Overview
Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University is a state public university located in Assam, India. It is named in honour of Kanaklata Barua (1924–1942), a young freedom fighter from Assam who was shot dead while leading a procession to hoist the Indian national flag at the Gohpur police station during the Quit India Movement on 20 September 1942. The prefix Swahid (Assamese for "martyr") commemorates her sacrifice.
Key facts
| Name | Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University |
|---|---|
| Type | State public university |
| Country | India |
| State | Assam |
| Named after | Kanaklata Barua, martyr of the Quit India Movement |
Background
The Government of Assam has, in recent years, established a number of state universities by upgrading or clustering existing colleges, with the aim of expanding access to higher education across the state's districts. Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University belongs to this generation of regional state universities and carries the name of a figure closely associated with the freedom struggle in the Brahmaputra valley.
Namesake
Kanaklata Barua, also known as Birbala, was born in 1924 in the Gohpur area of present-day Biswanath district, Assam. At the age of seventeen, she joined the Mrityu Bahini (Death Squad) formed during the Quit India Movement and was killed by police gunfire while attempting to unfurl the tricolour at the Gohpur thana. Her name has since been used for several public institutions, awards and commemorative initiatives in Assam.
Significance
As a state university bearing the name of a regional martyr, the institution serves both an educational role — offering higher education to students in its catchment area — and a commemorative role, embedding the memory of Assam's contribution to the Indian independence movement within the state's academic landscape.
Related topics
- Kanaklata Barua
- Quit India Movement
- Education in Assam
- List of universities in Assam
- State universities in India
- Gohpur
References
- Wikidata entity: Q137299554