Why is there repeated controversy over Assam University?

25th May 2025

The controversial remark by a professor from the Brahmaputra Valley that Assam University is a product of the Assam Accord has once again sparked controversy. Previously, various political leaders, nationalist organization officials, and intellectuals from the Brahmaputra Valley have repeatedly tried to establish this viewpoint. To permanently end this meaningless controversy, the Barak Democratic Front (BDF) has proposed renaming Assam University as ‘Silchar University.”’

Speaking to journalists at the BDF office, BDF Media Cell Chief Convener Joydip Bhattacharjee said that this year, on May 19, representatives of the Assam Sahitya Sabha visited Barak for the first time. They paid respects to the language martyrs and even acknowledged the demand for the Bhasha Shahid Station. Joydip said that the Barak Democratic Front is the only organization in Barak that warmly welcomed this initiative by the Assam Sahitya Sabha. However, the statement given by a certain professor from the Brahmaputra Valley at Assam University has spoiled the entire process. He stated that, in this regard, the university authority is partly responsible. He added that it is very important to decide who is invited to speak on such a significant and emotional day, like May 19. According to him, the invitation extended to the Assam Sahitya Sabha representatives was justified because it could help remove misunderstandings between the two valleys. However, if many other intellectuals and scholars from both valleys had spoken instead of that controversial professor, such unnecessary controversies would not have arisen. Therefore, the university authorities can not escape responsibility.

BDF Convener Hrishikesh Dey said that this controversial professor has insulted the people of Barak and made baseless statements. He mentioned that the professor distorted the name of Assam University by calling it ‘Assam University’ and falsely claimed that there is no Assamese department in Assam University, demanding the establishment of such a department in Silchar. Hrishikesh said he is unaware of any college in Barak offering undergraduate studies in Assamese. He pointed out that the Assamese population in Barak is negligible, only about two percent of the total population. Therefore, it is reasonable that if such a department is opened, students will not be available; this is why the Assamese department at the Dibrugarh campus has a very low number of students. He said the people of Barak always believe in coordination. However, since repeated demands are made to open an Assamese department at Assam University, a similar initiative should be taken to open a Bengali department at Tezpur University, as twenty percent of Tezpur’s population speaks Bengali. He urged the professor to immediately present his demands if his intentions were genuine. He also suggested that this attempt to advise only the people of Barak on coordination might have personal interests and other hidden agendas behind it. Therefore, BDF believes that the people of Barak should completely boycott this controversial professor in the future.

BDF Youth Front Chief Convener Kalparnab Gupta said that the establishment of Assam University was the result of the long struggle led by educationist Premendra Mohan Goswami’s Education Preservation Committee, movement under the leadership of ACKHSA President Pradip Datta Roy, the role of former MP Santosh Mohan Dev, and above all, the long movement of the general people of the Barak Valley irrespective of caste or religion. Those trying to erase this history are enemies of the people. He said that if Assam University had been created as a result of the Assam Accord, there would have been no need for a decade-long movement; there would not have been so much opposition to the university movement; AGP MPs would not have strongly protested and left the house after the university bill was introduced in parliament; even after the bill was passed, there would not have been so much non-cooperation from the AGP government in granting land repeatedly; and above all, Tezpur Central University would not have been established as a rival to Assam University. He demanded that to permanently end this controversy, Assam University authorities must immediately publish a book documenting the history of Assam University’s establishment. The manuscript of this book, edited by Professor Subir Kar, under the initiative of the former Vice Chancellor, is already in the hands of the university authorities. Steps must be taken immediately to publish it. Secondly, if the official university website contains distorted information about the history of Assam University’s establishment, referring it as a product of the Assam Accord, the authorities must immediately correct it. Thirdly, all efforts to politicize the university must be stopped.

Kalparnab said that BDF had raised these demands before. But, the recent controversy proves that the university authorities are unwilling to take any corrective action. If so, they must consider other forms of democratic movements. Otherwise, the university’s name should be changed to ‘Silchar University’ to end all controversies.

BDF Convener Haradhan Dutta conveyed this news in a press statement on behalf of BDF.

(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)