Skip to content Skip to navigation

Centenary celebration of Assam sports journalism begins

By Nava Thakuria |

Guwahati: A year-long celebration of 100 years of sports journalism in Assam begins coinciding on the day while the first ever news related to a football competition is published in Asomiya (a weekly news magazine mentored by Chandra Kumar Agarwala) on 1  July 1923. Assam Sports Journalists Association (ASJA), which is affiliated with the Sports Journalists Federation of India (a national affiliate of the International Sports Press Association), has taken the lead in celebrating the occasion that will culminate on 1  July next year.

On Saturday, flags for ASJA and the centenary celebration were hoisted by ASJA’s founder president Balendra Mohan Chakraborty and his successor Pabitra Gogoi in the presence of senior sports organiser Rajib Prakash Baruah and other dignitaries  at the ASJA office premises under RG Baruah Sports Complex in the city. It was followed by a felicitation programme to the family members of some pioneer sports journalists.

Organised at the conference hall of Assam Olympic Association (AOA), the programme also witnessed the felicitation of many close relatives of deceased sports journalists for their invaluable contributions to the profession. The programme was graced by a number of prominent journalists, namely Dhirendra Nath Chakraborty, Premadhar Sarma, Pranay Bordoloi, PJ Baruah, Nava Thakuria,  Rahul Karmakar, Sanjiv Phukan and others.

Addressing the gathering, AOA general secretary Lakhya Konwar disclosed that sports journalists have played a major role in the sustained growth of sports in Assam over the decades. He expressed gratitude to the organisers for giving the State’s apex sports body an opportunity to walk hand in hand in the growth of sports. ASJA general secretary Imtiaz Ahmed informed me that the yearlong celebrations have been supported by ONGC, NRL, OIL, Topcem, ACA, AOA and other well-wishers.

“The celebration also coincides with World Sports Journalists’ Day that falls on 2 July. We will hold a mega inaugural ceremony to the yearlong celebrations on  9 July where some prominent sportspersons of India will be present,” said ASJA president Subodh Malla Baruah, adding that  publishing a book on the history of sports & related journalism and  building a memorial to mark the occasion are also on the card. ASJA Vice-President Bidyut Kalita informed that State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his predecessor Sarbananda Sonowal, presently a Union minister and  AOA president, have assured all possible support.

The feliciated family members including Dr Indira Choudhury (wife of acclaimed author-editor Nirod Choudhury), Kalyan Das (son of  pioneer sports journalist Pulin Das), Bipul Barman (son of photojournalist Tarani Barman), Junti Bora (wife of Purbajyoti Chutia),  Smriti Sarma (wife of Sanjiv Sarma Thakur), Sima Das (wife of Kapil Das), Urbashi Devi (wife of Dwijen Sarma), Anita Goswami (sister of Kulen Kalita), relatives of Murali Choudhury, Rahman Ali, Gautam Bora, Kingshuk Ghatak, Nanda Kishore Gupta, Gopal Mishra,  Debi Ram Das, Ashish Dey, etc offered heartfelt thanks to the organisers.

Author info

Nava Thakuria's picture

Senior journalist based in Guwahati.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Udalguri joins International labour day celebration

2 May 2018 - 9:46am | Shajid Khan
UDALGURI: Along with the rest of the world International labour day was also observed with a day long programme at Panery TE of Udalguri on Tuesday.  The programme  ...

MYP bandh evokes mixed response

23 Aug 2012 - 6:40pm | editor
Normal life in parts of the state has been thrown out of gear under the impact of the day-long bandh called by a minority organization to protest the BTAD violence. Shops, schools, business...

World Environment Day observed in Pathsala

5 Jun 2016 - 10:16pm | Sasanka Talukdar
World Environment Day is observed in Pathasala at Bajali subdivision by many organizations and unions like Zubeen Friends club, Kalita Janagusti Satra Santaa, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad...

Gogoi seeks Rs 1,450 cr central fund

8 Jul 2014 - 11:18pm | AT News
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi pins hopes on a Rs 1,450 crore central fund for infrastructure development in10 state universities. The fund would also be utilized to set up the proposed women varsity in...

Other Contents by Author

When scribes face corruption charges & arrests

It’s shocking to report that a number of Guwahati-based scribes and RTI (right to information) activists have been facing interrogation and even arrest by Assam chief minister’s special vigilance cell following the allegations of Sewali Devi Sharma, the prime accused in Rs 105 crore State council of educational research and training (SCERT) scam, as being blackmailers to her in different occasions. The arrestees include a female reporter (identified as Pujamoni Das alias Honey Kashyap, who reportedly took a large volume of money from Ms Sharma) along with a satellite news channel reporter named Bhaskarjoti Hazarika.  RTI activists namely Rabijit Gogoi (who pretended to be a...

