Biraj Kumar Sarma

Last updated

Biraj Kumar Sarma was an Asom Gana Parishad politician from Assam. He was born 1948. He was popularly referred to as " the people's leader".[6]

Mr. Sarma was one of three representatives of the Assam Agitation against illegal immigrants (1979–85) who signed the Assam Accord in presence of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was the general secretary of the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) while the other two signatories — Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bhrigu Kumar Phukan — were leaders of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).[5] He was a front ranking leader of the six-year-long Assam Movement led by the All Assam Students Union from 1979 which had culminated in the signing of the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) Assam Accord in 1985 between AASU and representatives of central and Assam governments.

Sarma had participated in the Assam Movement as an active member of Sadou Asom Gana Sangram Parishad and co-founded Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which was formed by the Assam agitation leaders in 1985. He was the general secretary of the party and later its vice-president.

He remained with the AGP since its formation till his death and had represented Gauhati East assembly constituency twice.

He had survived a gun attack on him by the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in 1998.[7] He was elected in Assam Legislative Assembly election in 1985 and 1996 from Gauhati East constituency. [1] [2] [3] [5][6]

He died on 15 January 2019 at the age of 70. At the time of death he was the adviser to the UNESCO Associations, Guwahati, president to the UNA, Assam and the vice president of the Assam Gana Parishad. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asom Gana Parishad</span> Indian political party

Asom Gana Parishad is a political party in the state of Assam, India. The AGP was formed following the historic Assam Accord of 1985 and formally launched at the Golaghat Convention held from 13 to 14 October 1985 in Golaghat, which also allowed Prafulla Kumar Mahanta who was the youngest chief minister of the state to be elected. The AGP has formed government twice once in 1985 then again in 1996. The popularity of AGP surged in the late 1980s but declined in the 2000s.

Natun Asom Gana Parishad was a political party in the Indian state of Assam. NAGP was formed through a split of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prafulla Kumar Mahanta</span> 11th Chief Minister of Assam

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is an Indian politician who was the leader of the Assam Movement, and the 11th Chief Minister of Assam from 1985 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2001 and the co-founder and former President of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a major political party in the Indian state of Assam. He was representing the Barhampur constituency in Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2021 and Nowgong constituency from 1985 to 1991. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2014 and again from 1991 to 1996.He became the chief minister in the state when the AGP came to power in 1985, becoming the youngest Chief Minister of an Indian state. He is also a former president of the All Assam Students Union,an organization that spearheaded the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985.In August 2005, his membership in the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was terminated. So, he floated a new political party, Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive) on 15 September 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assam Movement</span> Indian civil disobedience campaign

The Assam Movement (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) the movement defined a six-year period of sustained civil disobedience campaigns, political instability and widespread ethnic violence. The movement ended in 1985 with the Assam Accord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Assam Students' Union</span> Students organisation in Assam, India

All Assam Students' Union or AASU is an Assamese nationalist student's organisation in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against Bengalis of both Indian and Bangladeshi origin living in Assam. The original leadership of the organisation, after the historic Assam Accord of 1985, became part of the newly formed Asom Gana Parishad which formed a state government in Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assam Accord</span> 1985 agreement between the Indian government and the Assam Movement

The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement. It was signed in the presence of the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi on 15 August 1985. Later, the Citizenship Act was amended for the first time the following year, in 1986. It followed a six-year agitation that started in 1979. Led by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the protestors demanded the identification and deportation of all illegal foreigners – predominantly Bangladeshi immigrants. They feared that past and continuing large scale migration was overwhelming the native population, impacting their political rights, culture, language and land rights. The Assam Movement caused the estimated death of over 855 people. The movement ended with the signing of the Assam Accord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarbananda Sonowal</span> Union Cabinet Minister from Assam

Sarbananda Sonowal is an Indian politician of Bharatiya Janata Party from Assam who is serving as the current Cabinet Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Cabinet Minister of AYUSH, Government of India and the member of the Rajya Sabha representing Assam since 2021 and also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs since 2021. He is the 14th Chief Minister of Assam from 2016 to 2021 and the former of Assam Legislative Assembly from Majuli from 2016 until he resigned in 2021 and from Moran constituency from 2001 to 2004. Sonowal earlier served as the Assam state unit President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2016. He has also served as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India, from 2014 to 2016 and the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development from 2014 to 2014 and the member of the Lok Sabha from Lakhimpur from 2014 to 2016 and from Dibrugarh from 2004 to 2009. He was also the member of the Asom Gana Parishad from 2001 to 2011.

