Guwahati, Nov 20: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday defended the state government’s decision to rename Karimganj district as Sribhumi, amidst criticism from certain quarters questioning the justification of the move.
Addressing mediapersons here, Sarma said that the “change of name should have been made long ago”. “They can criticise me, but why are they criticising Rabindranath Tagore? In Assam, why should a district bear the name of an unknown person? This change should have been made long ago.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, the chief minister had stated that Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had, over a 100 years ago, described the modern-day Karimganj district in Assam as ‘Sribhumi’- the land of Maa Lakshmi.
“The Assam Cabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people,” he said, adding that the decision underscored the district’s historical importance and linguistic relevance.
Slamming the move as “reckless, Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi said the state government should instead focus on reshaping the state’s map through developmental achievements.
It may be noted that the Assam Cabinet had on Tuesday approved renaming Karimganj as Sribhumi district in a move to give the state’s southernmost district a distinct identity, justifying its rich cultural heritage.