Assam CM Sarma receives 28th SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Eminence Award in Mumbai

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 13 (ANI): In recognition of his exemplary governance and service to the people of Assam, the South Indian Education Society conferred Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma with the 28th SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Eminence Award at a function held in Mumbai this evening.

It may be noted that, instituted in the sacred memory of Pujyasri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal, the 68th Sankaracharya of the venerated Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, the award is an acknowledgement of Sarma's leadership in public.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma, paying rich obeisance to Pujyasri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, expressed his gratitude to the South Indian Education Society for considering him for the award.
Drawing a connection, Chief Minister Sarma reminded how closely Assam's spiritual history is woven with the larger civilizational story of Bharat.
"Adi Shankaracharya himself travelled through ancient Kamarupa, debating great scholars like Navagupta and established the Advaita tradition in the Northeast. A mandapam at Kamakhya Temple stands as testimony to that visit. The setting up of Sri Sankardeva Nethralaya and Poorva Tirupati Mandir with the initiatives of Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal deepened this connection," the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said that Poorva Tirupati Balaji Mandir has become a spiritual anchor for the people of Assam, who once travelled thousands of kilometres to Tirupati, now find the same divinity and grace right at home.
"The Sankardeva Nethralaya that carries the name of the greatest spiritual luminary of Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva, is a beautiful confluence of Shankaracharya and Sankardeva, of Advaita and Bhakti, of Kanchi and Assam," he said.

Speaking on Sanatana Dharma, the Chief Minister said it is an eternal, ever-renewing civilisational philosophy that has shaped the soul of Bharat for thousands of years.
"It is not merely a religion; it is a way of life, an ethical compass, a spiritual inquiry, and a timeless quest for truth. It is eternal not only because it is ancient, but because its essence continues to remain relevant, open to reform, renewal and reinterpretation across generations," the Assam Chief Minister said.
He said that within Hinduism, diversity is not merely accepted; it is celebrated.
"A Hindu may choose a personal deity, an ishta devata; another may find solace in the silence of the formless; another in ancestor worship; another in local traditions. Outsiders may mistake this for confusion. But in reality, it reflects the vast freedom that Sanatana Dharma accords to every seeking soul," he said.
The Chief Minister observed that Assam represents one of the most vibrant expressions of this lived diversity.
"Assam has always been a meeting ground of cultures where tribal cosmologies, indigenous rituals and classical Hindu traditions have coexisted and enriched one another. Hinduism did not arrive in the Northeast as a conquering force; it arrived as a cultural companion. It adapted to the land, absorbed local traditions, and preserved ancient spiritual impulses connected to nature, ancestors and the cosmic order," the Assam Chief Minister said.
He also said that communities such as the Bodos worship Bathou through the sacred siju plant, symbolising nature's purity.
"The Rabha people blend ancient spirit worship with Shakta and Vaishnavite traditions. The Tiwas regard Mahadeo as supreme, fusing tribal rituals with Shaivism. The Dimasas worship ancestral deities such as Sibrai and Ranachandi while embracing elements of mainstream Hinduism. The Karbis preserve deities of protection, illness, the forest, and the home, echoing Vedic-era nature worship. The Tai-Ahoms honour a Supreme Being and celestial deities, yet eventually embraced Vaishnavism and Shaktism," he said.
Sarma further referred to the issues of political appeasement, intellectual mockery, and ideological hostility after Independence, and also shed light on the challenges faced by Sanatan Dharma in its land of origin.
He pointed out the legal asymmetries created by the Places of Worship Act, 1991 and the Waqf Act, 1995, as well as historical distortions that weakened Hindu identity.
The Chief Minister also spoke about the civilisational challenges posed by demographic aggression in Assam.
He elaborated on how policies such as the 1941 land development scheme led to large-scale settlement of Muslim immigrants from East Bengal, fundamentally altering the state's demographic structure, threatening the cultural continuity of indigenous communities, and resulting in encroachment on government land, forest land, and the sacred lands of Satras.
Sarma asserted that his government has taken bold steps to address these issues, including freeing nearly 15,000 hectares of forest land from encroachers and clearing encroachments from Bordowa, the sacred birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva.
He stated that maintaining demographic balance means protecting the civilisational continuity that Assam has preserved for centuries.
Sarma strongly reiterated his commitment to nurturing the nation's spiritual heritage and to building an India that is modern in capability, ancient in knowledge, and universal in outlook.
It may be noted that this year, along with Sarma, the 28th Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati National Eminence Award, 2025 was presented to Padma Bhushan Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, Founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BrahMos Aerospace, and Padma Shri Dr. Prahlad Ramarao, the first Project Director of the Akash Missile System.
The Collective Leadership Award was presented to Mumbai's Dabbawalas, the city's renowned lunchbox delivery network, while the award for Social Leadership and Philosophy was conferred upon Mani Dravid Shastigal.
President of SIES V Shankar hailed Chief Minister Sarma at the presentation ceremony. (ANI)