Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the conservation efforts in protecting Assam’s Greater Adjutant Stork, commonly known as ‘Hargila’, by biologist Purnima Devi Barman and a group of rural women in the northeastern state.
In his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi Sunday made a mention of the conservation story of the ‘Hargila Army’, and said it has shown that right information can help in changing age-old mindsets.
Significantly, Barman was the Chief Guest at ‘Dharitri Youth Conclave’ in November 2025. “In today’s Mann Ki Baat, Narendra Modi ji highlighted about a special conservation effort of Assam. The Greater Adjutant Stork or ‘Hargila’, were perceived to bring bad luck & their habitats were destroyed until @StorkSister took up a community-level mission,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.
The PM said that the ‘Hargila’, a rare bird that plays a vital role in keeping nature clean, was for a long time considered inauspicious in certain parts of Assam.
“People disliked seeing it in their vicinity. Often, trees housing ‘Hargila’ nests were even cut down,” he said. Barman resolved to change the misconceptions deeply rooted in people’s minds, and spoke to women and explained the facts based on science.
The women gradually began joining her campaign to save the ‘Hargila’, and the bird that was once driven away as a bad omen started becoming the identity of the villages of the area, Modi said.
“Thousands of rural women stepped forward to save the ‘Hargila’- today, they are known as the ‘Hargila Army’. These women also had to contend with societal resistance,” the Prime Minister said. Modi highlighted how the women, led by Barman, ultimately succeeded in leaving superstition behind.