— Suren Ram Phookun
Born in a lower middle class family in Golaghat town in 1909, Harendra Nath Barua had his school education in his home town and in 1930 he graduated from Cotton College. He passed the Law examination from Earle Law College, Guwahati, four years later, with an eye to pursue law as a career. During his student life Barua was drawn to politics and journalism in which he spent his life to his last breath.Harendra Nath Barua enrolled himself as a member of the Indian National Congress in 1928 and became an active worker in the organisation. In 1930, when he local Congress leaders were arrested and gaoled in connection with the Civil Disobedience movement, Barua was asked by Tyagvir Hem Barua and other leaders not to court imprisonment but to look after the affairs of the Guwahati District Congress Committee. In the course of the Individual Satyagraha movement he was arrested on March 10, 1941and sentenced to three weeks rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 5 in default, a weeks imprisonment. He was arrested on January 1, 1943 for his anti-war propaganda under the Defence of India Act.Many of his editorials were written in a verbose style, particularly when the subject needed extensive elucidation and discussion, which many readers found difficult to appreciate and digest. Sometimes such editorials spread over two or even more consecutive issues of the newspaper’s editorial columns. This the editor did to serve the dual purpose of informing and educating the readers on all the relevant and co-related matters to bring home the point. His intention was loud and clear and sometimes very critical and aggressive when the subject matter concerned made any inroads into the interests of the nation as a whole, or the local people and Assam in particular.He took journalism seriously as a noble profession. With his bold forceful and informative writings he could mesmerise the readers. In 1926 Pandu session of the Congress in which Desbhakta Tarun Ram Phookun was the president, Baruah was a volunteer.He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had to struggle hard for the survival of his family. Simple and unassuming by nature, Harendra Nath Barua fought relentlessly against heavy odds that made people’s life miserable. He was a warrior, and an indomitable crusader on many burning issues.His honesty, dedication, devotion, boldness and impartiality in discharging his responsibilities as an Editor cannot be questioned. Soon after Cripps Mission and the conspiracy of the Muslim League to include Assam in Pakistan he wrote a book titled Reflections of Assam cum Pakistan in which he forcefully declared under no circumstances Assam could be a part of Pakistan. It is worth mentioning that during the States Reorganisation Commission’s visit there was a conspiracy to include Goalpara within Bengal but HN Baruah objected to it vehemently and said that Goalpara is a part and parcel of Assam. Baruah always fought tooth and nail to get justice for the welfare and development of the State. His fruitful writings always aroused public sentiment. Thus he wrote strongly worded articles supporting Asomiya language as the official language of the State and medium of instruction in educational institutions. His brochure Asomoor Bideshi Nagarikar Samasya created a wave among all shades of public opinion.Harendra Nath Barua enrolled himself as a member of the Indian National Congress in 1928 and during the civil disobedience movement, he was asked by stalwarts like Tyagbir Hem Baruah and other movement leaders not to court imprisonment but to work round the clock to keep the movement alive. Under the Defence of India Act, Barua was detained for a year as a security prisoner in Tezpur jail in 1934. Although he was an dominant freedom fighter, his first love was journalism. He was associated as an Editor for long 50 years. He retired as an active journalist in 1976. During this golden period, he highlighted the multifarious problems of Asom and moulded public opinion to fight them unitedly.There were no doubt journalists, even editors of newspapers before Harendranath Barua. The proprietor-editors there were but they cannot strictly be called journalists. There were men like Nilmoni Phukan, Omeo Kumar Das and a few others who dabbled in journalism but journalism was not their sole aim in life. If Assam had real journalists in the true sense of the term they were Lakshinath Phookan and Harendranath Barua. The later period had Satis Chandra Kakati, Trailokyanath Sarma, Kirtinath Hazarika and many others who made a career out of journalism. Lately journalism has become a glamorous and lucrative profession. Several Assam boys and girls stationed in Delhi, Mumbai and some other cities are doing extremely well, both professionally and financially. When Harendranath Barua took up journalism it was more a mission than a profession. Barua was possibly not cut out for politics as he was too straightforward and outspoken a man. His short stint as Chairman of the Guwahati Municipal Board (1944-46) must have taught him this. So he did not go for election politics and choose to stick to journalism for which he was ideally suited, temperamentally and otherwise. There are very few journalists in Assam who have had the kind of long innings in their chosen field as HN Barua did. Starting as a sub-editor in the Asomiya started by Chandra Kumar Agarwala in the year 1926 while yet in his teens, he rose to become its Editor eight years later. In 1955 he took up the editorship of the Natun Asomiya and stayed with the paper loyally through thick and thin until his retirement in 1976. Journalists old and young will sorely miss this doyen of the Fourth Estate on whom they could call for instant background material purveyed from the recesses of a photographic memory. They will miss him ever more for the refreshing candour with which he was capable of giving sound well-intentioned advice even if it had to be bitter at times.(Published on the occasion of his death anniversary). source: assam tribune
