The largest online photo album of handwritten pieces was formally placed into the Guinness World Records on Thursday by the Assam government. The state government’s year-long celebration of the 400th anniversary of the famed Ahom general Lachit Barphukan’s birth set a global record with approximately 42 lakhs essays on him.
At a ceremony in Guwahati, the certificate was presented to Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, by adjudicator for the Guinness World Records, Swapnil Dangarikar. “Only handwritten essays were taken into consideration for the record out of the approximately 5.7 million entries we received in our portal.
For the Assamese, this is a time of pride, Sarma said. Between October 26 and November 26 of last year, essays written in Assamese, English, Bengali, Bodo, and other languages by students, government employees, and other people from inside and outside of Assam were uploaded.
Who was Lachit Borphukan?
On November 24, 1622, Momai Tamuli Borbarua and Kunti Moran welcomed a son, Lachit Borphukan. The Ahom army’s supreme leader was his father. The Brahmaputra valley in eastern India is where the Ahom kingdom was situated. It was initially founded in 1228. Turkic and Afghan kings of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire often attacked the country.
The Mughal-Ahom war started in 1615 and went on for the rest of its duration. This was the environment in which Lachit was raised. Lachit was given the duty of acting as the Soladhara Barua (scarf-bearer), a modern-day equivalent of a private secretary to the Ahom King, after completing his education in humanities and military strategy.
Before being named the leader of the Ahom Army, he already held other significant roles such as Superintendent of the Royal Horse Stable and Superintendent of the Royal Household Guards. Lachit Borphukan is renowned for his leadership during the 1671 Battle of Saraighat, which prevented Ramsingh I’s Mughal army from successfully capturing the Ahom kingdom.
Next on the list is Bihu
Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that on April 14, Assam government will aim for another world record when over 11,000 participants will perform Bihu dance together at a venue in Guwahati. Similar initiatives will be made for the Bodo tribe’s Bagrumba dance and the playing of almost 50,000 “khols” (traditional instruments).