Guwahati: Welcoming the decision to confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously on music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Bharat Ratna for the ‘Bard of Brahmaputra’ is a great honour for Assam. Mr Hazarika, with his message of humanity, was not only a great son of Assam, but of India as a unifier of people of all languages and creed through his contributions to the field of art and culture of the country,” Mr Sonowal said in a statement.
Mr Hazarika was honoured with the highest civilian award of the country more than seven years after his death.
Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state BJP chief Ranjit Dass also expressed happiness over the decision to confer Bharat Ratna on Mr Hazarika. However, talking to a private TV channel, Mr Sarma, a former Congress minister said during the time of erstwhile UPA regime a recommendation was made by the Tarun Gogoi-led Assam government to confer the Bharat Ratna on Mr Hazarika, but it was declined saying the award could not be given posthumously.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has said that the state's cultural integrity and harmony could only be kept alive if Mr Hazarika’s ideologies are preserved and followed to its true spirit.
