[ Prafulla Kaman ]
DHEMAJI, Aug 18: The last rites of eminent Mising educationist, author and administrator, Prof Tabu Ram Taid, were performed with full state honours at Abotani Lotta in Dhemaji district of Assam on Sunday afternoon.
Prof Taid took his last breath at a private hospital in Guwahati on Saturday morning. He was 77, and had been suffering from age-related health ailments. He leaves behind his wife, a daughter, and a son.
Eminent personalities, including Assam ministers, MLAs and administrative officers were present at the funeral ceremony. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal were among those who mourned Prof Taid’s death.
The Asom Sahitya Sabha, the Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabha, Assam, writer Nahendra Padun, the All Assam Students’ Union, the All Guwahati Students’ Union, the All India Tribal Students’ Association, the Mising Artist Association, and many other organizations also mourned Prof Taid’s demise.
Earlier, his mortal remains were flown from Guwahati to Lakhimpur by helicopter, and then to his native village, Ghunasuti, where the villagers paid their last respects to the eminent educationist.
Meanwhile, the Mising Autonomous Council said it would erect a statue of Prof Taid and construct a museum to be named after him.
Born in 1942, Taid did his BA (English honours) from Calcutta University, and obtained his MA (English) degree from Delhi University.
He did his PG diploma in applied linguistics from the University of Reading (UK), and also did a certificate course in distance education from the University of London.
Prof Taid began his career as a lecturer in the English department of Cotton College, Guwahati, in 1967, and subsequently served as administrator in several institutions and education boards. He also bagged a number of awards for his literary contributions.
A pioneer in the systematic study and research of the Mising language and culture, Prof Taid’s monumental works include a dictionary of the Mising language.