Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (1924–1997) was a prominent Assamese novelist and short story writer. He is one of the pioneers of the modern Assamese literature. He was the first ever recipient of the Jnanpith Award given to an Assamese writer in the year 1979. He died in 1997 at the age of 83 years.
Literary Career Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya
He was born in 1924. He was one of the most accomplished socially realistic writers and was one of the most successful among the Second World War writers. He wrote his first novel “Rajpahte Ringiai” in 1957 which is based on the event of just one day.
It was based on social and political analysis. His novel “Mritunjay” was the most influential novel of his life. The novel is based on the struggle of the people of Assam during the pre-independence period. The novel brought Assam the first Jnanpith award.
The Sahitya Akademi Award winner novel “Iyaruingom” is considered a masterpiece of Indian literature. It was published in 1960. The novel was based on the story of the Tankhrool Naga tribes residing in Manipur and their sufferings during separatist movement of Fizo.
“Aai” is another famous novel written by the Jnanpith awardee. It was published in 1958. In 1964 the novel “Shataghni” based on China’s attack on India was published. “Pratipad”, “Ranga Megh”, “Daaini”, “Ballari”, etc are some of his famous novels.
He was also an expert with short stories which included “Kolong Aajiu Boi”, “Satsori”. A majority of his poems were published in the magazine “Jayanti". In 2005 a translation published by Katha books “Love in the time of Insurgency” was released. He died in 1997 at the age of 83 years.
Achievements of Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya:
He was the first ever recipient of the Jnanpith Award given to an Assamese writer in the year 1979 for his novel “Mritunjay”. In 1961 he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel “Iyaruingom”. During 1983-85 he took over Assam Sahitya Sabha as the president.