare
Autonomous Council. A special development package of 1500 crore rupees was given for better
development in the Bodoland region. The Medical College and Hospital started in Kokrajhar. The
construction of the Medical College in Tamulpur also gained momentum. New opportunities were created
for the youth through nursing colleges and para-medical institutions. Polytechnic and training institutes
were also built in areas like Gobardhana, Parbatjhora, and Horisinga.
Friends,
A separate Welfare Department and Bodoland Administrative Staff College were also established for
Bodoland. This is helping in making better policies for the welfare of the Bodo community.
Friends,
The BJP government has removed the distances of hearts, has finished the distance between Assam and
Delhi, and through better infrastructure, is also reducing the distances from one area to another in Assam.
In areas where it was difficult to reach earlier, today highways are being built. Such roads are being made
so that new opportunities open up in this region. For the Bishmuri-Saralpara road project connecting
Kokrajhar to the Bhutan border, an arrangement of crores of rupees has been made. The proposed railproject from Kokrajhar to Gelephu in Bhutan is also another important step. We have declared it a special
railway project. We have made it an important part of the Act East Policy. After its completion, both trade
and tourism will get a boost.
Friends,
When a society stays connected to its roots, when dialogue and trust are strong, and when equal
opportunities reach every section, then positive changes are visible. The journey of Assam and Bodoland
is moving in that direction. From the self-confidence of Assam, the potential of Assam, and the progress of
Assam, India's growth story is getting new strength. Today Assam is making its identity among the fast-
growing states. The economy of Assam is gaining speed. In this development, in this change, Bodoland
and the people here are playing an important role. I once again give many best wishes to all of you for
today's event. Thank you very much.
****
MJPS/VJ
(रलीज़ आईडी: 2215711) आगंतुक पटल : 218
इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: ही , Assamese , Gujarati