Guwahati, Dec. 1: Senior bureaucrat and principal secretary in the state education department, Dhrubananda Das, died of cardiac failure at his Beltola residence here this morning.

He was 53 and is survived by his mother, wife, son and daughter.

Born on March 22, 1949, Das passed his ICSE from St. Edmund’s in Shillong and completed his graduation in English literature from Gauhati University in 1968.

After finishing his Master’s degree from Delhi University in 1970, Das joined the Sankardeva College in Shillong as a teacher. Later, he did his PhD on “English war poetry — 1914-1946” from Gauhati University.

Das, who joined the IAS in 1971, was interested in homeopathy and alternative medicine and authored several books.

A popular columnist, Das also contributed to The Telegraph northeast through his fortnightly column, Das Kapital.