Adding another laurel to her cap, Assam’s Hargila baideo Purnima Devi Barman has been recently conferred with the prestigious OutlookSpeak Out Award 2018 by Srimati Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Textile Minister of India. ‘OutlookSpeak Out’ is a platform which brings together achievers who have made a difference by pushing the envelope of excellence in their chosen field. It is a platform to be outspoken and to Speak Out. The theme for the 2nd edition of OutlookSpeak Out was Women Empowerment and Purnima Devi Barman received the award as an icon for this theme.
An emotional Purnima Barman shared about her work with the audience at the conclave. Her story of overcoming all obstacles to lead a successful campaign for saving an almost extinct bird, the Greater Adjutant Stork of Assam, received thunderous applause from the audience. She also narrated how she climbed up a 100 feet bamboo tower regularly to monitor and study the birds in their natural habitat. Purnima Devi Barman has been working with almost 10 thousand people from several villages in Kamrup District of Assam to evoke community involvement in conservation of the Greater Adjutants, for over a decade.
Purnima Barman commented, that “The toughest challenge is to work with different communities and changing mindsets but if one is deeply involved with their welfare, we can motivate them to bring large scale change in the environment. I am deeply honoured to receive this award and it has motivated me even further.”
The other Awardees were Tiger conservation activist Belinda Wright, TV mogul Ekta Kapoor, Team of Navika Parikrama and Cricketer Jhulan Goswami. Sushmita Sen was also present on the occasion.
Hon’ble Minister of Textile, Smriti Irani was very enthusiastic about Purnima’s work and assured to visit Assam soon.
Previously, Purnima Devi Barman was conferred the prestigious Whitley Awards also known as the Green Oscars in May, 2017 by Whitley Fund for Nature. On International Women’s Day March 8, 2018, Purnima Devi Barman was awarded the Nari Shakti Purashkar 2017 award which was conferred by the country’s president, Ram Nath Kovind, in New Delhi.
WWF-India, in collaboration with Samagra Shiksha Assam, felicitated five top-performing schools under the ‘Mission Prakriti’ programme for 2025–26 at a ceremony in Guwahati.
The initiative promotes environmental awareness among students through themes like biodiversity, water, waste, food, and energy. In Assam, the programme covers over 4,700 schools across all districts.
The award-winning schools include Natun Fatasil Town HS (Kamrup Metro), Sakai Khangia High School (Jorhat), Bishnu Jyoti MES (Sonitpur), PM Shri Jamira HS School (Hailakandi), and PM Shri Gossaigaon Girls HS School (Kokrajhar). Tinsukia district was also recognised as the best-performing district.
Officials...
Jorhat: Tirtha Prasad Saikia, Director of the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), an indigenous civil society organisation based in Jorhat, Assam, has been appointed as the Constituency Focal Point for the People Affected by Conflict and Disaster Constituency of the Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM).
APRCEM is a regional civil society platform that brings together organisations across Asia and the Pacific to engage with intergovernmental processes on sustainable development, particularly the implementation and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced the decision on Wednesday, saying the state government reviewed the prevailing law-and-order situation in the Garo Hills region before deciding to defer the polls.
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The Meghalaya High Court has set aside a controversial notification that made possession of a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate mandatory for candidates contesting the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Delivering the judgment on March 10, Justice H. S. Thangkhiew ruled that the February 17, 2026 notification issued by the GHADC Executive Committee lacked legal authority and did not follow the procedure required under the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951.
The court observed that the notification effectively barred non-tribal voters and candidates from participating in the council elections...
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The tensions stem from a controversial notification requiring candidates contesting the council elections to possess valid Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate documentation. The rule has effectively prevented many non-tribal residents—particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims living in the plains belt areas such as...
North East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), a grassroots development organisation based in Jorhat working with people’s struggles and community development initiatives, observed International Women’s Day at Chumoni Chapori village under the Jhanjimukh area in Jorhat district on Sunday, bringing together local women, community leaders and youth to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in society.
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A significant milestone for literature from Northeast India has been marked with the publication of The Yellow Metaphor, a collection of poems by Assamese poet Jiban Narah, now released by Penguin Random House India.
The book is a translated anthology of Narah’s poetry and is considered a rare achievement for the region. It is reportedly the first translated poetry collection by a single poet from Northeast India to be published by Penguin, and among only a handful of works in a regional Indian language to receive such recognition from the global publishing house.
The Yellow Metaphor brings together 99 selected poems written over a span of 33 years, reflecting Narah’s long poetic...
Sivasagar, March 6: A meeting of organisations associated with the religious and intellectual affairs of the Tai-Ahom community was held on Thursday (March 5) at the public auditorium of Bakata Parijat Panchayat in Sivasagar district. The meeting was chaired by Jibeshwar Mohan Deva, founding principal of Tingkhang College.
Several prominent personalities attended the meeting, including Manaranjan Baruah, president of the Mohan-Deodhai-Bailung Sanmilan; Vidya Phukan, president of the Mohan-Deodhai-Bailung Pandit Parishad; former president of Phra-Lung-Moung Assam Golap Gohain; secretary Pranjal Mohan; noted Tai cultural researcher Kamal Jyoti Mohan; Tai-Ahom scholar Nripen Mohan;...
Guwahati, Feb 28: The Assam government’s decision to seek a 5 per cent stake in Oil India Limited (OIL) has triggered discussion on the State’s long-term approach to the oil and gas sector in the Northeast.
The proposal, under which Assam has sought a minority share in OIL — where the Government of India holds 56 per cent — will be examined by the Centre, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the State is extending full cooperation to oil sector companies and urged that shares be allocated to Assam to support smoother functioning and stronger coordination.
Reacting to the development, Shantikam Hazarika — former Chairman of...
New Delhi, March 1: Concerns have been raised over the national HPV vaccination campaign launched on February 28, 2026, with a citizen questioning its scientific basis, operational preparedness, and public health prioritisation.
In a public statement, Donthi N. Reddy said that not a single state has published baseline data on cervical cancer incidence or HPV prevalence prior to the rollout. Without such baseline indicators, he argued, outcomes cannot be measured, and without measurable outcomes, the reported annual expenditure of ₹1,300 crore cannot be properly evaluated.
The campaign involves administration of the HPV vaccine Gardasil-4 to 14-year-old girls across the country, aiming...
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