SILCHAR: Veteran journalist and educationalist Prof Jyoti Lal Chowdhury, who had a long association with The Sentinel, passed away at the Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH) on Friday evening. He was 75.
SMC&H Vice-Principal Dr Bhaskar Gupta informed the media that Prof Chowdhury had breathed his last at 10.15 pm on Friday.
He was suffering from cardiac ailments, septicemia, and electrolyte imbalance. According to his relatives, they admitted Prof Chowdhury to the SMC&H early this week after his health condition deteriorated. He left behind three sisters, other relatives and a host of fans and well-wishers.
He was a professor of English at Cachar College. Prof Chowdhury wrote for The Sentinel and other national and regional newspapers. He authored and edited several books, including 'Glimpses of British Raj in Barak Valley', 'Rumblings from Northeast' and 'Mahapran Mahitosh', a book published commemorating the birth centenary of great freedom fighter and revolutionary Mahitosh Purkayastha. A prominent figure in the social milieu of the Barak Valley, Prof Chowdhury was one of the founder members of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. He was also the president of the governing body of GC College, Silchar.
Cachar DC Keerthi Jalli described Prof Chowdhury as a dedicated journalist and a fine human being committed to professional ethics.
Keerthi said, "His writings will always be remembered by one and all. We pray for his departed soul".
DDC Rajib Roy said, "The demise of Prof Chowdhury is a great loss. An academician par excellence, he left a deep imprint in the field of journalism."
Prof Chowdhury did his MA in English from Banaras Hindu University. The Assam government recently awarded him a literary pension. The Government had felicitated him for his contributions in journalism and literature earlier, a press release said.
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