NEW DELHI, Jan 25 - Editor of The Assam Tribune and managing director of The Assam Tribune Group of Publications, Prafulla Govinda Baruah, noted author Arup Kumar Dutta and writer Joyshree Goswami Mahanta have been honoured with the Padma Shri award, announced on the eve of the Republic Day celebrations.
Prafulla Govinda Baruah took over as the managing director of the Assam Tribune Group in 1966. In addition to his position as the managing director of the publication house, he is also the editor of The Assam Tribune, a premier English daily of the Northeast.
The Assam Tribune was founded by his illustrious father Radha Govinda Baruah in 1939.
The Assam Tribune Group also publishes popular daily Dainik Asam, weekly Asam Bani and literary monthly Gariyoshi, all in Assamese language. It also has a publication wing, Sahitya Prakash that has over the decades brought out a good number of worthy volumes.
In addition to his contribution towards journalism, Prafulla Govinda Baruah is also actively associated with a number of sociocultural organisations, including Jyotirupa that has been in the forefront of promoting amateur theatre in Assam.
Prafulla Govinda Baruah has been honoured by various prominent organisations, including the Asam Sahitya Sabha and Kamala Saikia Trust. Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute also presented an appreciation citation to Baruah for his role in creating awareness for control of cancer.
Arup Kumar Dutta is a writer and journalist, who has 17 adventure novels and 14 other books to his credit. In 2014, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Honour by the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children, New Delhi, and the Indian chapter of the International Board of Books for Young People. He has also won numerous awards, including the Shankar�s Award in 1979, conferred to mark the International Year of the Child. He is a regular columnist of The Assam Tribune.
�It is an honour and I am deeply humbled. As a writer, I find it more rewarding getting feedback from my readers. However, getting official recognition for whatever I have achieved is always welcome,� Dutta said in Guwahati after the announcement of the Padma awards.
