Remembering Anundoram Borooah on his Birthday

Every year in the Civil Services Examination, only a few people from Assam qualify and make it as IAS, IPS officers. If I am not wrong, the numbers hardly cross the single digit margin each year. Though there are a lot of reasons for that which I don’t wish to talk about now. Today, I wish to remember the first civil servant from Assam on his birthday. When I grew up as a kid, I read books on great personalities from Assam who shone in different fields and Mr. Anundoram Borooah was the person who left a deep impact on me. His journey from a modest family to being one of the most efficient and respected civil servant of the country had motivated and inspired me to work hard and reach out to achieve my goals.

Mr.Anundoram Borooah had the goal to join the Indian Civil Service. He had to secure the Gilchrist Scholarship to be eligible to proceed to England to prepare for the entrance test for I.C.S. examination. He completed his graduation in 1869 and secured a top rank in the list for selected candidates for studies in England. Anundoram Borooah arrived in England in the year of 1869. 

In 1872, Mr. Anundoram Borooah was selected for the Indian Civil Service. He had an incredible career as the first Assamese and the fifth Indian to join the Indian Civil Service. Moreover, he was also the first Indian Civilian to be appointed as a District Magistrate. Apart from being a great civilian, he was a great Sanskrit scholar. He started his career as a magistrate in Sibsagar (a district in Assam) and was later transferred to undivided Bengal where he later became the first Indian District Magistrate in Noakhali District. 

He has published many important and rare Sanskrit classics including Mahavircharita, Saraswatikanthabharna and Namalinganusasana. He has also compiled a English Sanskrit dictionary, which was completed in 1877. He is also known as “Assamese Amarsingha” for mastering “Amarkosha” at the early age of fourteen.

He remained unmarried until he took his last breath on January 1, 1889. No family wanted to marry off their daughters to him as he had been to a foreign land and had consumed meat. His early demise at an age of 39 left a great void in the history of Assam. They lost a great scholar and a great civil servant. He had been and will remain an inspiration for people for a long time.

N.B: The facts mentioned have been collected from a lot of sources including print media as well as electronic media and I have personally looked to the authenticity of the facts mentioned herein. However, a few errors may have crept in. I apologize for any errors that may be present and would request you to please point them out so that I may be able to rectify them. You are most welcome to add any new information which may deem apt.