Eminent educationist, linguist, author Tabu Ram Taid passed away on August 17th, 2019. He breathed his last at 7:30 am at Apollo Hospitals, Guwahati. His last rites would be performed with full state honours. Condolences poured in from all corners of the state, many of whom fondly remembered him as a ‘visionary’.
He was born in Ghunasuti Ayengia, a small Mising village in Lakhimpur district in Assam on August 1st, 1942. He started his career as a lecturer of English language in Cotton College, Guwahati. He also led various Assam government departments and boards.
Taid has been active in preserving his native tribal language, Mising. He founded the linguistic society -Mising Agom Kebang. He has published a number of papers about the Mising language as well as an orthography and dictionary of the language. Taid has also edited collections of Mising folk songs.
He authored A Dictionary of the Mising Language which was the very first dictionary of the Mising language. It was published in 1995 by an association of Mising language teachers.
The Sahitya Akademi conferred the prestigious ‘Bhasha Samman Award’ in 2010 on him for his contributions to Mising language and literature.
Taid was conferred the Sukapha Award 2011–2012, by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Assam, in recognition of his valuable contribution to education, literature, culture, scholarly work, linguistics, arts, authorship and public service.
The Asam Sahitya Sabha honoured the noted educationist with the ‘Basudev Jalan Award’ in 2012 for his contributions towards the growth of language, literature and culture of the ethnic communities in the region. Taid was also honored with the title ‘Axom Shreshtho 2015’ for his lifelong contribution to Education in the state.
The Government of Assam bestowed a literary pension on him to recognize his contributions to literature.
Guwahati | First Published: Aug 17, 2019