Dreaming of a new world with three zeros

Can we imagine a world of zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero carbon emissions with a new approach in post-corona economics! Ask Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and he will answer in the affirmative. The university professor turned revolutionary banker believes that the human race should not only dream about a safer world by reducing global warming, wealth concentration and unemployment, but also work in that direction with personal and collective capacities. In his latest book titled ‘A World of Three Zeros’, Prof Yunus proposes a new economic system focusing on every human being as an entrepreneur in the making. He believes that humans are not born to work only for...

Assam readies to host G20 meetings

Guwahati: Assam is all set to host first sustainable financial working group (SFWG) meeting and Youth 20 inception meeting as part of India's year-long G20 presidency, where it is meticulously chalked out various tour programs that would help in promoting the State’s rich biodiversity and socio-cultural heritage in international arena. The authorities have completed the preparation to welcome the foreign delegates to the State. Guwahati is adorned with digital wall painting, thematic gates, flags of G 20 countries, LED cut-outs, standees, hoarding, etc as part of branding and beautification. The government has also completed the arrangement for the visiting delegates to places of...

Needed serious self-introspection among press persons

Guwahati: India observes National Press Day on 16 November with an aim to pay tributes to everyone who contributed to the growth of print media along with its mentor & watchdog the Press Council of India (PCI). Moreover, it’s also an occasion for the practicing media persons to introspect seriously over their noble profession where it has been heading in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era. Since its inception and functioning, the PCI continues to symbolize a free and responsible press in the largest democracy in the world. Among all press or media councils, functioning in various countries, the PCI is recognised as a unique entity that exercises authority over the media and also safeguards...

Dissecting Assam NRC for better understanding

Participating in a debate on satellite television or digital channels needs some homeworks to make the deliberations short and clear. Unless you face an arrogant anchor and unruly participants, the experience in talk shows normally emerges as an intriguing one. It happened to me, as I had recently participated in a digital media discussion on the pertinent issue of National Register of Citizens  (NRC) in Assam, where the prime guest was none other than the immediate past State NRC coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma. The talk show host Dikshit Sharma put the questions in a clever way so that the issue comes alive and my part was just to interpret Dev Sarma’s version for clarity to the valued...

Silver Jubilee carnival for Kaliabor Press Club

Guwahati: It was an amazing experience to attend the foundation day of a 25 year old press club in central Assam on a lazy Sunday, where a number of senior citizens along with rural scribes and novice journalists were waiting to listen to my speech. It’s easier to address a journalist’s meet- where we can discuss many issues with liberties, but while the audience includes respected senior citizens and young people, it becomes a difficult task to speak to them together. First, the question that arises, how much should I highlight the eroding credibility of the mainstream media around India in general and Assam in particular and secondly what may be the role of social (alternate/digital)...

Why Assam media loses public benevolence

Reactions from the public (sensitive readers) against a news item in any newspaper (also news channel) are usual in India, but outrages against the mainstream media outlets in digital platforms for not covering a particular issue is definitely an unusual phenomenon. The north-eastern state of Assam witnessed such public fury against some of the editor-journalists for avoiding press conferences by opposition political parties where they targeted the state chief minister for his family’s alleged land scam. The organized public uproar in the alternate media was so intense that the celebrity editor-journalists of Assam did not dare to clarify their positions. They preferred to avoid the...

Manipur scribe assaulted, IJU demands punishment to culprits

Hyderabad: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has strongly condemned the incident of assault on a Manipur journalist and urged the state chief minister, N. Biren Singh, to book the culprits under the law. The National Union of Subscribes also wished for an early recovery of Elangbam Rameshwar, who works as a Thoubal correspondent for the Naharolgi Thoudang regional daily newspaper, which is published from Imphal. Local media hinted that the handiwork was masterminded by some Congress workers in the Thoubal locality of the north-eastern state, who were attacked by a group of 20 to 25 masked men in the morning hours on 24 October. The rural reporter faced assault at his residence in the...

IJU meet concludes in Hyderabad emphasizing on journo-safety & security, PCI reform, minimum facilities

Hyderabad: The national executive committee meeting of Indian Journalists Union (IJU), which concluded on Sunday in the capital city of Telangana, discussed various burning issues concerning the practitioners of journalism across India and emphasized on effective safety & security to journalists, reforms in Press Council of India (PCI) and basic minimum facilities to the media fraternity sustaining the spirit under freedom of the press to serve the largest democracy on the globe. Chaired by IJU president K Sreenivas Reddy, the two-day meeting held at Tourism Plaza in Begumpet locality expressed serious concern over killings of journalists by anti-social elements and filing of cases...

Terror charges framed against Arakanese editor

Guwahati: Interviewing a leader of an armed outfit in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and publishing its substance through a portal can be termed as a serious offence against the concerned editor. The fate of Khaing Mrat Kyaw, chief editor of Narinjara news portal, based in Sittwe of Rakhine (also known as Arakan) province in western Myanmar indicates the state of media’s freedom in the southeast Asian country. While the world is fighting against Covid-19 pandemic with over a hundred thousand casualties, the Myanmar authorities have framed charges of glorifying terrorism against the editor for uploading an interview with Khaing Thu Ka, spokesperson of Arakan Army, an ethnic revolutionary...