D. K. Barooah

Dev Kant Barooah (22 February 1914 – 28 January 1996) was an Indian politician from Assam, who served as the President of the Indian National Congress during the Emergency (1975–77).

D. K. Barooah
President of the Indian National Congress
In office 1975–1977
Preceded by	Shankar Dayal Sharma
Succeeded by	Indira Gandhi
Personal details
Born	22 February 1914
Died	28 January 1996 (aged 81)
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress

Early life

Baruah was born on 22 February 1914 to Nilkanta Baruah at Dibrugarh, Assam Province (present-day Assam). He studied at Nowgong Government High School and graduated from Banaras Hindu University. After joining the Indian freedom struggle, he was imprisoned in 1930, 1941 and 1942.[1]

Career

In 1949–1951, Baruah's political career began as a member of the Constituent Assembly.[2] He is now chiefly remembered for his alleged sycophancy to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, encapsulated by his c. 1974 proclamation that "India is Indira. Indira is India."[3] However, he later parted ways with her and joined Congress (Urs), later renamed as Indian Congress (Socialist). He was the Governor of Bihar from 1 February 1971 to 4 February 1973. He died in New Delhi. He is the first and only Assamese to be elected as a president of Indian National Congress.

Barua was a noted poet as well. His collection of Assamese poems, Sagar Dekhisa (সাগৰ দেখিছা), is still very popular. He was the elder brother of famous Assamese poet Nabakanta Barua.

References

1. "D.K. Borooah". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
2. "D.K. Baruah in Indian National Congress".
3. Ram Guha, India After Gandhi, p. 467

External links

• No. 103, The Incidence of Corruption in India:Is the Neglect of Governance Endangering Human Security in South Asia? Shabnam Mallick and Rajarshi Sen JANUARY 2006 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 March 2006)

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