Guwahati, 8th April: Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday that the Maidams of Charaideo, burial mounds of Ahom royals, are poised to achieve UNESCO World Heritage Site status by the conclusion of this year. Sarma lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unwavering commitment to Assam and called upon the public to endorse him for a third consecutive term.
Speaking at an election rally in Charaideo under the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, Sarma recounted his interaction with Modi, during which he had advocated for recommending the Maidams as the country’s nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site designation. “Officers in Delhi informed me that there were two proposals for the official nomination – our Maidams and Sarnath, the site of Buddhist pilgrimage. When I met our cultural minister, he expressed reluctance to approach the PM as Sarnath is in the Varanasi constituency,” Sarma revealed.
“I approached the PM and urged Modiji to designate Charaideo Maidams as the sole nomination from the country for UNESCO World Heritage Site status last year,” Sarma disclosed. “By this year’s end, the Charaideo Maidams will be part of the UNESCO World Heritage site,” the CM asserted. Maidams symbolize the late medieval mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahoms dynasty, which ruled Assam for 600 years.
Out of the 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are considered the best-preserved, representative, and most complete examples of this tradition. Sarma also highlighted Assam’s significance to the PM, evidenced by his frequent donning of the ‘gamusa’ (Assamese traditional scarf/towel). “Modi ji had worn the gamusa when he went to take the COVID vaccine. Later, when I asked him why he chose it, Modiji told me that the gamusa gives him courage,” Sarma recounted.
The PM’s recent overnight stay in Kaziranga National Park further spotlighted the tourist site internationally, Sarma emphasized. Listing various welfare schemes like the ‘Orunudoi’ and ‘Lakhpati Baideo’ schemes of the state government, the CM affirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to serving the people. “Alongside ‘Modi ki guarantee,’ you have ‘Mama ki warranty’,” the CM quipped, alluding to the affectionate term ‘Mama’ by which he is known in the state.