Guwahati: Litterateur and researcher Dr. Basanta Kumar Goswami has been elected as the President of Asom Sahitya Sabha in Assam.
He was elected the new president of the literary body at an officiating conclave held at Kamrup district’s Dadara on Sunday.
Goswami was elected as the president of the apex literary body of the state by a majority vote.
He garnered 403 votes, securing a victory over contender Upen Rabha Hakacham, who received 325 votes.
Besides, Padum Rajkhowa was elected as the new vice-president of the 107-year-old literary body with 389 votes, while Debajit Bora was elected as the organization’s general secretary.
The Asom Sahitya Sabha holds elections every two years. The conference of the Asam Sahitya Sabha is held biennially.
The ballot boxes were sealed on December 5 and stored at Meghdoot Bhavan in Guwahati, as confirmed by Dr Surjya Kanta Hazarika, the outgoing president of Asam Sahitya Sabha.
“Sahitya Sabha has been in controversy due to various issues. At first, I will try to end those. In the coming two years, I will not waste even a minute and will work for the betterment of the literary body. People will get to know about the works in the first officiating meeting after I take charge,” Goswami said.
He stated that he would immediately begin work on the history of the Assamese language and undertake the translation of Srimanta Sankardev’s works into English and Hindi.
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Notably, Goswami was elected as the general secretary of Asom Sahitya Sabha in 1999 and 2001.
He contributed to the publication of the ‘Assamese encyclopedia’ during his tenure in 2001 under the presidency of renowned litterateur Homen Borgohain.
