GUWAHATI, April 16 ? Renowned historian and former president of the Indian History Congress Dr Heramba Kanta Barpujari is no more. The renowned historian who was honoured by the Asam Sahitya Sabha in 1997 with the title ?Itihas Acharjya?, passed away at his Rajgarh Road residence here at 7.05 pm today due to old-age ailments. He was 89. Born on August 31, 1912, Dr Barpujari dedicated his life to historical research and academic activities. It was his single handed effort which brought recognition to the North East region, and particularly Assam from the historians of other parts of the world.
The region?s problem of foreigners? infiltration also got its due recognition from the historians because of his ardent efforts. He was so recognised as an authority on the issue that even the Union Home Ministry invited him to deliver a lecture before a select audience, a couple of years back, at New Delhi on the topic of the threat posed to Assam by the unabated influx from Bangladesh. Recognising his scholarly qualities, the University Grants Commission also conferred on him way back in 1976, the prestigious UGC Professorship. He was also a former Dean of Faculty of Arts of Gauhati University. Dr Barpujari who started his career as a lecturer of history in Jagannath Baruah College, Jorhat in 1940 also served for a period of ten years in Cotton College in the city since 1942, before joining the State Education Services as Additional Director in 1952.
However, he could not reconcile himself there and returned to Cotton College in 1955 as the Head of the Department, History. Later he joined Gauhati University as Professor and Head of the Department, History in 1963. He was deputed by the Union Ministry of Education in 1972 to the erstwhile USSR under a cultural exchange programme, where he delivered a series of lectures at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow University, Academy of Sciences, USSR and at the Department of History and Law, University of Kiev. A former member of the Indian Council of Historical Research and the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology, Government of India, Dr Barpujari rose to the prominence of the president of Indian History Congress for 1995-1996. He also presided over the History session of the 1972 Dhubri session of the Asam Sahitya Sabha and in the same year he became the president of the modern section of the Indian History Congress held at Muzaffarpur.
He became the president of the NE India History Congress in 1980 and presided over the academic session of the 52nd session of the Indian History Records Commission, held in Bikaner in 1987. One of his major works was North East India ? Problems, Policies and Prospects, 1997 in which he dealt extensively on the threat posed to Assam by unabated influx of foreigners and role of the political leaders. His other major works include, the five-volume Comprehensive History of Assam, Problems of the Hill Tribes : North East Frontier, Political History of Assam ? In the days of the Company and in Assamese, ? American Missionarysakal Aru Unabingsha Shatikar Asom, Asamar Navajagaran : Ona-Asamiyar Bhumika, among others. His last rites will be performed at the Navagraha crematorium here tomorrow morning.