https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Fifth Indian Officer to Join the ICS, the First One from Assam

Anundoram Barooah was the fifth Indian officer to join the ICS, and the first one from Assam. Even as he slogged out his time in districts like Sibsagar and Noakhali, where he became the DM, his devotion to the study of Sanskrit was unparalleled. He lived for just thirty-nine years, but his accomplishments were the stuff of legend, writes former Director of LBSNAA, Sanjeev Chopra.
Indian Masterminds Stories

The fifth Indian officer to join the ICS, and the first one from Assam, Anundoram Barooah, lived for just thirty-nine years, but his accomplishments were the stuff of legend. Even as a 14-year-old schoolboy in Assam, Anundoram could recite by heart Amarasimha’s Sanskrit thesaurus, Amarakosha. Educated at the Guwahati Government Seminary (now known as the Cotton Collegiate School), he cleared the Entrance Examination of Calcutta University in 1864 and joined the Presidency College. He graduated in 1869, and also won the Gilchrist scholarship for higher studies in England where he qualified to be a barrister as well as for the ICS in 1872.

He was also the first ICS officer to become a District Magistrate, as his predecessors were either eased out, or placed on the judicial side.

UNPARALLELED DEVOTION TO SANSKRIT

However, even as he slogged out his time in districts like Sibsagar and Noakhali (where he became the DM), his devotion to the study of Sanskrit language and literature was unparalleled. In addition to four texts in Sanskrit, he wrote extensively in English.

These included Bhavabhuti and His Place in Sanskrit Literature, A (three volume) English-Sanskrit Dictionary, Higher Sanskrit Grammar: Gender and Syntax and the Ancient Geography of India. Fortunately, for scholars of Sanskrit and history, the Government of Assam have republished all these works. It is true that the first English Sanskrit dictionary was produced by Sir M Monier-Williams who edged out Max Mueller to become the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the Balliol college.

However, the purpose of Monier-Williams, as indeed of the Boden Chair, was to ‘promote the translation of the scriptures into Sanskrit so as to enable his countrymen to proceed in the conversion of natives of India to the Christian Religion’. One major drawback of this work was the extreme reluctance to draw from the work of Max Mueller, who was certainly the most knowledgeable scholar of this period.

PROPAGATED SANSKRIT TO PROMOTE HOME LITERATURE

In fact, this is where Anundoram differed from Monier-Williams. He believed like Abhinavgupta that “the truth, which is perceived by our tireless intellect, climbing higher and higher, is the result of the ladder of thought designed by earlier thinkers.”

philosophy like Sankara and Abhinavgupta, as well as the works of Italian and German Sanskritists. He also hoped that if Sanskrit language was propagated, it would enable Indians to “care more for their home literature than they now do for Shakespeare and Bacon, Addison and Johnson.

Although he could complete only two of the twelve volume magnum opuses on Sanskrit Grammar, his writings elicited admiration of Max Muller. When this bachelor boy breathed his last at the home of his lifelong friend Sir Taraknath Palit, there were mourners aplenty. One of them lifted the shroud to declare: “Here lies the glory of Bengal in his eternal sleep.” A young Assamese contradicted him, “He is not the glory of Bengal. He is the glory of Assam lying in eternal sleep.” This was when an elderly Bengali intervened more accurately to say, “No, here is a great man, a glory of India, lying in his eternal sleep.”

(This column has been written by Dr Sanjeev Chopra, Distinguished Fellow, USI, New Delhi, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of GB & I, London, HRA, LMFSAI, Harvard University, Historian, Columnist, and Festival Director, Valley of Words: International Literature & Arts Festival, Dehradun www.valleyofwords.org)


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services
Controversies Lead to Transfer of 8 Out of 24 IAS Officers in Madhya Pradesh; Key Collectors Removed Following Disputes with Legislators
ACC_Appointments Committee of Cabinet
Senior Bureaucratic Movements Cleared by ACC: Repatriations, Curtailments, and Extensions Notified
shastri-bhawan
CSS Forum Backs Officer Deepak Khoda After Suicide Attempt Over Alleged Workplace Harassment by IAS; Demands High-Level Probe in Letter to Minister
Gandhinagar: Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R
14 Million Seedlings and Counting: Gujarat’s Centres of Excellence Drive Horticulture Innovation with Global Backing
Siyan Gudis old age homes Chhattisgarh
CM Sai Announces 'Siyan Gudis' for Elderly in 4 Chhattisgarh Cities, Launches Welfare Measures on International Day of Older Persons
Sardar Patel 150th birth anniversary celebrations
Gujarat CM Reviews National Unity Day Arrangements Ahead of Sardar Patel’s 150th Birth Anniversary at Sardar Sarovar Dam
Pushkar Singh Dhami CM
Uttarakhand CM Flags Off Free Ambulance for Senior Citizens on International Day of Older Persons
KVS
Cabinet Approves 57 New Kendriya Vidyalayas Across India with ₹5862 Cr Outlay, 4600+ Jobs to Be Created
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Ravikant Meena on IFS Preparation, Optionals, and Life in Forest Service
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
How Siddhartha Saxena Cracked UPSC CAPF AIR 326 Against All Odds
Dr. S.K
Technology Meets Ecology: IFS Dr S K Srivastava’s Game-Changing Innovations in Forest Management | Eco Warrior Awards 2025 Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Live Interaction
From Cut-off Dates to Coaching & Reforms: UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar Assures Aspirants of Fairness, Transparency & a Future-Ready UPSC | UPSC@100
A Century of Service: The UPSC’s Landmark Year Begins. Chairman Ajay Kumar on UPSC’s Centennial: “Merit,...
Giriraj Parihar MPPSC 2024
From Constable to Deputy Collector: Giriraj Parihar’s 9-Year MPPSC Journey | Farmer’s Son, Brother to Five Sisters
From a jail guard to MPPSC 2024 Rank 8, Giriraj Parihar’s nine-year journey of self-study, hard work,...
Ankit MPPSC 2024 Rank 3
From Village Dreams to Deputy Collector’s Chair: Meet Ankit, MPPSC Rank 3 Hindi Medium Topper
Ankit, a Hindi-medium aspirant from Balaghat, secured Rank 3 in MPPSC 2024 and became Deputy Collector...
Social Media
World Rhino Day India
On World Rhino Day, IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan Shares Rare Insights - India Now Hosts 80% of the World’s One-Horned Rhinos
September 22 Marks Global Call for Rhino Conservation; India Holds 80% of World’s Greater One-Horned...
Parag Madhukar Dhakate
Relentless Rains Wreak Havoc in Dehradun: IFS officer PM Dhakate Warns Citizens Amid Flash Floods
Cloudbursts in Dehradun triggered flash floods. IFS officer Dr. PM Dhakate warned citizens to stay indoors...
Forest Guard Tiger Encounter
Tigers Clash in the Wild as Forest Guards Capture Rare Footage , Retired IFS Mohan Pargaien Posts Viral Video
Retired IFS officer Mohan Pargaien shares viral video of three tigers brawling in Ramnagar, as forest...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services
Controversies Lead to Transfer of 8 Out of 24 IAS Officers in Madhya Pradesh; Key Collectors Removed Following Disputes with Legislators
ACC_Appointments Committee of Cabinet
Senior Bureaucratic Movements Cleared by ACC: Repatriations, Curtailments, and Extensions Notified
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IFS Ravikant Meena UPSC IFS
Siddhartha Saxena UPSC CAPF
Dr. S.K
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT