GUWAHATI, Sept 30 - The 16th Anundoram Borooah Award of the Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture (ABILAC) was presented to renowned octogenarian Sankaradeva scholar Prof Keshavananda Dev Goswami at a function at the Pragjyoti ITA Cultural Centre for Performing Arts here this evening. The award comprises a citation in Sanskrit, an angabastra, a packet of ABILAC publications and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.
Accepting the award, Prof Dev Goswami described Anundoram Borooah as the first Orientalist as well as the first linguist of international repute from Assam. During the short span of 39 years of his life, he could leave indelible marks as an extraordinary scholar. His command over English and Sanskrit was outstanding, said Dr Dev Goswami.
Presenting the award, Education Minister Sarat Barkataky said that this year onwards the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) is going to have three zones � Upper Assam, Barak Valley and Lower Assam. This is expected to remove the difficulties faced by the students of Upper Assam and Barak Valley districts in matters of completing the formalities in their high school leaving certificate examination stage.
The State Government has also taken steps to introduce History, Geography and Spoken English courses in the schools affiliated to the SEBA, said the Minister.
Moreover, he informed that three more engineering colleges � one each at Udalguri, Nagaon and Nalbari � are also coming up, while 12 model colleges are also coming up in the State. Of these model colleges, eight have already been set up.
Addressing the function, ABILAC vice president and renowned Sanskrit scholar Prof Ashok Kumar Goswami described Anundoram Borooah as an extra-ordinary scholar. Besides, he said Borooah loved Assam and Assamese language from the core of his heart. He had played a role in restoration of Assamese as the official language of Assam during the early part of the British rule, when some forces tried to give an impression that Assamese was a dialect spoken by a section of the Bengalees.
Borooah was also an astute man and laid emphasis on understanding the basic concepts and used to discourage parrot learning, said Prof Goswami.
Introducing Prof Dev Goswami, Dean of the Tezpur University�s Humanities and Social Science Departments Prof Pradip Jyoti Mahanta described Prof Dev Goswami as the true inheritor of the legacy of Prof Maheswar Neog, the renowned Sankaradeva scholar.
Prof Dev Goswami served the academic world with praiseworthy commitment and devotion. He has been engaging himself in Sankaradeva study for the past about 70 years.
Inspired by the Kirtana and the Naamghosa respectively of Sankaradeva and his apostle Madhavdeva, Prof Goswami has been relentlessly trying to take the literary and cultural gems created by the two Mahapurushas to the academia world over. He has so far authored around 60 books on all such topics.
Prof Dev Goswami will be remembered for the role he had played as the founder Sankaradeva Chair Professor of the Patiala-based Punjabi University in rendition of the Naamghosa in Gurumukhi. This will remain as an epitome of his commitment to the Sankara studies, said Prof Mahanta.
The function was also addressed by ABILAC director Dr Dilip Kumar Kalita.
