Rahul Gandhi prevented from visiting Batadrava Than: Significance of this Assam shrine

What is the Batadrava Than?

Located in Nagaon district, the Batadrava Than, or Bordowa Than, is one of the most sacred sites for Assamese Vaishnavites. The Than is situated at the birthplace of revered Vaishnavite reformer-saint Srimanta Sankardeva (1449-1568).

According to the Nagaon district’s website, “Sankardeva founded the first-ever Kirtan Ghar at Bordowa in 1494 AD to practise and preach the neo Vaishnavite faith during the fifteenth century in Assam, and propagated the Ek Saran Naam Dharma.”

What was Srimanta Sankardeva’s philosophy?

The Ek Saran Naam Dharma focussed on worship in the form of bhakti (devotion) to Lord Krishna, through singing and congregational listening of His name and deeds.

Sankardeva espoused a society based on equality and fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifices. His teaching focused on prayer and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship. His dharma was based on the four components of deva (god), naam (prayers), bhakats (devotees), and guru (teacher).

The Neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement that Sankardeva started is behind the monastic institutions called Thans/Sattras that dot Assam. As the saint travelled across Assam, spreading his teachings, these Sattras/Thans were established as centres of religious, social and cultural reforms in the 16th century. Today, the Sattras promulgate Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach with music (borgeet), dance (xattriya) and theatre (bhauna). Each Sattra has a naamghar (worship hall) as its nucleus and is headed by an influential “Sattradhikar”.

Are these Thans politically significant?

Identity has always been an important strain of Assam politics, and the Thans/Sattras are a component of Assamese identity. As one of the most prominent Thans, the Batadrava Than is often visited by politicians. The BJP, specially, has sought to make “land grabbing around Sattras by illegal settlers” an electoral issue.

In September last year, CM Sarma had said the Assam government was planning to bring in a law barring “non-indigenous people” from purchasing land in an eight-kilometre radius around the Batadrava Than. During an event to mark Sankardeva’s 575th birth anniversary, Sarma had said: “We are making efforts for a law so that people other than indigenous folks cannot buy land around it. In the meantime, I have told the DC also that till the Act is not finalised, they should not give permission to people other than indigenous people to buy and sell land around here.”

In 2021, Home Minister Amit Shah had launched a beautification project at the Batadrava Than, earmarking Rs 188 crore for its development.