D. K. Barooah

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D. K. Barooah
Dev Kant Baruah.jpg
President of the Indian National Congress
In office
1975–1977
Preceded byShankar Dayal Sharma
Succeeded byIndira Gandhi
Personal details
Born(1914-02-22)22 February 1914
Died28 January 1996(1996-01-28) (aged 81)
NationalityIndian
Political partyIndian National Congress

Dev Kant Barooah (22 February 1914 – 28 January 1996) was an Indian politician from Assam, who served as the President of the Indian National Congress during the Emergency (1975–77).

Early life[edit]

Baruah was born on 22 February 1914 to Nilkanta Baruah at Dibrugarh, Assam Province (present-day Assam). He studied at Nowgong Government High School and graduated from Banaras Hindu University. After joining the Indian freedom struggle, he was imprisoned in 1930, 1941 and 1942.[1]

Career[edit]

In 1949–1951, Baruah's political career began as a member of the Constituent Assembly.[2] He is now chiefly remembered for his alleged sycophancy to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, encapsulated by his c. 1974 proclamation that "India is Indira. Indira is India."[3] However, he later parted ways with her and joined Congress (Urs), later renamed as Indian Congress (Socialist). He was the Governor of Bihar from 1 February 1971 to 4 February 1973. He died in New Delhi. He is the first and only Assamese to be elected as a president of Indian National Congress.

Barua was a noted poet as well. His collection of Assamese poems, Sagar Dekhisa (সাগৰ দেখিছা), is still very popular. He was the elder brother of famous Assamese poet Nabakanta Barua.

References[edit]

  1. "D.K. Borooah". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  2. "D.K. Baruah in Indian National Congress".
  3. Ram Guha, India After Gandhi, p. 467

External links[edit]

Party political offices
Preceded by
Shankar Dayal Sharma
President of the Indian National Congress
1975–1977
Succeeded by
Indira Gandhi


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