Biography
Narah is a graduate of Cotton College and Gauhati University. He was one of the main leaders of the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985. [4] [5] [6] In 1981 and 1982, he was the General Secretary of the All Assam Students' Union. [7] [8] On January 5, 1982, he was imprisoned by the Government of India under the National Security Act. [8] [9] After the Assam Accord, Narah won from Dhakuakhana in the 1985 legislative assembly elections as an independent affiliated with the All Assam Students' Union. He was a founding member of the Asom Gana Parishad that formed the government. [10] [11] He was a senior cabinet minister from 1985 to 1990 under Assam Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. He held the portfolios of Tribal Affairs/Welfare of Plains Tribals & Tribal Area & Backward Classes, Flood Control, Irrigation, Forests, and Transport during this period. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
When Bhrigu Kumar Phukan formed the Natun Asom Gana Parishad in 1991, Narah opted out of the primary membership of the Asom Gana Parishad. [17] He won a second term from Dhakuakhana in the 1991 elections, but the Indian National Congress formed the government. He served as the Asom Gana Parishad's chief whip from 1991 to 1995. [18] In 1995, Narah resigned from the Asom Gana Parishad after ideological disagreements with the party leadership. [10] [19] He joined the Indian National Congress and became a senior cabinet minister under Assam Chief Minister, Hiteswar Saikia, helping establish the Mising Autonomous Council for his indigenous tribal community. [20] Narah won a third consecutive term from Dhakuakhana in the 1996 elections. However, the Asom Gana Parishad formed the government. [21]
Narah won a fourth consecutive term from Dhakuakhana in 2001. The Indian National Congress won the elections, and Narah became a senior cabinet minister under Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi. He held several portfolios, including Tribal Affairs/Welfare of Plain Tribes & Backward Classes, Public Works Department, Flood Control/Fisheries/Water Resources, Co-operation and Parliamentary Affairs. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] While Tribal Affairs Minister in 2002, he announced the peace agreement with the Bodo Liberation Tigers Force and the approval of the Bodoland Territorial Council. [25] This was followed by the establishment of the Sonowal Kachari, Thengal Kachari, and Deori autonomous district councils in 2005. He won a fifth consecutive term from Dhakuakhana in the 2006 elections, which returned the Indian National Congress to power.
After the entry of the Bodoland People's Front into a coalition government with the Congress in 2006, [27] Narah gave up the portfolios of Tribal Affairs/Welfare of Plain Tribes & Backward Classes and Public Works Department. He was allocated State Co-operatives to help modernise the economy. [28] [29] In 2008, Narah was shifted from Water Resources to the portfolios of Cultural Affairs and Sports & Youth Welfare to prepare Guwahati, Assam, for the National Games of India in 2011. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
After five-consecutive electoral victories in Dhakuakhana from 1985 to 2006, Narah was defeated in his bid for a sixth-term during the 2011 elections in an upset to Asom Gana Parishad candidate, Naba Kumar Doley. [36] [37] [38] [39] The Congress returned to power for a third consecutive term. In 2012, the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, brought Narah back into the government as Press Advisor, with the rank of a cabinet minister. [1] Narah remained the senior government spokesperson as the Press Advisor until the 2016 elections, [2] [40] [41] in which he was unsuccessful in regaining Dhakuakhana and the Congress lost power to the National Democratic Alliance.
In 2021, the Indian National Congress allocated the Dhakuakhana seat to a candidate affiliated with the Mising autonomist organisation, Takam Mising Porin Kebang. [42] Although Narah was elected to his sixth term in the Assam Legislative Assembly from neighbouring Naoboicha, the Indian National Congress was unsuccessful in regaining power. In 2024, Narah opted out of the primary membership of the Indian National Congress. [43] [44]
Narah is married to Ranee Narah, [45] who was Minister of State for Tribal Affairs from 2012 to 2014 in the Union Government of India, and was elected to four-terms as a Member of Parliament from 1998 to 2004, 2009 to 2014, and 2016 to 2022.
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