Significance of Goalpara in British Annexation of Northeastern India

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Dr. Pratima Neogi retired as an Associate Professor in the Dept. of History Chilarai College, Dhubri, Assam. Dr. Neogi has presented several papers at national and international seminars and conferences. She has presented her work on many international platforms such as at Naresuan University, Thailand (2009), Portugal Parimeology conference (2012), Manchester Congress (2013), Nottingham University (2011) besides presenting her work in International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong. Dr. Neogi has authored in total 7 books namely 1. Prantabashir Jhuli (translated) (2016) 2. Bhawaiya (2015) 3. Muslim Situation in Assam 1874-1947 (2014) 4. Pratima :Ek Sonali Kanthor Utshow Sandhan (2013)5. Pachim Asomor Lokogeet Sangraha (2007) (another two books in press. Hopefully be available soon) focusing on the culture of the Goalpara region and the folk song of western Assam. Dr. Neogi has edited various volumes focusing on border issues and Indian Culture.

As per the Memorandum of Association (MoA) prepared more than four decades ago with the set up of the ICHR, the Council has two kinds of objectives: first, to provide funding to individuals and institutions engaged in historical research and, second to undertake certain academic programmes of its own. The second type of objective the following inter alia: to provide for 'institutional arrangements for training in research methodology"; to develop 'centres for documentation and reference service on historical research'; 'to promote, accelerate and coordinate research in history with special emphasis on areas which have not received adequate attention so far.

Under these broad objectives, the ICHR has opened its three Regional Centres. I am delighted to put on record that the North Eastern Regional Centre of the ICHR in Guwahati has completed twenty four years since its foundation in 1997. The NERC started the Lecture Series Programme in 2003, and since then fifty eight lectures (including three Foundation Day Lectures) have been organised. The lecture series initiated at NERC has been fairly successful in opening a bridgehead into new areas of historical research. Therefore, the publication series emanating from the lecture scheme is to some extent a redundant exercise. To my mind it will be more appropriate to congratulate the community of historians in the north-eastern region for having made this effort on the part of ICHR meaningful and effective.