How BJP is appropriating Bhupen Hazarika's legacy ahead of 2026 election

The BJP-led NDA government is working to strengthen its political foothold in Assam and boost its socio-cultural standing within Assamese society. To gain wider acceptability, it has launched a spree of appropriating icons from the Northeast — funnily, many of whose ideologies are fundamentally opposed to that of the ruling party.

The latest icon that the BJP has appropriated is Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Earlier, the ruling party had invoked the legacies of freedom fighter and first chief minister of Assam, Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi, and Ahom General Lachit Borphukan, who had led the Ahom army against the Mughals in the last battle of Saraighat.

Maestro’s birth centenary

The Assam government has organised a grand month-long celebration on the occasion of Hazarika's birth centenary, and the event will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Assam on September 13-14. However, Hazarika’s close confidantes have said they are appalled at how the BJP government is appropriating his name and ideology, which is in stark contrast to what the present government stands for.

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“The Assamese identity is synonymous with Bhupen Hazarika, and the greater Assamese society connects emotionally with the maestro through his songs. This is the reason the ruling regime is appropriating him, and this grand centenary celebration is a part of it,” said veteran cultural artist Loknath Goswami, who had worked with the maestro for over 10 years.

Citing his compositions, Manuhe Manuhor Babe.. Jodihe Akonu Nabhabe..(If Humans don’t think about fellow humans), Goswami said that Bhupen Hazarika’s songs have always been pro-people and pro-humanity, and in no way fit into the ideology of the current government.

Goswami also cited another of Hazarika’s popular songs, Joy Joy Nabajaat Bangladesh (Hail...Hail...the newborn Bangladesh), which is a tribute to Bangladesh’s independence on December 16, 1971, after months of war. The song hails the new nation of Bangladesh and the freedom fighters, ‘Mukti Bahinis’, who, in an alliance with the Indian Army, had achieved freedom after a bloody war against the Pakistani army.

A bridge across borders

Expressing disappointment, Goswami said the present regime has blurred the real concern in Assam, illegal migration from Bangladesh, irrespective of religion, and by giving it a religious colour, has almost turned the word “Bangladesh” into a slur. He added that in his song, Hazarika portrays India not merely as a geographical neighbour but as a vigilant and just one, while he himself stood as a bridge between the two nations.

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The Bangladesh government has officially recognised Hazarika’s contribution in its independence movement and has posthumously honoured him for his contribution and support by awarding the Muktijoddha Padak in 2012.

Cultural artists who have followed the maestro’s works for years said that he always had a revolutionary voice and thought process, and it was God gifted.

Citing his song Agnijugor firigoti moi (I am the spark in the era of fire), Binoy Krishna Tamuli Phukan, writer and cultural activist, associated with the Gogamukh Gana Natya Bahnini, said that Hazarika had composed this revolutionary song when he was barely 12-13 years old.

Champion of the oppressed

“At that age, he definitely didn’t read Marx or Lenin to become a leftist, and he was neither from a political background. This shows the idea of revolution and to stand for the oppressed and marginalised came naturally to him,” said Phukan.

Phukan also said that all of Hazarika’s songs and works reflect the lives, concerns, and issues of common people, and that they contain nothing related to religion or hatred.

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Hazarika is among the two Bharat Ratna recipients from the North East, the other being late Gopinath Bordoloi. He was granted the award posthumously in 2019, just before the Lok Sabha elections.

Interestingly, Bordoloi was also awarded the Bharat Ratna by the BJP-led NDA government posthumously in 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. In 2014, Narendra Modi, as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate, had started the process of appropriating Bordoloi in his speeches and said, “We (meaning the BJP) have given him the Bharat Ratna.”

Eye on Assembly elections

Prominent voices from the state have termed the visit by the prime minister as an attempt to turn the event into a covert campaign targeting the Assembly elections in the state next year.

“The government is creating hype, and almost everyone is getting carried away in this hype. This is more of an attempt to divert the common people from some of the important issues in the state today,” said Paresh Malakar, writer and president of Axom Nagarik Samaj, an Assam-based civil society organisation.

“Bhupen Hazarika may not have won elections on a BJP ticket, but the current government knows well enough his name could help them get votes,” added Goswami.

A mistake the maestro repented

Hazarika’s first and only successful brush with the world of politics was in 1967, when he became an independent MLA from the Nawboisa constituency in Assam.

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Apart from being remembered as someone full of life and humorous, one of the most iconic moments during his term as an MLA was when he sang a song on the floor of the House in protest against the then Assam Finance Minister Kamakhya Tripathi.

Despite being an independent MLA, Hazarika was vocal on important issues, and he raised very important issues related to Assam and his subject-art, culture and music, and his persistent efforts in the Assembly gave the state several important infrastructures that are befitting the state today, and will do so in the future.

“The Ravindra Bhawan at Guwahati, modernisation of the Jyoti Chitraban film studio and its becoming a government-controlled society, and modernisation of the art gallery are a result of his consistent efforts. Of course, many other MLAs also supported and played their role,” said Goswami.

Hazarika’s political regret

Decades later, in the early 2000s, he joined the BJP and unsuccessfully contested from the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency in 2004, though he later termed it a huge mistake.

Hazarika’s confidantes said that he realised that people accept him as Bhupen da, the artist, and not Bhupen da, the politician, and was also heartbroken seeing the criticism of his well-wishers and fans on joining the BJP.

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“He had penned a piece in an Assamese newspaper where he expressed regret over his decision to join the BJP. He was devastated and deeply regretted his decision, quickly distancing himself from the BJP and never associating with the party again,” added Goswami.

Goswami, however, said that people have been too harsh on Hazarika for joining the BJP, and gave his defence for the maestro, “When a person is not organised and goes into a very high position, he/she often loses focus and becomes vulnerable to being appropriated”.

Driven by public service

Phukan, however, offers a different explanation and said Hazarika genuinely wanted to bring about a change which he couldn’t do as an artist, and saw politics as a means to bring about a change.

“Bhupen da had seen the BJP era of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, not the present regime. He had seen a lot of suffering of the people, mostly from the poor and marginalised section, and genuinely wanted to bring about a positive change for them,” said Phukan.

“Bhupen da joined a political party because he wanted to serve the poor and the marginalised, not because he sought power. Had he been hungry for power, he would have contested elections again after his first term as an MLA. He would not have distanced himself from the BJP or expressed regret over joining the party,” Phukan added.