Guwahati: Assam’s renowned social scientist and scholar Dr. Prafulla Mahanta passed away in Guwahati on Friday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 81.
He leaves behind his wife Chenichampa Mahanta, son Rahul Mahanta besides a host of relatives and well-wishers.
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Mahanta, who mapped the ebb and flow of the Assamese middle class in a fresh and organized framework, breathed his last around 2.50 am on Friday at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH).
Born in 1941 at Jajari Bogoriguri in central Assam’s Nagaon district, Mahanta was known for his extensive research related to the socio-cultural history of Assam.
He also penned a number of books on Assam’s ethnicity, ethnic struggle, and Assamese nationality.
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The eminent author completed his masters in Assamese from Gauhati University in 1966 and did his Ph.D. on the growth and development of the Assamese middle class under renowned scholar Dr. Hiren Gohain.
In 1966, Mahanta joined Diphu College as a lecturer of Assamese and taught in the college till 1968.
Prior to joining Diphu College, he worked as a teacher at different schools from 1960 to 1966. He had also served as the Principal (in charge) of Diphu College for two years.
In 1968, he moved to Mariani College, where he taught Assamese till 1994. He joined ABILAC in 1994 as a Research Fellow and later became Director of the institute. He retired from the institute in 2005.
He also briefly associated with the now-defunct Assamese weekly Natun Samay in 2007.
As a social scientist, Mahanta was primarily known for his work, Asomiya Madhyabitta Shrenir Itihax (History of Assamese Middle Class).
He has a total of 15 books to his credit including three novels.
A large number of well-wishers gathered at his residence in the city’s Bhetapara area to pay their last respects to the academician.
Mahanta, through a registered will, had donated his body to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for research.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has expressed profound grief on his demise and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family.