If even statistics had conveyed something, it must be in this instant. The number of entries received in the portal lachitbarphukan.assam.gov.in. At 45 lakh plus figure, the response received by the initiative, a brainchild of the Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been unprecedented. From October 26 when Dr. Sarma announced it in a press conference to the midnight of November 26 when entries finally closed, the average entries received goes beyond the word: Imagination.
The districts that topped the charts in the number of enthusiasts were Nagaon, Barpeta and Kamrup respectively.
The first among such entries received by the app was at 1.34pm on October 26 the same day that the announcement was made. It was by Tapan Deka, a Block Resource Person (Language), Boitamari Education Block, Bongaigaon.
“Around three months back, we received a notice on this. Keeping in sync with that, we developed a portal in our district as well. I had been studying about Lachit Barphukan since then. It was ready. Minutes after the Chief Minister made the portal public, I uploaded by views on the hero on this,” said Deka.
“Since Lachit Barphukan was never made a part of the curriculum in the school, whatever we read then was for an essay on the General. Once the Government took this step, I renewed my interest on research on the subject,” Deka told this reporter adding, “However, I would want this to go beyond Lachit alone to other martyrs and brave hearts of Assam. This will inspire patriotism in the next generation,”
The early entries were not confined to people of Assam only. Ramesh Prasad, a New Delhi-based clinical data manager with a private company also uploaded his writing on Lachit. A native of Uttar Pradesh, he informed Asom Barta that his wife was studying for competitive examinations, it was then that he came to know about Lachit by reading a book on Ahom history. “My brother resides in Assam. He informed me of this portal. I discussed with my wife and uploaded by thoughts on the brave general. Lachit is not only Assam’s pride but of India. I appreciate the step taken by this Government. I am sure the world will soon come to know of his valour,” Prasad told Asom Barta over phone.
However, what should not go unnoticed is the behind-the-scene activity that has made all this possible. The Government of Assam owned Assam Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Amtron) was entrusted with the responsibility of managing and supervising the app. “We started with a bandwidth of 1.2 GB. Initially all was all. However, one day, we were overwhelmed with the number of entries being uploaded. That brought operation to a standstill. We then increased the bandwidth by nine times to manage the inflow and even extended the last date of submission by two days,” says Trailokya Borkotoki, senior executive in the Corporation.