Arun Kumar Sarmah was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Lakhimpur constituency of Assam and is a member of the Asom Gana Parishad political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitendra Nath Goswami</span> Indian politician

Hitendra Nath Goswami is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly from 30 January 2017 to 20 May 2021. Goswami is a member of Assam Legislative Assembly from Jorhat constituency. He was a member of Asom Gana Parishad until 16 February 2013, when he resigned from the party membership "expressing his frustration at the failure of the party leadership to bring in new blood to revive the regional force". He joined BJP on 10 March 2014 in New Delhi. However, he made it clear that he has nothing against the aims and objectives of the regional force and he would always continue his anti-Congress stand.

Chandra Mohan Patowary is an Indian politician from Assam who is currently serving as the Minister of Environment and Forests, Act East Policy Affairs, Welfare of Minorities in the cabinet of Himanta Biswa Sarma since 2021. He was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly six times from the Dharmapur constituency. He had also served as a cabinet minister between 1996 and 2001 and from 2016 and 2021 and as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011. He was the health minister of Assam from 1985 to 1990 and agriculture minister from 1996 to 2001. He was the president of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) during 2008–2011. He resigned owning responsibility for the party's poor performance in the 2011 Assam Legislative Assembly elections. In 2014, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of then BJP National President Rajnath Singh and State President of BJP Assam Pradesh Shri Sarbananda Sonowal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atul Bora</span> Indian politician

Atul Bora is an Indian politician from Assam of Asom Gana Parishad. He represents the Bokakhat constituency in the Assam Legislative Assembly since 2016 and the Golaghat constituency from 1996 to 2001. He was the Minister of Agriculture, Horticulture and Food Processing, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Urban Development, Town and Country Planning Since 2016 in the Sonowal ministry and the Sarma ministry. He also served as the 2nd president of the Asom Gana Parishad since 2014 and working president of the party from 2011 to 2014.

Bhrigu Phukan was an Indian politician who was leader of Asom Gana Parishad and a cabinet minister in Government of Assam in the First Mahanta Ministry. He was one of the three signatories to the Assam Accord. Phukan was born on 25 April 1956. He was elected for three consecutive terms from the prestigious Jalukbari constituency to the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagadish Bhuyan</span> Indian politician

Jagadish Bhuyan is an Indian student leader and politician associated with the Assam Movement, who served two terms as an MLA of the Assam Legislative Assembly from the Sadiya legislative assembly constituency in Tinsukia district, and as tourism minister in the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta government from 1998 to 2001. Originally a leader in the Asom Gana Parishad, in June 2015 he abandoned the faltering AGP for the Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as the chairman of Assam Petro-Chemicals until 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gauhati East Assembly constituency</span> Constituency of the Assam legislative assembly in India

Gauhati East Assembly constituency is one of the 126 assembly constituencies of Assam a northeast state of India. Gauhati East is also part of Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency. The Gauhati East constituency is the only fully urban Legislative Assembly constituency of Assam. Located in the heart of the city of Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, the constituency includes areas such as Pan Bazar, Uzan Bazar, Fancy Bazar, Paltan Bazar, etc. which makes it the most prestigious of all the Legislative Assembly Constituencies of Assam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brindaban Goswami</span> Indian politician

Brindaban Goswami was a leader of Asom Gana Parishad and former Education Minister in Government of Assam. He was one of the student leaders who came into limelight during Assam Agitation. He was a member of split group of Asom Gana Parishad known as Natun Asom Gana Parishad when it was formed due to Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. He was also the President of Asom Gana Parishad for a brief period of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulakesh Barua</span> Indian politician

Pulakesh Barua is an Indian politician from the state of Assam. He had formed the Natun Asom Gana Parishad (NAGP), a regional political party in 1991 along with Dinesh Goswami and Bhrigu Kumar Phukan but merged the party with the AGP in 1994. He was the speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly from 9 January 1986 – 27 July 1991.

The Golaghat Convention was a historic national convention of the people of Assam, organised in Golaghat for 2 days from 13–14 October 1985.

The 8th Assam Legislative Assembly election was held in two phases in 1985 to elect members from 126 constituencies in Assam, India.

Ardhendu Kumar Dey was an Indian politician and Minister of Irrigation and Soil Conservation in the Government of Assam. He was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Hojai constituency from 1991 till 2006 as a member of INC. He was re-elected as an MLA from Hojai from 2011 to 2016. In April 2021, he left the Indian National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilamani Sen Deka</span> Indian politician

Nilamani Sen Deka is an Indian Politician from the state of Assam. He was a member of Assam Legislative Assembly for Dharmapur from 2001 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016. He also served as agriculture minister from 2011 to 2015.

References

  1. "AGP has not drifted away from goals: Atul Bora". Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  2. Call to oppose move on post-25 March, ’71 migrants
  3. Assam govt has failed in dealing with floods, erosion: AJYCP
  4. Assam: One of signatories of Assam Accord Biraj Kumar Sarma passes away

7.https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/assam-accord-signatory-and-agp-co-founder-biraj-kumar-sarma-passes-away-1432690-2019-01-17