Assam Sahitya Sabha to amend birth year on Bezbarua statue plaque in Guwahati
Scholar Jatindra Nath Goswami uncovered a memoir confirming Bezbarua’s birth date as October 14, 1864;
Jorhat, May 5: The Assam Sahitya Sabha has announced that it will correct the long-disputed birth year of Lakshminath Bezbarua, the legendary litterateur who penned Assam’s state song O Mur Apunar Dekh, on the plaque of his statue at its Guwahati office.
Widely revered as Rasaraj and Sahityarathi, Bezbarua’s birth year has been a subject of confusion for decades.
While the plaque currently cites 1868 as the year of his birth, fresh evidence and scholarly consensus point to 1864 as the accurate date.
Dr Basanta Kumar Goswami, president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, confirmed the correction, stating that the amendment would be made this month.
“Since the statue inside the Guwahati office of the Sabha is made of marble, the date will be carefully re-engraved with the help of a skilled architect,” he told The Assam Tribune.
The move is seen as a long-overdue step toward historical accuracy. The confusion originally stemmed from celebrations held during Bezbarua’s centenary in 1968, when 1868 was cited based on available literary references.
That year, commemorative events were held across India and abroad, and the Government of India even issued a postage stamp in Bezbarua’s honour.
The breakthrough came when literary scholar Jatindra Nath Goswami discovered a memoir in Bezbarua’s ancestral home, which clearly stated his birth date as October 14, 1864.
Since that discovery, most major publications and historians have adopted the corrected year, and the Assam Sahitya Sabha has been commemorating his birth anniversary accordingly.
Bezbarua was born in Ahotguri in Assam’s Nagaon district, where a recent event was held to celebrate his literary legacy.
In 1924, he also served as the president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, cementing his place as one of the most influential figures in Assamese literature.
The correction is expected to finally resolve the long-standing discrepancy and honour Bezbarua's memory with the historical precision he deserves.