GUWAHATI, Nov 13 � Governor JB Patnaik today described Krishna Kanta Handiqui, the founder Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University (GU) and an orientologist of high stature, as a man of great learning. He was not a mere scholar. In the area of scholarly pursuits, he was matchless, said the Governor, while unveiling the life-size statue of the great scholar in front of the GU Library named after him.
The Governor, who is also the GU Chancellor, said for his scholarly pursuits, Handiqui is revered by the scholars� fraternity all over the world. His scholarly works will continue to inspire the scholars worldwide through the ages, said the Governor in his brief speech.
Addressing the function, GU Vice-Chancellor Dr Mridul Kumar Hazarika said that Handiqui could be compared with former President of India Dr Sarbapalli Radhakrishnan in matters of his scholarly pursuits.
Handiqui�s daughter Ahalya Gogoi in her address said that during the celebration of the birth centenary of the Late scholar, two trusts were formed to keep his name alive. Both the trusts decided to install a life-size bronze statue inside the GU campus and when the proposal was discussed with the GU authorities they readily agreed to it and authorised the trusts to accomplish the task.
Recalling the affection Handiqui had towards Gauhati University, Gogoi said that in his death bed in 1982, Handiqui asked his family to hand over his library to the University within one month of his demise. His last wishes were honoured consequently, said Gogoi.
She also praised the decision of the GU authorities to set up a landscape garden in front of the KK Handiqui Library, saying that the great scholar was very attached to nature and walking in the garden was his favourite past- time.
Addressing the function, Prof Ranjit Kumar Dev Goswami described Handiqui as a pioneer of the study of comparative literature in Indian context.
Prof Dev Goswami also maintained that such was his knowledge and scholarly pursuits that Handiqui used to write his comments in Greek on the books written in Greek. The same thing he did in the cases of the books written in Spanish, Russian etc. This came to light when the books of his personal library were examined at the GU Library, Prof Dev Goswami said.
On the occasion two students � Shikha Jyoti Barthakur (2013) MDK College Dibrugarh and Banashree Devi (2012) Nalbari College ---who secured highest marks in Sanaskrit in the Degree level examinations among the students of the universities of the State, were also felicitated by the Governor.
The function was also addressed by GU Registrar Dr Suresh Nath.
After the function, the Governor visited the manuscript section of GU Library and expressed his satisfaction over the way the manuscripts are preserved there.
