MORIGAON, May 2 - Rich tributes were paid to doyen of the Assamese language, Hemchandra Barua on his anniversary on Tuesday at Morigaon Sahitya Sabha Bhavan.
A daylong programme was organised by Morigaon Zila Sahitya Sabha where a large number of people took part. The programme started with the flag hoisting by Bubumoni Goswami, president of Morigaon Zila Sahitya Sabha, followed by smriti tarpan by Ajit Sarma, central executive member of Asam Sahitya Sabha.
The open meeting was held at Gurucharan Medhi Bhavan, Morigaon, which was presided over by Bubumoni Goswami. Explaining the purpose of the meeting, Pinaki Bhushan Mahanta, general secretary of Morigaon Zila Sahitya Sabha, said that the Asam Sahitya Sabha has chalked out programme to pay respectful homage to the doyen of the Assamese language, the author of the first Assamese-English dictionary Hemkosh which established the Assamese language in a very critical time of 19th century.
Speaking on the occasion, Narendra Nath Keot, retired principal of Morigaon College, said that Hemchandra Borua was a crusader against the social evils of Assamese society of the 19th century and he established the main foundation of Assamese language writing not only the first Assamese dictionary, but also several valuable books during the crucial time when Assamese language was threatened by several forces of contemporary time.
Addressing the gathering as the chief guest, Dr Surya Das, retired director of All India Radio, Guwahati, said that Hemchandra Borua exposed all the maladies of the then Assamese society writing the Kaniar Kirtan. He was a social reformer who advocated the widow marriage at that time, Dr Das added.
In the programme, two authors of Morigaon district �Maneswar Deuri and Mahat Das � were felicitated by the Morigaon Zila Sahitya Sabha.
