Chief Minister Pema Khandu today said that ‘Tawang, in fact, is the last gift to the nation by the first Home Minister of the country, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel’ while expressing regret that the fact was lost in the history.
Flagging in the ‘Soul of India’ ride here at the War Memorial this morning, Khandu said that contributions made by Sardar Patel at the highest level and Major Bob Khathing at the ground level in bringing Tawang under the rule of India has never been recognized and therefore remained unknown to the people.
“This propelled us to conduct an exhaustive research and bring to the fore the contributions of Sardar Patel and Major Khathing by establishing the Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing museum at Tawang,” he informed.
He expressed gratitude to the riders of the Soul of India ride, which is a part of the process in establishing the museum.
Recognizing the need for the museum to convey the emotion of One Nation and narrate the broader story of India’s unity and diversity, a ‘Soul of India’ installation was conceived as part of the museum, which would house soil from iconic locations in each state and union territory, connected to India’s freedom struggle.
In order to operationalize the concept, the Soul of India Ride was drawn up.
The Ride commenced on June 13, 2024 with a team of three riders from the Royal Arunachal Riders and over the course of one month they traversed 12000 kms to collect sacred soil from different regions. Riders from across India contributed by collecting and sending soil from sites that were inaccessible during the main ride.
A total of 36 casks, each containing soil from these iconic locations, were today received by the Chief Minister, which will be featured at the Soul of India installation at the museum.
On behalf of the state government and the people of Tawang, Khandu expressed gratitude to the riders and all those involved in the task.
He informed that the plan is to inaugurate the museum on 31st October, which is celebrated as the National Unity Day commemorating Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.
“We are working to invite Home Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate the museum in presence of Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and chief ministers or their representatives of the Northeastern states,” Khandu said.
Khandu later took stock of the status of the under-construction museum in detail.
Deputy Commissioner Kangki Darang, 190 Mountain Brigade Commander Brig Vipul Singh Rajput and others.
Defence editor’s note:
Major Ralengnao Bob Khathing,who was a Naga from Manipur, was given orders by Jairamdas Daulatram to march towards Tawang with 200 soldiers of Assam Rifles and 600 porters on January 17, 1951.
Before World War II, Tawang was under the administrative control of the then independent Tibetan government.
He used diplomatic skills to win over the locals. He soon realised that the local Monpa community was struggling under the harsh taxes imposed by the Tibetan administration.
He told the local people about India, its democracy and assured them that India will never impose unjustified tax on them.
Major Bob Khathing, who was instrumental in bringing Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh under the Indian Union had a great contribution for the nation building.
( Pratyusha Mukherjee is an Independent Senior Broadcast Journalist of British Media , associated with us as Editorial Head of Defence & Sports)
(With inputs from govt. of Arunachal Pradesh)
