Former All Assam Students' Union (AASU) leader Gajen Bora passes away at 70

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: Former AASU leader of Darrang, social organizer, and dedicated public worker Gajen Bora passed away on Tuesday evening at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. He was 70. He had been undergoing treatment there since February 11 following prolonged illness.

The death of the veteran student leader, who led the people of western Darrang from the forefront during the historic six-year Assam Movement, has cast a pall of gloom across the district.

Gajen Bora was born on December 30, 1956, in Joypur village under the Duni area to freedom fighter late Mahiram Bora and Befuli Bora.

As president of the undivided Dunia Anchalik Students’ Union, he spearheaded the Assam Movement in greater western Darrang for six years. During his student days, he actively participated in the Language Movement and the Food Movement and endured police atrocities. In 1984, during the Assam Movement, he was arrested by police. Later, in 1990, during Operation Bajrang, he was detained under TADA and spent several days in Mangaldai and Guwahati jails.

He served as Executive President of the erstwhile Mangaldai District Students’ Union and also held the posts of Organizing Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the undivided Darrang District Students’ Union. Associated with the student movement since 1972, Bora stepped away from active student politics in 1990. He was widely regarded in Darrang as an uncompromising and militant student leader.

Beyond student politics, he played significant roles in various social and cultural organizations. He served as Secretary of Dunia Junior College from 1987 to 1994 and was the founder Secretary of Dunia Degree College in 1989. He also held the position of President of Dunia Sahitya Sabha and remained a prominent figure in the social life of western Darrang.

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