Assam: Journalist Homen Borgohain passes away at 88

GUWAHATI: Sahitya Akademi awardee, journalist and noted intellectual Homen Borgohain, passed away at a city hospital on Wednesday morning. He was 88.
Borgohain won the battle against Covid-19 a few days ago and was discharged from hospital last week. He reportedly fell off his bed in the wee hours on Wednesday and was rushed to the hospital. The hospital authority said that he was brought to the emergency department at 6.15 am following a cardiac arrest. “A team of cardiologists, intensivists and neurologists tried to revive him for almost 38 minutes but he failed to respond to all efforts. He was declared dead at 6.58 am,” a spokesperson of the hospital told TOI.
Condolences poured in from across the political and apolitical spectrum at the demise of the former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASS), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauding Borgohain’s contributions. “Shri Homen Borgohain will be remembered for his rich contributions to Assamese literature and journalism. His works reflected diverse aspects of Assamese life and culture. Saddened by his passing away. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” tweeted Modi.
Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the literary stalwart’s demise left a deep void in Assamese society. The state government said that it is committed to preserving Borgohain’s creations and ideology. Borgohain was accorded full state honour during cremation at the Nabagraha crematorium here later in the day.
Attending the funeral, Sarma said the demise of Borgohain was a personal loss. He regarded Borgohain as a guardian who guided him at difficult times. “Doctors discharged him from hospital, as he deeply desired to return home. The Assam government will take all needful measures to keep Borgohain’s invaluable creations and ideology alive among the young generation,” Sarma said, informing that the government has already visualized a plan which would be finalized in consultation with the late author’s family members and well wishers.
“He was a gifted writer who exhibited his prowess in all genres of literature with equal ease. He had a deep understanding of human life and through his simple and unique style of writing, highlighted its myriad facets. He has left an unparalleled legacy with his literary and journalistic contributions,” Sarma said.
Born in Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur district in upper Assam in 1932, Borgohain was enrolled at Cotton College in Guwahati, from where he graduated. After starting his career as an Assam Civil Service officer, he left the elite government service in the 1970s and turned to journalism and also devoted himself towards literature. He penned over a dozen novels, and an uncountable number of literary works from fiction to non-fiction. His career began at the Assamese weekly paper, ‘Nilachal’, which took an anti-establishment stand during the Emergency and was immensely popular among discerning sections.
“We mourn the loss of Borgohain, the doyen of Assamese literature and the former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha. His immense contributions to literature will always be remembered,” said Sahitya Sabha president Kuladhar Saikia.
Borgohain was uncompromising with his political stand and even did not hesitate to go against the flow when it came to the popular Assam Agitation (anti-foreigner movement between 1979-85). “He did not support the undemocratic and intolerant tendencies in the Assam Agitation and the anti-minority stand of some agitators,” said author and critic Paresh Malakar.
A delegation of the All Assam Students' Union, which led the agitation, paid tributes to Borgohain. Aasu president Dipanka Nath said that his demise is a big loss to the Assamese society.
Borgohain won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1978 for his novel ‘Pita Putra’, which depicted the decay of feudal values and transition to a new awakening in the post- independence era. But in 2015, he announced that he would be returning the award in protest against the Dadri lynching. Borgohain’s first novel ‘Subala’ (1963) was based on the life of a sex worker. The novel was a trendsetter as it was based on an ‘untouchable subject’ at that time.
Some of his notable literary works include ‘Halodhiya Soraye Baudhan Khai’, ‘Astaraag’ ‘Atmanusandhan’, ‘Dhumuha aru Ramdhenu’, ‘Pragyar Sadhana’, ‘Matsyagandha’ and ‘Nisangata’. “He will be remembered for his immortal works bringing positivity in the lives of readers,” said poet Kamal Kumar Medhi.