A CORRESPONDENT
BOKAKHAT: Veteran journalist of Amar Asom, Dainik Janambhumi, Purvanchal Prahari, Purvoday newspapers, and publisher of Pradeep magazine, social worker, and retired teacher from Badulipar in Golaghat district, Bimal Agarwala, passed away at the age of 75 on Tuesday night at a hospital in Guwahati after suffering from cardiac complications.
Born in 1950 in Rongamati Cheuni village near Badulipar, Late Agarwala was deeply involved with various social organizations and institutions. During the Assam Agitation in 1984, he served as the Secretary of the Badulipar Regional Committee of the Gana Sangram Parishad and performed his responsibilities with dedication. During that period, he was also arrested by the police and had to undergo 11 days of imprisonment.
A founding teacher of the present-day Golok Borbora Higher Secondary School (earlier Madhabdev Uccha Madhyamik Vidyalaya, established in 1971), Agarwala was also the founding secretary and former president of Rongamati Xahitya Xabha (literary society established in 1970), and a former executive member of the Golaghat District Xahitya Xabha. He was a key organizer of several regional literary conferences held in Bongao during the 1980s.
In 1970, he became an active member of the Golaghat District Poets’ Circle, established at Bholaguri Higher Secondary School under the leadership of Lalit Baruah, Abdul Malik, Dr Hem Bora, and Dr Nagen Saikia. In the same year, he started publishing and editing the magazine Pradeep at his own expense, which he ran for several years.
Agarwala began his journalistic career in 1967 by writing for the weekly Janambhumi, and continued after it turned into a daily in 1972. He also contributed to Hindi newspapers such as Purvoday, Purvanchal Prahari, and Amar Asom.
In 1980, he opened a bookshop in Badulipar, having previously run one in his birthplace Rongamati Cheuni. He also contributed news to weekly newspapers published from Golaghat. He was a lifetime member of the Axam Xahitya Xabha (Assam Literary Society) and served as the founding advisor to the Badulipar Regional Journalists’ Association. His news agency, School Pustak Bhandar, supplied newspapers regularly for many years.
He was one of the founders of the travelling drama troupe ‘Agradoot Theatre’ that emerged in Rongamati during the early 1980s, and was associated with Rongamati Natya Mandir, Rongamati Natakam, and many other organizations.
He played a role in establishing Badulipar College in 1991, which is now a senior secondary institution, where he served as a governing body member. Late Agarwala was also recognized as a distinguished district teacher.
Following his passing, his mortal remains were brought to his home in Badulipar, where people from various institutions, organizations, and the public gathered to pay their respects. He is survived by his wife, two sons and daughters-in-law, daughters and sons-in-law, grandchildren, and other relatives.
Condolences poured in from various quarters, including Jitu Sharma Rajkhowa, President of the Assam State Journalists’ Association, Raijor Khobor weekly, and Bokakhat Subdivision Journalists’ Association. His mortal remains were taken to the Rongamati Xahitya Xabha office, where he was paid tribute, and the literary society flag was flown at half-mast. Later, his body was taken to Golok Borbora Higher Secondary School, his former workplace, where teachers, students, and the school committee paid their last respects.
He was also honoured by Axam Xahitya Xabha, Golaghat Zilla Xahitya Xabha, Rongamati Xahitya Xabha, Rongamati Natya Mandir, Rongamati Natakam, Golok Borbora HS School, Rongamati Bahumukhi National School, Rongamati Public Library, and other organizations.
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