The State government has assured that it would conserve the century-old buildings of the Earl Law College and the official abode of its principal Jnanadabhiram Barooah, located on the eastern bank of the historic Dighalipukhuri. Earl Law College was established in 1914 and it was the first law college in this part of the country. The late Jnanadabhiram Barooah was its founder principal. Barooah was a bar-at-law and also an extra assistant commissioner and munsiff of Guwahati.
The classes of this law college, in its initial days, were held at the Cotton College and later in its own building, which, on its campus, also had the principal�s residential quarters.
According to historian the late Dipankar Banerjee, an amount of Rs 63,000 was sanctioned towards the cost of the land, first phase of construction of the college building and the principal�s residence as well. By 1915, construction of both the college building and the principal�s residence was completed. The principal�s bungalow was known to the Guwahati (then Gauhati) hoi polloi as �Barooah Sahabar bangla�, while the intelligentsia of the town described it as �Jnan Barooah�s Howli� (Banerjee�s Heritage Guwahati).
These two buildings, particularly the residence of principal JN Barooah, were frequented by the who�s who of the socio-cultural life of the then Assam and it became a hub of multifarious academic, literary and cultural activities. In 1919, when Rabindranath Tagore came to Guwahati, he stayed at this bungalow as a guest of principal JN Barooah, Banerjee said.
When the Gauhati University was established, some of its classes were also held on the Earl Law College premises. These two buildings later became parts of the Nalini Bala Devi Girls� Hostel of Cotton College. Recently there was a move to demolish these buildings to make room for a multi-storey structure.
However, the city-based Heritage Conservation Society, Assam (HeCSA) took up the issue with the State�s Cultural Affairs Minister and the Chief Secretary. Following this development the State government has ordered a halt to all new construction-related activities at the site of these buildings, said Jayanta Sarma, secretary HeCSA. Sarma, accompanied by HeCSA member Bikash Goswami, had met both the Minister and the Chief Secretary on Wednesday and pleaded for a halt to the demolition drive and immediate steps to restore these century-old buildings.
Our City Correspondent adds: When contacted, Director of Archaeology Dr Deepi Rekha Kouli said that the ongoing work was stopped immediately after the minister intervened on Thursday. However, she said that the detailed procedure would be followed as per written official directives.
Reacting to the development, several distinguished citizens have said that the building which carries a long history should be preserved and renovated for the greater interest of the Assamese society.
They suggested erection of a statue of Jnanadabhiram Barooah in front of the building.
Questions have also been raised against the Cotton University over its failure to protect the heritage property even after the erstwhile Cotton College received UGC funds for conservation of its heritage buildings.