Sonaram Chutia (also known as Vaishnav Pandit) was a Vaishnav scholar, freedom fighter and educationist from Assam, India. Born in Bamkukurachowa village in the

Jorhat district Jorhat (pron: ˈʤɔ:(r)ˌhɑ:t) is an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam situated in the central part of the Brahmaputra Valley. The district is bounded by Majuli on north, Nagaland state on the south, Charaideo on the east and ...

of Assam during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, Chutia was educated in

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

and completed his B.Sc from

Cotton College Cotton College was a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cotton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It was also known as ''Saint Wilfrid's College''. The school buildings were centred on Cotton Hall, a country house used by religious communities fro ...

. Throughout his education, Chutia witnessed insulting comments from upper-caste boys and instances of disrespectful mistreatment from religious establishments towards certain communities. It is said that these experiences prompted Chutia to take up his cause against casteism and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. Sutiya began his career as a science teacher at the

Sivasagar Sivasagar (Pron: or ) ("the sea of Shiva"), is a city in and headquarters of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. Si ...

Government Higher Secondary School in 1939 but left his job and joined the Jatiya Mahasabha. He was jailed during the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

, and he met

Pitambar Deva Goswami Pitambar Deva Goswami (10 June 1885 – 20 October 1962) was a spiritual leader and social reformer in the Indian state of Assam. At age six, he was accepted into the monastic order of the Garamur Satra. Goswami was schooled in Sanskrit by ...

, Satradhikar of the Garmurh Satra, in prison in 1943. In 1946, Sutiya joined the

Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha The Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha, established in 1930, is the largest socio-religious organization in Assam. History The beginning of the twentieth century saw the onset of different types of movements in Assam. It was a movement of the searc ...

, devoting himself to working for the organisation for the rest of his life. Sutiya was honoured as a freedom fighter by the Union government in 1972 and the government of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in 1973. He received the

Srimanta Sankardev Srimanta Sankardev( শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ )(; ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of im ...

a-Madhabdeva Award in 1994. In 2000, the Assam government bestowed the Srimanta Sankaradeva Award on him. In 2005, he was awarded as Jorhat Ekalabya and Dalit Daradi by North Eastern Research Organization. A Gandhian in life, Sutiya was a student of Class X, when he saw

Gandhiji Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

for the first time and met him personally later in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Literary works

He began writing 1939 after he joined the Dharma Mahasabha. His books were highly influenced by Sankari Culture and Mahapusia Dharma. Most of them were related to

Vishnuism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

in Assam. Until his death, he wrote various books and articles in many different Assamese magazines. In 1954, he published his first book "Naam Dharma Prakash". Books wrote by Sonaram Sutiya: * ''Naam Dharma Prakash'' (1954 ) * ''Mahapurush Haridev Charit'' (1968 ) * ''Axomor Vaisnav DarshanorSwarnarekha'' (1971 ) * ''Bikhudgarror Bichitra Kahani'' ( 1976 ) * ''Mundan'' ( 1978 ) * ''Bhagawat Mahatyama'' ( 1984 ) * ''Mahapusia Dharma Jigyassa'' ( 1986 ) * ''Ved aaru Mahapusia Dharma'' ( 1988 ) * ''Axomor Satra : Ek Anuhandhan'' ( 2003 ) * ''Aami Bhagawanor Dakh'' (2003) * ''Vakti Ratnawali'' * ''Huvor Okhodhi'' * ''Ishwaror Sabbyabyapita'' * ''Mahapusia Dharma aru Karmakando''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chutia, Sonaram 1915 births 2013 deaths Ekasarana Dharma Hindu revivalists Scholars from Assam People from Jorhat district Cotton College, Guwahati alumni Indian independence activists from Assam

Literary works

See also

References