GOALPARA, Sept 22 - The bust of Prasanna Kr Ghosh, BA, BL (1858-1915) was unveiled here on the campus of the Goalpara Sahitya Sabha�s Khagendra Nath Smirti Bhavan at a solemn function in the presence of an august gathering, organised by the Prasanna Kr Ghosh Murti Nirman Samittee (PGMNS) on September 20.
Ceremoniously unveiling the bust, the chief guest, eminent litterateur and former president, Asam Sahitya Sabha, Kanak Sen Deka said that it is difficult to fathom why Prassana Kr Ghosh�s immense social contributions, particularly for the establishment of Assamese language in Goalpara district, in the second half of the 19th century, after the introduction of the British education system, remained obscured, despite his name being engraved in the annals of history in golden letters. �Nevertheless, his trials and tribulations for establishing the Prithi Ram High School (now PR Govt High School) in 1901, right in the heart of Goalpara town, the same year when Cotton College was established, cannot remain unknown to the common people. Ghosh was also instrumental in setting up of a girls� school also, now known as the Bamunpara ME School,� Deka added.
Distinguished speaker and eminent writer, retired publicity officer, BRPL Amal Kr Das in his speech praised the accomplishments of Ghosh, a doyen of Assamese nationalism in British India and highlighted his activities for which Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa called him a �Sonamua Konwar� (prince with golden face) along with Jagannath Barua and Manik Chandra Baruah. Das further said that Ghosh�s name and contributions barely figured in the limelight, because of his surname, which happened to be Bengali in origin. He also informed that being the first Assamese lawyer to practice at the Goalpara Bar, he also took on British officials for hatching a conspiracy for relegating Assamese people to a minority in the district in the 1911 Census, for which a re-census was ordered.
Earlier, eminent social worker and convener, PGMNS, Sailen Das, explaining the objective of the meeting said that this is a befitting tribute to this great son of soil and his bust will immortalise his significant contributions to the Assamese society on the whole. Many others also spoke on the occasion.
The meeting was presided over by the former principal of Goalpara Law College, Gurucharan Das, while the vote of thanks was offered by the secretary, Goalpara Sahitya Sabha, Dilip Kr Das.
