Assam Sahitya Sabha president Kanak Sen Deka releases Brahmo Samaj and North East India, a book by Dipankar Banerjee, on Sunday. Picture by Eastern Projections

July 9: The first of its kind book titled Brahmo Samaj and Northeast India, authored by Dipankar Banerjee, highlighting the spread and impact of the Brahmo Samaj movement in the Northeast, was unveiled at Gauhati Brahmo Samaj today.

Kanak Sen Deka, president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, released the book at a function presided over by the Sahitya Akademi awardee author Nirupama Borgohain and attended by the luminaries of the literary world.

Former president of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, Amalendu Dey, in his keynote address, focussed entirely on the importance of Brahmo Samaj. Founded by the great scholar and social activist, Raja Rammohan Roy, “it took Hinduism to a greater height by giving it a catholic colour and banning sectarianism totally”, he said.

“Brahmo Samaj is not only about religious practices, but it is a way of life where all are equal. Moreover, Brahmo Samaj shaped the political outlook of the people during the time of Independence movement,” De added.

The author of two critically acclaimed books ? Heritage Guwahati and Labour Movement in Assam ? Banerjee is also a noted historian and teacher of history at Gauhati University.

Coming from a historian, the book has also touched upon the history of the 19th and early 20th centuries of Assam and the impact of Brahmo Samaj in shaping the intellectual growth of the “men of letters” of the state.

“I came in touch with the Brahmo Samaj in 2001, during one of its all-India sessions in Guwahati where I, as a historian, delivered a speech on the society. Thereby, I was motivated by none other than the former governor of Assam, S.K. Sinha, to do a concrete research on the influence of the Samaj in the region,” said Banerjee.

“The book is a result of five years of my extensive research where I came across several unknown facts about the works of the Samaj and politics and society of the region during the pre-Independence time,” Banerjee added.

Written in a lucid language, the book caters to the needs of all kinds of readers. The author has categorically mentioned that although a “microscopic group” of people came under the sway of the Samaj, most of the intellectuals came under its influence.

The hordes of prominent Assamese scholars, who became active members of the Samaj included Gunabhiram Baruah and Lakshminath Bezbaruah, to name only a few.

“Most interestingly, all the episodes in the book carry the significance of the Samaj in mobilising the entire Assamese society to step into a modern world of equality, tolerance and unity,” De said.

Deka ? while releasing the book ? made the suggestion of translating it into Assamese for the readers of the state.