Batadrava Project: The resolve to protect our national existence

Batadrava! This single word evokes a profound spiritual and emotional bond for Assam and the Assamese people. This sacred land is the birthplace of the great saint, reformer and cultural visionary Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva — the architect of our national consciousness. Among all poets of ancient Assam, it was he who first connected Assam to the broader civilisational landscape of India. In this context, Birinchi Kumar Barua had observed:

‘The conception of India as our mother country was conceived by Sankardeva five centuries ago. He wanted the people to feel proud of being born in his holy country of Bharatvarsha, as India provides an immense opportunity for development of men’s moral and spiritual potentialities. Repeatedly did he emphasise the glorious and spiritual experience of India.’

Sankardeva’s works are filled with praises of India and the idea of Bharatvarsha. In the Bhakti Ratnakar, which he translated into Assamese, he titled one of the chapters “Bharat Bhu-Prashansa” — In Praise of the Land of Bharat. References such as “Bharate manushya tonu kata punye pay” and “Dhanya dhanya Kali kal, dhanya nara tonu bhal, dhanya dhanya Bharat barishe” express the sacred emotional reverence that the Vaishnavite saints held towards the land of Bharatvarsha.

Dr Maheswar Neog described how Sankardeva, enriched by Indian philosophy and his pilgrimages to major sacred sites across the country, absorbed the spiritual currents of his time:

“He travelled for several years across northern India, visiting many sacred places. In two verses of Kirtan-Ghosa, he gives us a hint of what he saw and heard: ‘From Odisha to Varanasi, everywhere and in every place, the cultured and refined sing the poet’s songs.’ Across India, temples reverberated with chants, hymns and devotional songs; a great spiritual wave was sweeping the subcontinent. Out of this rose a renewed form of an ancient religion — Bhakti — which emphasised inner devotion over outward ritual, expressed through songs in one’s own language.”

Batadrava, the land sanctified by the memory of Sankardeva, was once described by him as fertile and prosperous. While rendering the Uttarakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana into Assamese, he identified himself thus: “The village named Bordowa is unmatched in fertility / Nourished by the waters of the Lohitya.” Batadrava is also associated with a remarkable woman of the Vaishnavite era — Sati Radhika, whose name too is remembered with honour.

The Crisis That Threatened Assam’s Identity

Over the decades, this sacred birthplace of Sankardeva came under grave existential threat. Due to continuous infiltration by Bengali Muslim immigrants, the very cultural nerve-centre of Assamese life —Batadrava — faced deep crisis. Under successive Congress governments, vast stretches of this sacred land were illegally encroached upon, turning the birthplace of our revered Guru into a zone of demographic aggression. Encroachers, sheltered by Congress regimes, took possession of satra lands, naamghars and institutions central to Assamese cultural and spiritual life. From Batadrava to Barpeta, many such centres faced systematic assault, which has been a calculated attempt to uproot Sanatan culture and replace it with an alien, fundamentalist identity. This was neither accidental nor sporadic; it was the result of a long, deliberate conspiracy to destabilise Assamese national existence.

The Sattras established by Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, centres of spiritual, social and cultural life, came under unprecedented threats. They are custodians of Borgeet, Sattriya, Chali dance, Jhumura, Dashavatar, ancient manuscripts and centuries-old heritage. When these institutions fell into the hands of encroachers, Assam’s identity, culture, language and collective self-respect faced near-collapse.

The Report of the Assam Sattra Land Review and Examination Commission revealed alarming realities: over 15,289 bighas of satra land across Assam were encroached. In Barpeta alone, 7,137 bighas had been taken over. The same pattern was seen in Bajali, Nagaon, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Kamrup, Bongaigaon, Majuli and Dhubri. Many satras and naamghars were erased forever.

Our Government’s Resolve

The BJP-led NDA government is fully committed to safeguarding our pride and the very soul of our culture. In the Assam Vision Document 2016-2025, released ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP committed itself to freeing the lands of Assam’s satras, along with other religious, cultural and allied institutions, from illegal encroachment. Reaffirming this resolve, our party reiterated in its 2021 Assembly Election Manifesto that the lands of satras and the sacred worship sites of indigenous communities would be restored by removing unlawful occupation. To further strengthen Assam’s spiritual and cultural institutions, we also pledged financial assistance of INR 2.5 lakh to every naamghar and indigenous place of worship across the state.

Going beyond electoral assurances, our government has taken sustained and concrete measures to reclaim the lands of satras, naamghars and indigenous worship centres from encroachers. At the same time, with the objective of revitalising Assam’s national and civilisational life, several visionary and transformative initiatives have been undertaken.

In the Budget for the financial year 2021-22, as Finance Minister, I had announced specific measures for the development of Batadrava Thaan. In that Budget Speech, I had stated: “Our Government proposes to develop Batadrava Thaan in Nagaon district into a centre of art, culture, research and spirituality. To transform the precincts of Batadrava Thaan and its surrounding areas into a unique cultural, religious and tourist attraction, the Public Works Department has prepared a comprehensive project report. The total estimated cost of this project is INR 188 crore. For the first phase of this project, I propose an allocation of INR 50 crore.”

The Batadrava Cultural Project

Later, after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Assam, we oversaw a large eviction drive towards the end of December 2022 to clear the encroachers from the Batadrava area, the sacred birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva. With the aim of transforming this cultural heartland into one of the foremost centres of culture and tourism, the Government of Assam undertook an ambitious project.

The Borduwa Cultural Project, developed at a cost of INR 227 crore, has been designed not only to make the historic site a major attraction for visitors but also to reflect the life, ideals and artistic heritage associated with Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva and the broader cultural traditions of Assam. The project has been implemented across 165 bighas of land in three phases.

The entire complex has been conceptualised in the form of a tree, with the Guru Asana of Mahapurush at the centre, from which all other buildings extend like interconnected branches. The project incorporates traditional Assamese architectural elements and cultural motifs, along with detailed visual representations of the life of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. The various buildings have been constructed in the likeness of traditional musical instruments, dance forms, performance styles and aspects of Assamese lifestyle.

In addition, the project includes an exhibition depicting the life of Lord Krishna, a theatre designed for dramas, bhaona performances and other cultural presentations, a centre for performing arts and other amenities. For tourists, the project provides guest houses, a tribal guest house, a health centre offering medical services for visitors and staff, and the Manikanchan Griha — a space designed to introduce tourists to the artistic dimensions of the naamghar culture intrinsic to Assamese national life. Other features at Batadrava Than, such as the Manikanchan Jalarashi, a viewing tower for security and surveillance, walkways, and designated parking areas for vehicles, have also been integrated into the project.

This project will elevate Batadrava into a national and international destination for cultural and spiritual tourism, taking Sankardeva’s legacy to future generations. It is our privilege that the Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, has inaugurated this iconic project. For his profound affection towards Assam, we remain deeply grateful. Assam’s national existence cannot remain secure unless the sattras are protected from encroachment. People of Assam must stand united to resist any form of religious aggression. We reject any attempt to distort history by calling Sankardeva-Madhavdeva’s sacred land “Sankar-Ajaan’s Assam.” Such malicious motives aimed at erasing Madhavdeva’s name and diminishing Sankardeva’s legacy will never be allowed to succeed.

On this historic day of the inauguration of the Batadrava Cultural Project, I reaffirm our unwavering commitment to safeguarding Assam’s identity, culture and spiritual heritage.

The writer is Chief Minister of Assam ; views are personal