TEZPUR, July 9 � The 7th Upendranath Brahma Soldier of Humanity Award, 2010 was presented to renowned literateur Mamoni Raisom Goswami at an august function held at the Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha Auditorium of Tezpur University recently.
The award, instituted by the Upendranath Brahma Trust has being annually presented to a chosen person who has made remarkable contributions to the society. Participating in the function as the chief guest, the Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary gave an outline of late Upendranath Brahma and described him as the first Bodo leader to command mass public support, particularly, in rallies. Lauding late Brahma for his extra ordinary achievement, Mooshahary appealed to the public to work for the growth of the society guided by late Brahma�s ideals.
While describing the awardee Mamoni Raisom Goswami� contributions as unparalleled, Mooshahary supported her stand in opposing the practice of animal sacrifice in temples. He also hailed the Tezpur University for creating state-of-the-art facilities keeping the ideals of value education high.
Speaking on the occasion, the president of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Dr Kameswar Brahma recalled the charismatic leadership shown by late Upendranath Brahma who fought for the rights of the Bodos and at the same time, believed in an inclusive and peaceful society. Therefore, rather than fighting with the sword, he moved forward with democratic means towards achieving the results.
The president of the All Bodo Students� Union, Promod Boro paid respects to late Brahma by describing him as an all-time father figure for the Bodos. The vice chancellor of Tezpur University who presided over the function Prof Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri described late Upendranath Brahma as a real soldier of humanity and peace as evidenced by his modus operandi, i.e., through peaceful democratic means rather than with the gun which is the order of the day. He appealed to all to be guided by his ideals while taking up any job that concerns the masses.
Rajya Sabha MP U G Brahma who is also the president of the Upendranath Brahma Trust said that late Brahma was a soldier who fought not only for the Bodos alone, but also for all downtrodden societies living unnoticed and unattended by the rulers.
Accepting the Award, Mamoni Goswami emotionally recalled the great contributions made by late Upendranath Brahma to the cause of the society. She said that late Brahma gave a new direction to the Bodo movement for civil rights and showed exemplary ways to achieve the targets. This was one of her happiest occasions and she felt honoured by the conferment of the award on her.
A 20-minute film on the life and works of late Upendranath Brahma was shown in the beginning of the function which was attended by over 1000 people from all walks of life including leading citizens of Tezpur.
