There will be no sale of alcohol in Assam’s Kamprup-Metro district,
including Guwahati on the occasion of Srimanta Sankardeva Janmotsav on September
24, announced the administration via an order.
The office of the Kamrup-Metro District Commissioner informed
that September 24 shall be treated as a “Dry Day” under Rule-326 (b) of the
Assam Excise Rules, 2016.
“Accordingly, all Wholesale/Bonded Warehouse, Composite
License/Microbrewery license, IMFL/Beer Retails OFF and ON shops including
Club ON and Country Spirit Shops of Kamrup Metropolitan District will remain
closed ie, ‘Dry Day,” the order reads.
“Any violation of the order will attract penal action as per
relevant provisions of Assam Excise Act and Rules,” it added.
About Srimanta Sankardeva
Srimanta Sankardeva was a 15th-16th century
Assamese polymath, a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician,
artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and
religious history of Assam.
He is widely credited with building on past cultural relics and
devising new forms of music (Borgeet), theatrical performance (Ankia Naat,
Bhaona), dance (Sattriya), literary language (Brajavali).
Besides, he has left an extensive literary oeuvre of trans-created
scriptures (Bhagavat of Sankardev), poetry and theological works written in
Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali.
The Bhagavatic religious movement he started, Ekasarana Dharma and
also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement, influenced two medieval kingdoms – Koch
and the Ahom kingdom – and the assembly of devotees he initiated evolved over
time into monastic centers called Sattras, which continue to be important
socio-religious institutions in Assam and to a lesser extent in North Bengal.
Sankardev inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam just as Guru Nanak,
Ramananda, Namdev, Kabir, Basava and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inspired it elsewhere
in the Indian subcontinent.
NE Watch Desk
