Sarma hails Modi for bringing Assam from the periphery to the centre

Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has brought Assam “from the periphery to the centre,” driving reforms and expanding opportunity over the last 12 years.

In a letter congratulating Modi on becoming the longest-serving PM, Sarma wrote, “For decades, generations in Assam lived with a quiet sense of distance. Proud Indians, yet often feeling that their aspirations did not receive the attention they deserved. The northeast was too often seen only through the prism of remoteness, insurgency, floods and limitations. Many had resigned themselves to this reality.”

“Assam was brought from the periphery to the centre. The northeast became integral to India’s national imagination. A region long seen as distant found the confidence to believe it stood at the heart of India’s future,” he added.

Sarma credited Modi for describing the northeast as ‘Ashtalakshmi’ and defining the region “not by challenges but by strengths.” “When you declared that the northeast would be the new engine of growth for India, those words became a source of confidence for millions. A generation that had grown up hearing that development was a distant dream suddenly found it believing that the future belonged to them,” he wrote.

The chief minister said Modi visited Assam 36 times in the last 12 years as prime minister, adding that each visit carried the message — “Assam matters, its people matter, its future matters.”

Referring to Modi’s April visit to a tea garden in Dibrugarh district ahead of the recently concluded assembly polls, Sarma said the prime minister joining tea garden workers “was not merely symbolic.” “lt gave national and global visibility to communities whose contribution had long remained understated,” he wrote.

Sarma also pointed to Modi’s participation in Assam cultural events, including the mega Bihu performance in 2023, the Jhumoir performance last year, and the Bagurumba performance earlier this year. “When the historic Bihu performance brought together thousands of dancers and drummers, creating a moment that captured global attention, your encouragement inspired confidence and pride. The event was not merely a cultural performance; it was Assam presenting its soul to the world. When the graceful rhythms of Bagurumba captivated audiences, the Bodo community felt seen and celebrated. When you personally witnessed and appreciated those magnificent performances, it was received not as protocol, but as a gesture of genuine respect. Likewise, when the vibrant spirit of Jhumur resonated before the nation, the tea garden communities of Assam experienced a rare and deeply emotional moment of recognition. Generations that had preserved their traditions with devotion saw their culture receive the honour it deserved,” Sarma wrote.

He further credited Modi’s govt for granting classical status to the Assamese language in 2024 and securing a Unesco heritage site tag for the Charaideo Maidams in 2024. Sarma also cited infrastructure works including a new modern terminal at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, the Kumar Bhaskar Verma bridge over the Brahmaputra, the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge under construction, a proposed Brahmaputra tunnel, and the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor.

“As you approach this historic milestone of becoming the longest serving PM, the people of Assam look upon your journey with admiration, affection and gratitude. They see in it not merely a record of Iong service, but the legacy of a PM who changed the way an entire region felt about itself and about its place in India. On behalf of the people of Assam, I convey our respectful felicitations, and I pray to the Almighty to bless you with good health, long life and strength to continue serving the nation with vision and dedication,” Sarma wrote.