A day after she received the prestigious Srimanta Sankaradeva Award from President Pranab Mukherjee at a function here, Sharmila Tagore on Tuesday became an indirect target of Paresh Barua's ULFA(I), with the outfit questioning Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi why the award instituted in the name of the 16th century saint-reformer was conferred on the actor.
"The ULFA(I) considers the Assam government's conferment of the Srimanta Sankaradeva award to the bikini-girl of Hindi cinema Sharmila Tagore (Begun Ayesha Sultana) a gross insult to the greatest saint of Assam. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, whose government had only recently insulted Sukafa, the founder of the Ahom dynasty, now owes an explanation as to why his government chose Sharmila Tagore who is in no way associated in propagating the ideals of Sankaradeva," a statement emailed to media offices by the ULFA(I) on Tuesday said.
Interestingly, Sharmila in her acceptance speech not only recalled her Assamese connection but also the contributions of her maternal family towards shaping modern Assamese culture and society.
