It gives me immense pleasure to know that the Assam Legislative Assembly is completing 75 years and the Platinum Jubilee celebration falls on April 7, 2012. On this occasion, a Souvenir is being brought out.

The composite Assam has undergone radical changes in the 20th century, in fact, more than any other part of the country. In this process of development, the establishment of Assam Legislative Assembly on April 7, 1937 constitutes an important landmark.

Since then, and more so after India’s becoming a Sovereign Democratic Republic on 26th January, 1950, this temple of democracy has been home to the collective hopes and aspirations of the people in the region.

The Assembly has witnessed several political events including reorganization of Assam into different States of the region.

It may be recalled that the Brahmaputra Valley has been a colourful corridor between the two great civilizations of India and China. It was in this great Valley that the legends, myths, folklores and customs of the area were woven with the rest of India and originated from the same source- the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tradition. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata tradition reached its zenith and received mass support in the valley and, to a lesser extent, in the neighbouring hills, with the neo-Vaishnav movement led by Sankardev (1449-1569) in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The debates in the Assam Legislative Assembly reflect these cultural concerns as well.

I convey my congratulations to all the legislators on this historic day.