Tarun Ram Phookun
A commemorative postage stamp on the Birth Centenary of Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phukan, first President of Assam Branch of Indian National Congress :
Issued by India
Issued on Jan 22, 1977
Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department feels privileged to bring out a commemorative stamp in honour of this great son of India on the occasion of his birth centenary.
Type : Stamp, Postal Used
Colour : Suede grey
Denomination : 25 Paise
Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.
Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.
Perforation : 13 x 13
Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper
Number printed : 30,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 35
Printing process : Photogravure
Designed and printed at : India Security Press
Name : Tarun Ram Phukan
Born on Jan 22, 1877 at Guwahati, Kamrup, Assam, India
Died on Jul 28, 1939
About :
- Tarun Ram Phookun, popularly known as ‘Deshabhakta‘, was born in Gauhati in Kamrup District of Assam on January 22, 1877. He was educated in Cotton Collegiate School, Gauhati and Presidency College, Calcutta. Later, he was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple in London. He distinguished himself as a lawyer and also served as Lecturer in Earle Law College in Gauhati.
- Phookun was a prominent member of the Assam Association which was the only political organisation in Assam till 1920. He played a notable part in forming the Assam Branch of the Indian National Congress in 1921 and was elected its first President. When the Non-cooperation Movement was started, Phookun took a leading part in it and he toured various parts of Assam carrying the message of Mahatma Gandhi. He was sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment in 1921 in connection with the Non-cooperation Movement. After release, he joined the Swarajya Party. He was twice elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. In 1926 he became the Chairman of the Reception Committee of the Pandu Session of the Indian National Congress.
- Phookun was also a popular figure in the civic life of Assam. As Chairman of the Municipal Board and Local Board of Gauhati he undertook several programmes for the uplift of the under-privileged sections of society. While Chairman of the Gauhati Municipal Board he established a Leper Asylum in Gauhati. He was a forceful orator and also an eminent writer. He served as President of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, a premier literary organisation in Assam at its Goalpara Session in 1927 and as President of the Assam Chhatra Sammelan in 1928. Tarun Ram Phookun breathed his last on July 28, 1939.
