Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal Releases Biography of Social Worker and VC, SITA, Dipok Kumar Barthakur in Guwahati

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday (April 12) released the biography on renowned social worker and current Vice Chairman of the State Innovation & Transformation Aayog (SITA), Assam, Dr. Dipok Kumar Barthakur at a well-attended function in the city.

Dattatreya Hosabale, Sarkaryavah (General Secretary), RSS, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Health and Finance Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, Assam Law and Justice Minister, A. Balakrishnan, National President, Vivekananda Kendra, MPs Queen Oja, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Dilip Saikia were also present at the release function.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "I have known Borthakur da (elder brother) since my AASU days. He has always been telling us to work for the state, the nation. He has always been guiding us to work for the people. As the Vice Chairman of SITA and as a senior leader, he has been guiding us in our fight against COVID and several other major issues related to the society and the economy. I am happy and feel grateful for being able to be part of the biography release event. He has always advised us to handle difficult situations with calm and composure".

BJP National President, J P Nadda said in a televised message, "Dr Borthakur has dedicated his life in service of the nation. He is an institution builder and most of his life has been spent in ntion building. The Sangh (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has been able to make inroads into Assam and the Northeast because of Dr Borthakur untiring efforts to do good for the society."

Nadda also spoke about Dr Borthakur's close association with the BJP particularly during the years when BJP was still growing in Assam.

Dattatreya Hosabale said that Dr Borthakur whom he has known for decades, has been the "potential, powerful, successful instrument. The man with a nationalist thought who worked for the development of Aassam and the region. His biography is not about the man, his life and his works but it is a depiction of the social, cultural and political history of Assam".

Hosabale thanked the author of the biography, veteran journalist and

Editor-in-Chief of Northeast Live TV, Wasbir Hussain for doing this commendable job of capturing the life and works of a great person like Dr Borthakur who has been behind many institutions and socio-cultural establishments of Assam.

Speaking at the event, Dr Dipok Barthakur said that while narrating the events, incidents and talking about the people he met over past so many years for the biography, it helped him relive and recreate those precious moments and events of his life. He said that he felt happy and blessed to have met so many revered people during his life.

The book titled Dipok Kumar Barthakur – Right Turn in Assam chronicles the life and work of Dipok Kumar Barthakur, a man who has devoted more than six decades of his life in service of the nation.

Dipok Kumar Barthakur has been associated with organizations as diverse as the Vivekananda Kendra, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Sishu Siksha Samiti, Nagarik Samabai Bank, Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya and Balaji Temple. The book explores his association with these organizations and about the work these organizations undertook in Assam and Northeast for the betterment of society. His contribution in the fields of education, art and theatre, healthcare, skill development, among others, has been well documented in the book.

Sharing his thoughts Hussain said that Dr Borthakur had regaled him with many anecdotes during their several sittings for the book. He said that his several meetings with the man has made him realise that Dr Borthakur's way of working and thinking is that of a perfectionist and despite his several social and development work he remained a dedicated family man.

The book narrates the consolidation of the RSS in Assam and the Northeast and about the early days of the BJP in the region. Dipok Kumar Barthakur was closely associated with both these organizations during its early days and played a major role in their growth in the region.

The book also chronicles the days of the 1975 Emergency and the Assam Agitation and the role that Dipok Kumar Barthakur played during those days. His association with stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Eknath Ranade, Sankaracharyas and the Sattradhikars of the Sattras in Assam too have been detailed in the book. The activities undertaken by SITA during his tenure as its Vice Chairman too feature in the book.