OBITUARY: Bishnu Datta Sharma

After graduating from Nowgong College with Honours in Economics, he began his career as a reporter with the now defunct 'Ajir Asam' newspaper from The Sentinel group in the early 1990s. A frequent visitor to the Kamrup Deputy Commissioner's office, he would not only easily find leads for various news stories, but also take part in the occasional adda with officers and a handful of other journalists.

A well-mannered person known for his tidy dress code, Bishnu was an unbiased reporter who always insisted on taking views of both sides whenever there was an allegation or charge against any individual. I was then a Circle Officer in Guwahati, and would occasionally go out to conduct raids against illegal activities, especially along the National Highway bypass which was then a two-lane road with dhabas frequented by truck-drivers and anti-social elements.

Bishnu would often accompany us, and used to regularly write about the illegal activities taking place in the city and the steps taken by the district administration. He was one of those rare reporters I have known who always carried two pens and two notebooks, and was extra careful not to mis-spell a name or write the wrong designation. Moreover, he would never write a news-item based on hearsay and allegations.

When he joined the Assam Civil Service in 1997, we discovered in him a young officer who strongly believed in the rule of law intended at protecting and benefitting the citizens. Bishnu served in various capacities in different districts and had left a lasting impression in the minds of both colleagues and citizens wherever he was posted. Well-mannered Bishnu was a kind of synonym for words like honesty, uprightness and candour, which had once in a while also landed him in trouble, from which however he came out just because of those merits. An avid reader, Bishnu also used to write in-depth articles in Prantik and other periodicals even after quitting journalism, and had keen interest in nature and environment. His untimely death, which has been widely mourned, is an irreparable loss to the state and the society in general, and to his wife Sunita, two young sons Rajarshi and Abhishek, ageing parents and other family members in particular. On the day of his adya shraddha today, I pray to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul.

– Rajib Prakash Baruah