Hem Barua (22 April 1915 – 9 April 1977) was a prominent Assamese

Assamese language

Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...

 poet and politician from Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

.

Early life

Born on the 22 April 1915, at Tezpur

Tezpur

Tezpur is a city and the administrative headquarters and municipal board of Sonitpur district in the state of Assam in northeastern India. Tezpur is an ancient city on the banks of the river Brahmaputra and is the largest of the north bank towns with a population exceeding 100,000...

, Hem Barua obtained his M.A. degree from Calcutta University in 1938 and joined the J.B. College, Jorhat

Jorhat

Jorhat is a city of Assam in India. Jorhat was established as a new capital in the closing years of the 18th century by the declining Tunkhungia Ahom Dynasty. Jorhat, as the name signifies, was just a couple of markets . Two parallel markets namely, Chowkihat and Macharhat, lay on the eastern...

, in 1941 as lecturer in Assamese and English. He left it next year during the Quit India Movement

Quit India Movement

The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...

 and was imprisoned in 1943. On his release, he joined the B. Barua College, Guwahati

Guwahati

Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...

, and later became its Principal.

Literary career

Hem Barua was the author of several books. He became the President of the Assam Sahitya Sabha in its annual session held at Dhubri

Dhubri

Dhubri is the headquarters of Dhubri district India. It is a small old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra and Gadadhar Rivers. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Board and is situated about west from Guwahati, the state capital.Dhubri was an important commercial centre and...

 in 1972 and was regarded as one of the pioneers of modern literary movement in Assam.

Political career

Hem Barua left the Congress in 1948 and became a member of the Socialist party. Later he was elected to the National Executive of the Praja Socialist Party

Praja Socialist Party

The Praja Socialist Party was an Indian political party in existence from 1952 to 1972. It was founded when the Socialist Party, led by Jayprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh , merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party led by J.B. Kripalani...

. He was elected to the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 from Gauhati

Gauhati (Lok Sabha constituency)

-Assembly segments:Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :* Dudhnai * Boko * Chaygaon* Palasbari* Jalukbari* Dispur* Guwahati East* Guwahati West* Hajo* Barkhetry-Members of Parliament:...

 in 1957 and 1962 and from Mangaldoi

Mangaldoi (Lok Sabha constituency)

-Assembly segments:Mangaldoi Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :* Kamalpur* Rangiya* Nalbari* Panery* Kalaigaon* Sipajhar* Mangaldoi * Dalgaon* Udalguri * Majbat-Members of Parliament:...

 in 1967. He was the member of the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 till December 1970.

Works

• Adhunik Sahitya (1948)
• Sagar Dekhicha? (1954)
• Balichanda (1959)
• San Mihali (1958)
• Cupid Aru Psyche (1959)
• Ranga Karabir Phul (1959)
• Kannaki (1960)
• Ei Git (1961)
• Idle Hours (1962)
• Assamese Literature (1962)
• Sahitya Aru Sahitya (1962)
• Achuphul (1964)
• Man Mayuri (1965)
• Bahagate Pati Jaon Biya (1969)
• Smritir Papari (1970)

Some more books written by Hem Barua are,

• Talxora(Assamese)
• Dak Pokhili(Assamese)
• Mekong Noi Dekhilu(Assamese)

And the most important of them all, a book on all the ethnic communities and the tribes of North-East India is,_

• The Red River & the Blue Hill in English(1954)

See also

• Assamese literature
  Assamese literature
  Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes popular ballads in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form. The literary heritage of the Assamese language can...
  
  
• Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva
• Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
  Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
  Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a great Assamese playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was considered as Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture...
  
  
• Laxminath Bezbarua
  Laxminath Bezbarua
  Lakshminath Bezbaruah was a great Assamese personality in Assamese literature. He gave a new impetus to the Assamese literature that had stagnated for some time and enriched it through his essays, plays, fiction and poetry. As a sensitive artist he responded to the influences of social environment...
  
  
• Krishna Kanta Handique
  Krishna Kanta Handique
  Krishna Kanta Handique was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indologist and philanthropist from Assam.-Biography:...
  
  
• Bhabananda Deka
  Bhabananda Deka
  Prof Bhabananda Deka , is a multi-faceted writer of one hundred twelve books, textbooks on economics, literature and political science, and articles from Assam, a state in the north-eastern part of India.-Biography:...
  
  
• Music of Assam
  Music of Assam
  The music of Assam, a state in the northeastern part of India, can be divided into various categories of folk music. In recent times starting the late eighties popular artistes have modernized the music that caters to local popular demand....