Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi). The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam, while Bengali is an additional official language in the Barak Valley.
K. Satchidanandan (1946) is an Indian poet and critic, writing in Malayalam and English. A pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, a bilingual literary critic, playwright, editor, columnist and translator, he is the former editor of Indian Literature journal and the former secretary of Sahitya Akademi. He is also social advocate for secular anti-caste views, supporting causes like environment, human rights and free software and is a well known speaker on issues concerning contemporary Indian literature. He is the festival director of Kerala Literature Festival.
Bhabendra Nath Saikia was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Dr. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader in the Department of Physics, University of Guwahati. He later played an important role in the publication of college level textbooks in the Assamese language during his tenure as the Secretary of the Co-ordination Committee for production of textbooks in regional languages.
Parvati Prasad Baruva (1904–1964) was a noted poet, lyricist, and dramatist: an icon of Assamese literature and the culture of Assam. Known for his simple and sensitive use of the Assamese language, he is popularly known as the Geetikavi; the lyrical poet of Assam. He was also one of the early pioneering filmmakers of Assamese cinema.
The Assam Valley Literary Award was conceived in the year 1990 by Williamson Magor Education Trust to honour creative writers who have enhanced Assamese literature.
Atul Chandra Hazarika (1903–1986) was a prominent Assamese poet, dramatist, children's writer and translator. He was bestowed the epithet "Sahitycharjya" by Asam Sahitya Sabha, the premier literary organization of Assam..
Nabakanta Barua was a prominent Assamese novelist and poet. He was also known as Ekhud Kokaideu. As Sima Dutta he wrote many poems in his early life.
Prof Bhabananda Deka was a pioneer Assam economist and author who conducted novel research on the economy of the far eastern part of India. He was also a leading Indian-Assamese litterateur of the famed 'Awahon-Ramdhenu Era' of Assamese literature during the mid-20th century. He was the author of a total of 115 English and Assamese books including textbooks on a range of fifteen subjects including economics, ancient Assamese literature, philosophy, education, religion, mythology, archaeology, tribal study, poetry, drama, memoirs, civics, political science, biographies; he also edited books and journals. He also authored a variety of research papers and articles about the state of Assam, a state in the north-eastern part of India. He pioneered the writing of books on Economics in Assamese. His Assamese book Axomor Arthaneeti was the first ever research-based comprehensive book on Assam Economics, which was published for the first time in 1963. He was conferred with the honorary title of 'Asom Ratna' -- 'Jewel of Assam' by the intellectuals of Assam on 19 August 2007 at a public meet held under the presidency of Prof. (Dr) Satyendra Narayan Goswami.
Ambikagiri Raichoudhury (1885–1967) was an Assamese poet, lyricist, singer, powerful prose writer, news worker, magazine editor, patriotic, social-worker and the leading freedom fighter of India's freedom struggle. He is known as Assam Kesari. He was elected president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha in 1950.
Arun Sarma was a writer of Assam. Arun Sarma was one of Assam's contemporary playwrights and is particularly known for his unconventional plays with some elements of drama. Besides drama, he also authored over six novels detailing the Assamese way of life. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2010 in recognition of his contributions to Assamese literature. He has also been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1998 for the novel Ashirbadar Rong. He has won the Asam Sahitya Sabha's Best Playwright Award for two consecutive years and also has the rare distinction of having won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2003 for his contributions to drama and the Sahitya Akademi award in 1998 for literature. He was also the recipient of the Assam Valley Literary Award in 2005.
Dhrubajyoti Bora, a medical doctor by profession, is a Guwahati-based Assamese writer and novelist. In a literary career spanning around three decades he has published many critically acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction including more than twenty four books – Novels, monographs on history, travelogues, collection of articles etc. Most notably, he was honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009.
Nilmani Phookan was an Indian poet in Assamese language and an academic. His work, replete with symbolism, is inspired by French symbolism and is representative of the genre in Assamese poetry. His notable works include Surya Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur Lagna, and Kobita.
Mahim Bora was an Indian writer and educationist from Assam. He was elected as a president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha held in 1989 at Doomdooma. He was awarded most notably the Padma Shri in 2011, the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001 and the Assam Valley Literary Award in 1998. Assam Sahitya Sabha conferred its highest honorary title Sahityacharyya on him in 2007.
Hiren Gohain is a scholar, writer, literary critic, and social scientist from the Indian state of Assam.
Nalini Bala Devi was an Indian writer and poet of Assamese literature, known for nationalistic as well as mystical poetry. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1957 for her contribution to literature, and 1968 she won the Sahitya Akademi Award given by Sahitya Akademi for her poetry collection Alakananda. She is the first woman Assamese poet to be awarded with Padma Shri and the first lady to the chair the Assam Sahitya Sabha.
Imran Shah, also known as Nawab Imran Shah is an Indian Assamese language writer, poet, novelist, and scholar. He also writes under the pen names Ishan Dutta, Anamika Baruah, Kumbhakarna, and Animesh Baruah. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2021, for his contributions to literature and education.
Rai Bahadur Surya Kumar Bhuyan MBE (1892–1964) was a writer, historian, educator, social activist, storyteller, essayist, professor and a poet from Assam.He has written many books on ancient history, stories, essays, biographies, etc. in the world of Assamese literature. He presided over the Asam Sahitya Sabha (1953) held at Shillong. He was the elected member of Rajya Sabha during 1952–53, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1956.
Kamal Kumar Tanti is an Assamese poet from Assam, India.
Sananta Tanty was an Indian poet of Assamese literature. Tanty was born to an Odia family in Kalinagar Tea Estate. Tanty completed his secondary education at a Bengali-medium school but continued his literary works in the mainland Assamese language. Tanty received numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Award for "Kailoir Dinto Amar Hobo", a collection of his poems.
Dhaneswar Engti is a poet-author from the Indian State of Assam promoting the use of the endangered Karbi language spoken by the Karbi people of Northeastern India. Engti has authored 19 books and written around 100 songs in the Karbi language. He has also served as the Joint Secretary of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. In the year 2022, Govt. of India conferred on him the Padma Shri award for his work towards the preservation and advancement of indigenous languages.
