DIBRUGARH, July 4 - The 107th birth anniversary of Jananeta Ramesh Chandra Barooah was celebrated at a memorial function here recently. The ceremonial lamp was lit by Ila Dowerah, a niece of the Jananeta.
Late Barooah was a Speaker of the Assam Assembly. At the memorial function on Sunday last, felicitatory awards for contribution to sports and culture were presented to Pronob Jyoti Baruah and Ranjana Sharma Bordoloi respectively. A lecture programme was organised to mark the day, where historian Dr Rajendra Nath Saikia gave the audience an enlightening talk on the history of Assam.
Dr Saikia, based on his research and well-documented records, depicted a picture of Assam�s social and political uncertainties during the Burmese occupation from 1819 to 1825 till the British firmly put its authority much later after 1826. Assam had to pass through a very dark period wherein further uncertainties would have led to the division of Assam into small chieftain-controlled areas that would have led to primitive days.
He said two landmark decisions greatly helped the Assamese people. One was the decision of Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress in 1884 to accept Assamese as a language of the State while accepting the principle of reorganising the States on the basis of languages and the other was the decision of a few distinguished Assamese leaders to hold the Congress session at Pandu in 1926 wherein the capability of the Assamese people put the community in high esteem in the eyes of the people of rest of India.
The function was presided over by Bhudev Phukan, and the vote of thanks was offered by Anil Dowerah.
