Pratyusha Mukherjee Laitkor, Shillong, Meghalaya
The Assam Rifles, India’s oldest paramilitary force, traces its origins to the “Cachar Levy” formed in 1835 to protect British tea estates and settlements from tribal raids, evolving into a force known as the “right arm of the civil and left arm of the military”.
This is the second part of my “AR Museum” coverage and I will give our readers a small brief of Dhai Murti and the historic “bell”.
The “Dhai Murti” (meaning “half statue” or “two and a half statue”) is a fiberglass statue depicting an Assam Rifles jawan helping a refugee flee from Myanmar during World War II, inaugurated at the Assam Rifles Headquarters in Laitkor, Shillong. It commemorates the Assam Rifles’ 190 years in the Northeast and their service to the nation and is adopted as symbol of AR, as it epitomises their core values.
“Dhai Murti” is indeed a symbol of pride for the Assam Rifles. This was given by the King of Burma during WW-II. During the Japanese Forces advance in Burma during WW-II, India sent 2 Assam Rifles in Burma to rescue and guide the Burmese women and children to rescue camps across the Indian Borders. The then King of Burma pleased with the work of 2 Assam Rifles gave a silver coin to each soldier of 2 Assam Rifles which was melted and forged into the Dhai Murti Statue.It symbolizes an Assam Rifles soldier guiding a Burmese lady with a child on his back and wading through difficult terrain en-route to India.
Bell Gifted by Burmese King:
This bell was made of mixed metals in the year 1788 and weighs about 50 kgs, this was given by the King of Burma to the King of Tripura as a gift for his help against the Japanese invasion. The King of Tripura had sent his contingent of Veer Vikram Rifles for the Burmese Campaign which was later transformed into the 6th Assam Rifles after independence. The Burmese King gave this bell to Jamadar Meher Singh Thapa, the Commander of the detachment that belonged to the 6th Assam Rifles.
Contribution of Assam Rifles in UN Mission:
The Assam Rifles contingent has been deployed in Haiti from 2010 to 2019, as part of the Formed Police Unit-2 (FPU-2) under MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) on one year rotation basis. The role of the Contingent was to serve with UN as per UN mandate to ensure a secure and stable environment for the government of Haiti inorder to promote the political process for strengthening Haiti’s governmental institutions and rule of law. The Assam Rifles also presently has one Riflewomen contingent deployed in UNDOF (Golan).
Myanmar Corner:-
The Assam Rifles and the North Eastern states shares cultural and historical linkages with Myanmar.
Visitors can get a complete corner on Myanmar and its rich historical and cultural heritage at Assam Rifles Museum.
North East Corner:
The first floor of the Museum depicts the rich cultural heritage of the eight states of North East i.e the seven sisters and one brother. These include the handicrafts of all cultures, the ethnic dresses, tribal history, models of places of historical importance, coffee table books and other arts and crafts.
(With inputs from DGAR)
(Ms. Pratyusha Mukherjee, an Independent Sr. Broadcast Journalist working for British media with 20 years of experience in covering the east and northeast, with specialisation in Defence and Sports.She is associated with us as Editorial head of Defence and Sports. In her illustrated career she has covered many major events and achieved International and Indian media awards for Journalism)
