Upendranath Brahma (31 March 1956 – 1 May 1990) was an Indian
Bodo
Bodo may refer to:
Ethnicity
* Boro people, also called ''Bodo'', an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India
* Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Boro people
Culture an ...
social activist and the former president of
All Bodo Students' Union
All or ALL may refer to:
عرص
Biology and medicine
* Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer
* Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee
* ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and profe ...
.
Early life and education
Brahma was born in Boragari village of
Dotma, a small township at
Kokrajhar district
Kokrajhar district is an administrative districts of Assam, district in Bodoland, Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam. It is predominantly inhabited by the Bodo people, Boro tribe. The district has its headquarters located at Kokrajhar Town a ...
of
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
, India. He was a son of Mr. Monglaram Brahma and Ms. Lefsri Brahma. He was the fifth, and youngest, child. He was called "Thopen" during his childhood. He grew up in poverty.
From 1963, Brahma studied at various schools, including Dotma High School, Kokrajhar High School and, in 1973, at Sakti Ashram High and Vocational School under the guidance of Swamiji. In 1975, he passed the matriculation examination in the first division with letter marks in Mathematics. Thereafter he obtained a BSc with honours degree in Physics from
Cotton College
Cotton College was a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cotton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It was also known as ''Saint Wilfrid's College''.
The school buildings were centred on Cotton Hall, a country house used by religious communities fr ...
before enrolling at
Gauhati University
Gauhati University also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly and is the oldest un ...
in 1981 for his MSc degree. Brahma also worked as a graduate science teacher at the Nehru Vocational High School in Gossainichina, and studied for a BA at
Kokrajhar College during that period. He obtained his BA in 1985 and his MSc in 1986.
Brahma was elected as the President of the
Goalpara District
Goalpara district is an administrative districts of Assam, district of the Indian state of Assam.
History
It was a princely state ruled by the Koch dynasty, Koch kings and the then ruler of the undivided kingdom. Today the erstwhile Goalpara d ...
Students Union in 1978–79. He was vice-president of the All Bodo Students Union between 1981–1983 and president from 1986. Through this body he worked for the education and wellbeing of the community, which he believed to be losing its culture. Under his leadership, the ABSU agreed to include political issues as part of its agenda to give political matureness to the students.
Death
Brahma died in Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
on 1 May 1990 as a consequence of
blood cancer
Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are al ...
. His body was taken to
Kokrajhar
Kokrajhar () is a town in the Bodoland Territorial Region, an Autonomous administrative divisions of India, autonomous territory in Assam, one of the Northeast India, North Eastern states of India.
History Under the Kingdom of Bhutan
From the ...
and then buried at
Dotoma on 4 May. The ground where Brahma was buried is now known as "
Thulungapuri".
Honours
The title of
Bodofa (Guardian of Bodos) was posthumously conferred upon Brahma on 8 May 1990 in recognition of his vision and leadership. His life is celebrated each year on the anniversary of his death, which is now called ''Bodofa Day''.
A bronze statue of him was unveiled in Kokrajhar on the tenth anniversary of his death.
See also
*
Bineshwar Brahma
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahma, Upendranath2
Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma 1990 deaths
1956 births
Bodo people
Tribal people from Assam
People from Kokrajhar district
Gauhati University alumni
Cotton College, Guwahati alumni
Deaths from cancer in India
Deaths from blood cancer