Gen. Sinha reads a rock inscription during the inaugural function in North Guwahati on Sunday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, May 2: This is an enduring story of admiration for one military general by another.

Nearly two years after Lt Gen. (retd) S.K. Sinha left Assam to take over as the Jammu and Kashmir governor, he returned here on Sunday to inaugurate a monument associated with the legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan in North Guwahati. The monument has been developed as a tourist spot.

During his tenure as the Assam governor, Sinha had used all the resources at his disposal to spread Barphukan?s name beyond the state?s boundaries, besides initiating protection measures for anything that is closely associated with him. One of Sinha?s biggest achievements was to convince the authorities at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune to institute an award in the name of Lachit Barphukan.

The monument in North Guwahati ? known as Kanai Borosi Bowa Sil ? too, owes its resurrection to Sinha. The monument consists of three rock inscriptions, which depict some of the most glorious military achievements of the Ahom army, including the historical battle of Saraighat led by Barphukan.

The battle of Saraighat, which took place close to the present-day Saraighat bridge, of 1667 is considered the biggest military victory by the Ahom army. Lachit Barphukan had led from the front to beat the invading Mughal army, which was considered the mightiest in this part of the world at that time.

?Can anyone betray a greater ignorance of history than terrorist organisations... while the rest of India was ruled by foreigners and the official language was Persian for 400 years, Assam was the only state which thwarted all invasions and remained truly Indian. During that period, Assam was the only state where the official languages remained Sanskrit and Assamese,? Sinha said during the inaugural ceremony, using the occasion to whip different militant organisations which claim that Assam was never a part of India.

It was during his stay at the Raj Bhavan here that Sinha initiated preservation work at the site in North Guwahati. ?I feel overwhelmed to be here now,? the J&K governor said.

Sinha?s successor at the Raj Bhavan here, Lt Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh, said Sinha has always been fascinated by history as ?it teaches us who we are?.

State cultural affairs commissioner M.K. Baruah thanked Sinha for his efforts to put ?Assam?s glorious history in a national perspective?.

In 2001, Sinha had reacted swiftly to a report in The Telegraph about Barphukan?s maidam (burial place) near Jorhat in Upper Assam. Sinha himself visited the place and moved the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to preserve the monument.