Birinchi Kumar Barua

Birinchi Kumar Barua Biography

Birinchi Kumar Barua was an eminent writer and scholar of Assam who lived in the 20^th century. He was one of the founders of Guwahati University. Barua was better known for his studies of folklore in northeast India. He has contributed to Assamese liertaure in the form of critic works as well as novels. Jivanar Batot (1938) and Seuji Patar Kahini (1959) are his published novels. He published Seuji Patar Kahini under the pseudonym Rasna Barua. ‘A Cultural History of Assam’ - his thesis is regarded as a milestone in Assamese historiography.

Birinchi Kumar Barua was born on October 16, 1908 in Puranigudam, Nagaon of Assam. His father Bijoy Ram Barua worked in the postal service and later at Assam secretariat. Barua completed matriculation from Nowgong Government High School in 1928. He joined Presidency College, Kolkata and passed IA in first division in the year 1930 and two years later he passed BA with honours in Pali language. He also got Ishan Scholarship for his excellent performance in BA. In 1934, he passed MA in Pali language from Calcutta University with first rank. At the same time, he earned BL from Calcutta University. Barua also passed the ICS examination. But British didn’t appoint him as an administrative officer stating the reason that Barua doesn’t know to ride horses.

In the year 1935, he joined as a teacher in Calcutta University, the same year when Assamese language was introduced. Apart from teaching Assamese for post-graduation students, he also wrote academic books for college classes. In 1938, he joined Cotton College as a lecturer in Assamese. In 1946, Barua left for England for PhD. He joined School of Oriental and African Studies and submitted the theses -  A Cultural History of Assam. He died in the year 1964.

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Updated: February 15, 2014