GUWAHATI, April 30: Eminent economist Professor Bibek Debroy, who is a member of NITI Ayog, will deliver the 3rd Professor Sarat Mahanta Memorial Lecture at the Royal Group of Institutions at Gorchuk at 4 pm on May 1. Professor Debroy will speak on ‘Recrafting Development: Prospects & Challenges of Economic Growth in Northeast India’. This annual lecture, which has become an important date in Assam’s intellectual calendar, is held in the memory of eminent educationist, writer, social worker and human rights activists Professor Sarat Mahanta on his birth anniversary.
Professor Mahanta, who taught history at Sibsagar College, Joysagar, and retired as the department’s head, has also authored many books, including Polokote Etu Hitu: Akbar-Birbal Aru Neel Nodir Kotha and Concise History of Assam. He was an ardent champion of human rights and was a member of the Assam Human Rights Commission. He was also a prominent social worker and jourlist. Professor Mahanta passed away on June 18, 2013.The 1st Professor Sarat Mahanta Memorial Lecture was delivered by prominent jourlist and author Sudeep Chakrabarti on May 1, 2014.