Recognizing the exceptional contributions of an individual towards the society, on the lines of Bharat Ratna & Padma Awards, Chief MinisterDr. Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Government of Assam instituted the Assam Civilian Awards in 2022. Over the past few years, distinguished personalities have received the prestigious awards. Twenty individuals have received these awards in the year 2025. One among them is Lt General (Retd) R P Kalita. Speaking to Asom Barta, Assam Baibhav Awardee 2025, Kalita said, “I am deeply humbled and immensely grateful to receive Assam Baibhav, the highest honour bestowed by our State. This recognition is not just a personal achievement but a testament to the values, perseverance and dedication that define the Armed Forces where I served for close to 40 years.” “This award is a reflection of the support, encouragement, and inspiration I have received from my family, mentors, colleagues, and well-wishers throughout my journey. I accept this great honour with deep appreciation and a renewed commitment to contribute meaningfully to our great State.” Assam Saurav Awardee Dr. Purabi Saikia during her interaction stated, “Receiving the second highest civilian award of my own State was really unexpected and I am very happy and grateful about the announcement.” According to Dr. Saikia, the award will take her works to the nook and corner of Assam. “My work is not known to many. Now, many more in the State will get to know about the work I do in the field of science,” she said. A forest ecologist, she has directed her efforts to various forests across the nation. She is also a Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee of the Government of India for 2024. Assam Gaurav awardee Phuleswari Dutta is deeply humbled that the work she is doing since 1999 has managed to get attention. “Humankind can’t survive without nature. It all began when we started constructing our house after clearing some of the backyard vegetation and trees. We were about to cut some more trees to extend our house when we saw vultures on the Simalu trees. There and then I decided that we will not extend our house.” Phuleswari & her son then decided to leave the backyard woods untouched. These trees now house 60-70 vultures, “They are now a part of our family and we can’t think of anything without them.” Meanwhile, Nazrul Hoque, a fish farmer from Sribhumi is the first from the Barak Valley region to win the State’s Civilian Award. The Assam Gaurav Awardee while speaking to this newsletter said, “To be among the few in the list is overwhelming. Since my childhood, I wanted to do something on my own and thus in the year 2000, I started fish farming on a one bigha plot of land. In due course, the production increased. We now work on 40 fisheries employing around 150 youths of Badarpur.” These awards entitle free accommodation for recipients at Assam Bhawans and circuit houses for up to 15 days at a time.
