Gunabhiram Barua

Gunabhiram Barua (1834–94) was a product of India’s colonial modernity. He distinguished himself as an author, historian, editor and colonial administrator. Known for his progressive outlook, Barua wrote the first modern Assamese drama, which addressed the issue of widow remarriage. After the death of his wife, he married a widow and took a significant step towards women’s education by sending his young daughter to study at Calcutta’s Bethune School in 1878. His prose style greatly influenced the next generation of Assamese writers, playing a key role in the rise of modern Assamese literature in the late nineteenth century.