Birinchi Kumar Barua

Birinchi Kumar Barua (born November 10, 1908 in Nagaon , Assam , India , † March 30, 1964 in Guwahati ) was an Indian linguist and literary scholar of Assamese ethnicity, writer and science organizer.

Life

Origin and studies

Barua was born in Assam as the son of an old family of officials who already held offices under the Ahom kings . After primary and secondary school at his birthplace, he was accepted into the Presidency College in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1930 , where he distinguished himself above all in Pali , the liturgical language of Buddhists. There he was also awarded the rare and coveted Ishan Scholarship ( Ishan Uday ), which is still awarded to selected students with low family incomes from northeast India.

Barua was already involved in the social and linguistic field in Calcutta, where he founded the "Assamese Students Welfare League" ("Assamese Student Welfare League"); at the same time he promoted the study of the Assamese writer Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1864-1938) and worked as editor and author of magazines and books for children and youth (1935 "Okon", 1948 "Ranghar"). Because of his excellent achievements for admission to the then British Indian Civil Service (ICS), Barua failed only because of his lack of riding skills.

Commitment to the Assamese language

After teaching Modern Indian Languages ​​(Assamese) at the University of Calcutta, he entered the Cotton College in Guwahati . In 1945 he trained at the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) under Codrington and wrote "A Cultural History of Assam", with which he was awarded a doctorate in 1947. phil. (Ph.D.). Back at Cotton College, he took a leading role in founding the new Assamese University of Guwahati through his organizational skills and his commitment to the independence of the Assamese tradition and language. Various studies and projects on the folklore of the state followed, which made Barua known beyond the national borders. In 1961 he was sent to the Soviet Union as India's representative in cultural affairs, and in 1963 he was invited to the United States as a visiting professor for Indian folklore at Indiana University . His "History of Assamese Literature" (1964) is still a standard work today.

During the Chinese invasion of Assam ( Indo-Chinese border war ) in 1962, Barua was active in organizing meetings, marches and appeals to the population.

During the preparations for the 22nd All India Oriental Conference , which was to take place in his university town of Guwahati, Barua died of a heart attack after a long period of suffering .

Appreciation

Barua's contribution to the Assamese language lies not only in the actual decolonization - he himself wrote numerous writings in English as well as in Assamessich - but also, as a founding member of the Government of India's Language Commission , in the exemption from paternalism Bengali, which is literarily more advanced, as well as the emancipation of the language from Hindi and Sanskrit . During the linguistically motivated turmoil in parts of Assam and West Bengal ( language riots ) in 1960, he campaigned for deeper cultural exchange to avoid centrifugal tendencies. As an author of novels and prose, Barua himself made contributions to young Assamese literature and theater, while as an author and editor of textbooks he laid the foundations for the study of Assami at the country's universities. He contributed to the dissemination of Assamese classics and literature through radio broadcasts ( All India Radio ) while working in the scientific field at the Assam Academy of Cultural Affairs .

His life and work are documented by the "Birinchi Kumar Barua Memorial Trust", Guwahati, which, under the direction of his son Boijayanta ("Raj") Baruah, also dedicates himself to the publication of his collected works in three volumes ( Birinchi Kumar Barua Rachanawali ). For his "History of Assamese Literature" ( Asomar Loka Sanskrit ) he was posthumously awarded the prize of the Indian Academy of Sciences ( Sahitya Akademi ) in 1965 .

Marriage, family, character

Barua was married to Shanti Chayya Baruah (1925-2002?) Since 1949, and the marriage resulted in three sons. Barua was seen as warm-hearted, sociable, broadly interested and socially engaged; According to his students and friends, his dynamic, sometimes quick-tempered nature was tempered by his never tiring devotion to studying and promoting Assamese culture, language and folklore.

The unchanged family seat from the 1950s (40, MC Road, Uzanbazar, Guwahati - 781 001, Assam) is today u. a. used as a guest house.

The historian Nirode Kumar Barooah , Cologne / Bonn ("Chatto" 2004), who works in Germany , is a nephew of BK Barua.

Fonts (selection)

Complete works

• Birinchi Kumar Rachanawali , 3 vols., Edited by Bina Library of Guwahati, 2015

English fonts

• A Cultural History of Assam , 1951
• Studies in Early Assamese Literature , 1952
• Early Geography of Assam , 1952
• Modern Assamese Literature , 1957
• Shankaradeva, Vaishnava Saint of Assam , 1960
• History of Assamese Literature , 1964
• Temples and Legends of Assam , 1965

Writings on Assami

• Kavya Aru Abhivyanjans , 1941
• Asamiya Katha-Sahitya , 1950
• Asamiya Bhasa Aru Sanskriti , 1957
• Asamar Loka Sanskriti , 1961 - "The popular culture of Assam", "his most important scientific publication" (Goswani, Obituary)

Scientific papers

• Articles in specialist journals on topics of folklore, ethnology and religions of Assam: "Fish-Lore of Assam", "Ritual Dances of Assam", "Notices of Buddhism in Assam", "Place-names of Assam", "Notices on sorcery and its practices in Assam "," Betel chewing in Assam "," Sankaradeva: The saint poet of Assam "u. v. a.

Novels and short stories

• Jivanaar Bataat , under the pseudonym "Bina Barua", 1944. ("On the Road of Life", 1945) "reveals an understanding of rural life that is seldom found in Assam's literature" (Goswamy, Obituary); "Milestone in the literature of Assam" (Banikanta Kakati)
• Pat Parivartan , under the pseudonym "Bina Barua", 1948 - collection of short stories
• Aghoni Bai , under the pseudonym "Bina Barua", 1950 - collection of short stories
• Seuji Pataar Kahani , "Tales of the Green Leaves", playing in a tea garden, under the pseudonym "Rasna Barua", translated into several languages, 1959

Travel reports

• Switzerland Bhraman , 1948
• Professor Baruar Chithi , 1968

Children's books

• Bharat Buranji
• Buranjir Katha , 1956

Plays

• Ebalar Naat , 1955 (one act)

literature

• Dr. Birinchi Kumar Barua. His Life & Times 1908-1964 . - Guwahati: Dr. Birinchi Kumar Barua Memorial Trust. Without location [Guwahati], without year [approx. 2015].
• Birinchi Kumar Barua Memorial Trust. Aims, objectives & activities . - Without location [Guwahati], without year [approx. 2015].
• Praphulladatta Goswami, Richard M. Dorson, N. Das Gupta: Birinchi Kumar Barua (1910-1964) . In: The Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Vol. 23.2 (1964), Obituaries. - The date of birth is incorrectly given here as 1910.

Web links

• http://baruahbhavan.com/

Remarks

1. ↑ On the dates of life: Praphulladatta Goswami, Richard M. Dorson, N. Das Gupta: Birinchi Kumar Barua (1910-1964) . In: The Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Vol. 23.2 (1964), Obituaries. - The date of birth is incorrectly given here as 1910, the birthday in the English Wikipedia incorrectly as October 16.
2. ↑ The family name Barua, which is frequently encountered in Assam, is transcribed differently as Barua, Baruah, Barooah etc. even within a family
3. ↑ Peter Gaeffke : The new Indian literatures. In: Kindlers Neues Literaturlexikon (KNL), Vol. 20, pp. 557-563, p. 562
4. ↑ "In Assam the spirit of patriotism was more anchored in the language than in the dream of political independence. This explains why the new intelligentsia was firmly behind the cause of the Assamese language; it was not against British rule." ; Nagen Sakia 2011, 17. Quoted from: BKBarua Memorial Trust, p. 49.