Born in a lower middle class family in Golaghat town in 1909, Harendra Nath Barua had his school education in his home town and in 1930 he graduated from Cotton College. He passed the Law examination from Earle Law College, Guwahati, four years later, with an eye to pursue law as a career. During his student life Barua was drawn to politics and journalism in which he spent his life to his last breath.Harendra Nath Barua enrolled himself as a member of the Indian National Congress in 1928 and became an active worker in the organisation. In 1930, when he local Congress leaders were arrested and gaoled in connection with the Civil Disobedience movement, Barua was asked by Tyagvir Hem Barua and other leaders not to court imprisonment but to look after the affairs of the Guwahati District Congress Committee. In the course of the Individual Satyagraha movement he was arrested on March 10, 1941and sentenced to three weeks rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs 5 in default, a weeks imprisonment. He was arrested on January 1, 1943 for his anti-war propaganda under the Defence of India Act.Many of his editorials were written in a verbose style, particularly when the subject needed extensive elucidation and discussion, which many readers found difficult to appreciate and digest. Sometimes such editorials spread over two or even more consecutive issues of the newspaper’s editorial columns. This the editor did to serve the dual purpose of informing and educating the readers on all the relevant and co-related matters to bring home the point. His intention was loud and clear and sometimes very critical and aggressive when the subject matter concerned made any inroads into the interests of the nation as a whole, or the local people and Assam in particular.He took journalism seriously as a noble profession. With his bold forceful and informative writings he could mesmerise the readers. In 1926 Pandu session of the Congress in which Desbhakta Tarun Ram Phookun was the president, Baruah was a volunteer.He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had to struggle hard for the survival of his family. Simple and unassuming by nature, Harendra Nath Barua fought relentlessly against heavy odds that made people’s life miserable. He was a warrior, and an indomitable crusader on many burning issues.His honesty, dedication, devotion, boldness and impartiality in discharging his responsibilities as an Editor cannot be questioned. Soon after Cripps Mission and the conspiracy of the Muslim League to include Assam in Pakistan he wrote a book titled Reflections of Assam cum Pakistan in which he forcefully declared under no circumstances Assam could be a part of Pakistan. It is worth mentioning that during the States Reorganisation Commission’s visit there was a conspiracy to include Goalpara within Bengal but HN Baruah objected to it vehemently and said that Goalpara is a part and parcel of Assam. Baruah always fought tooth and nail to get justice for the welfare and development of the State. His fruitful writings always aroused public sentiment. Thus he wrote strongly worded articles supporting Asomiya language as the official language of the State and medium of instruction in educational institutions. His brochure Asomoor Bideshi Nagarikar Samasya created a wave among all shades of public opinion.Harendra Nath Barua enrolled himself as a member of the Indian National Congress in 1928 and during the civil disobedience movement, he was asked by stalwarts like Tyagbir Hem Baruah and other movement leaders not to court imprisonment but to work round the clock to keep the movement alive. Under the Defence of India Act, Barua was detained for a year as a security prisoner in Tezpur jail in 1934. Although he was an dominant freedom fighter, his first love was journalism. He was associated as an Editor for long 50 years. He retired as an active journalist in 1976. During this golden period, he highlighted the multifarious problems of Asom and moulded public opinion to fight them unitedly.There were no doubt journalists, even editors of newspapers before Harendranath Barua. The proprietor-editors there were but they cannot strictly be called journalists. There were men like Nilmoni Phukan, Omeo Kumar Das and a few others who dabbled in journalism but journalism was not their sole aim in life. If Assam had real journalists in the true sense of the term they were Lakshinath Phookan and Harendranath Barua. The later period had Satis Chandra Kakati, Trailokyanath Sarma, Kirtinath Hazarika and many others who made a career out of journalism. Lately journalism has become a glamorous and lucrative profession. Several Assam boys and girls stationed in Delhi, Mumbai and some other cities are doing extremely well, both professionally and financially. When Harendranath Barua took up journalism it was more a mission than a profession. Barua was possibly not cut out for politics as he was too straightforward and outspoken a man. His short stint as Chairman of the Guwahati Municipal Board (1944-46) must have taught him this. So he did not go for election politics and choose to stick to journalism for which he was ideally suited, temperamentally and otherwise. There are very few journalists in Assam who have had the kind of long innings in their chosen field as HN Barua did. Starting as a sub-editor in the Asomiya started by Chandra Kumar Agarwala in the year 1926 while yet in his teens, he rose to become its Editor eight years later. In 1955 he took up the editorship of the Natun Asomiya and stayed with the paper loyally through thick and thin until his retirement in 1976. Journalists old and young will sorely miss this doyen of the Fourth Estate on whom they could call for instant background material purveyed from the recesses of a photographic memory. They will miss him ever more for the refreshing candour with which he was capable of giving sound well-intentioned advice even if it had to be bitter at times.(Published on the occasion of his death anniversary). source: assam tribune
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