GUWAHATI, Sept 26 - Noted mathematician, linguist and litterateur Dr Dilip Kumar Dutta, who has made immense contribution towards mathematics and Assamese literature, language and culture died at a hospital in Rhodes Island in the United States last night. He was terminally ill for some time. He was 82.
A Professor Emeritus of the University of Rhode Island, Dr Dutta, the second of the two sons of the founder Registrar of Gauhati University (GU) Late Phanidhar Dutta and Late Ratneswari Dutta, left for the United States in the late 1960s, following a brief stint as a faculty in Calgary University, Alberta, Canada. He had made it a habit to visit his native State once in a year and to stay here for several months and get himself involved in social, cultural and literary activities.
He was the man, who developed the first Assamese font for use in computers in 1985.
He has authored a number of books and he prepared seven reels of micro films of the manuscripts of the writings of the famous Christian Missionary Miles Bronson, a pioneer in the development of modern Assamese language and literature and handed over the microfilms, containing 14,000 pages written by Miles Bronson himself, to the editors of the Asomiya Jatiya Abhidhan editorial board. He also searched out the first English-Assamese-Naga-Singpho dictionary published by Miles Bronson in 1839.
He was the first man to bring about a compilation of the lyrics composed by Dr Bhupen Hazarika. He also compiled the lyrics of Dr Nirmalprabha Bardoloi and authored a book on Bishnuprasad Rava.
A few years back, he had built a house at Jorhat and set up an Assamese medium school there in the name and style of Phanidhar Dutta Bidyalay. Later he handed over this campus to the Jorhat Jatiya Bidyalay, which re-named it as the Phanidhar Dutta Peeth Jorhat Jatiya Bidyalay.
He was conferred the Sabyasachi Sanman by the Jorhat Jatiya Bidyalay on January 1, 2019 for his contributions to mathematics and Assamese literature, language and culture.
He leaves behind his wife, a son, a daughter and a host of relatives.
