In an indirect dig at previous governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wondered why “countless stories of victory over tyranny” during India’s freedom struggle were suppressed even after the country attained independence and pointed out that these “mistakes” of the past were being corrected now.

“The history of India is not just about slavery. The history of India is about emerging victorious, it is about the valour of countless greats, about standing against tyranny with unprecedented valour and courage,”  he said, regretting that even after independence, the same history which was ”written as a conspiracy” during the period of slavery was not changed.

”After Independence, there was need to change the agenda of foreigners who made us slaves. However, that was not done. The stories of fierce resistance to tyranny in every part of the country were wilfully suppressed,” Modi said.

The PM was addressing the closing ceremony of the year-long celebrations of the 400^th birth anniversary of Lachit Borphukan in New Delhi today. He also released the book – ‘Lachit Borphukan – Assam’s Hero who Halted the Mughals’ on the occasion.

Terming Veer Lachit’s exploits a glorious chapter of the history of Assam, he said: “I salute this great tradition on the occasion of the festival of India’s eternal culture, eternal valour and eternal existence.”

The PM reiterated India’s mood to get rid of the mentality of slavery and take pride in its heritage. India was not only celebrating its cultural diversity but also acknowledging the unsung heroes and heroines of its history.

“Immortal sons of Maa Bharati like Lachit Borphukan are inspirations to fulfil the resolutions of the Amrit Kaal. They make us familiar with the identity and glory of our history and also spur us to dedicate ourselves to the nation, ” he said.

He stated that in the thousand-year-old history of human existence, there were numerous civilisations that walked the earth, many that seemed imperishable, but it was the wheel of time that brought them down to their knees.

Pointing out the differences between other civilisations and India, the PM said that the world today assessed history based on the remains of such civilisations, but India, which faced unexpected adversities in history and withstood an unimaginable terror of foreign invaders, was still standing immortal with the same energy and consciousness.

This was because of the fact that whenever there was a crisis in the country, some personality emerged to tackle that. Bravehearts like Lachit Borphukan showed that forces of fanaticism and terror perish but the immortal light of Indian life remained eternal, he emphasised.

Shedding light on the history of Assam, the PM said that it belonged to the precious heritage of India’s cultural journey. ”It is an amalgamation of thought and ideology, society and culture, and beliefs and traditions,” he added.

Remarking on the unmatched bravery of the land of Assam and the Northeast, he said that the people of the land have witnessed Turks, Afghans, and Mughals being driven away on numerous occasions.

He said that even though the Mughals had captured Guwahati, it was bravehearts like Lachit Borphukan who won independence from the clutches of tyrannical rulers of the Mughal empire. The act of valour shown by Veer Lachit Borphukan at Saraighat was not just an example of unparalleled love for the motherland but he also had the power of uniting the entire Assam region where every citizen was ready to defend the motherland if required, he added.