Ignominious death of weekly 'Asam Bani': End of golden era of Assamese journalism

By Nava Thakuria

Amidst the crisis that escalated following the COVID-19 pandemic within the Assam Tribune Group of newspapers in Guwahati, a popular Assamese weekly newspaper shut down at the end of 2025.
Asam Bani, which served as a mainstream weekly for Assamese readers for decades, ceased publication last September after the management committee showed no interest in continuing its printing every Friday. Although the seven-decade-old Assamese weekly has vanished from the newsstands, the management committee has issued no statement regarding its closure. Previously, Asam Bani had been merged into the media house’s well-known Assamese daily, Dainik Asam, as a Friday supplement.

Once edited by legendary Assamese journalists and writers such as Satish Chandra Kakati, Tilak Hazarika, Phani Talukdar, Nirode Choudhury, Homen Borgohain, and Chandra Prasad Saikia, the newspaper's final editor was Dilip Chandan, who served Asam Bani for nearly three decades. Launched on July 1, 1955, by the renowned Assamese businessman Radha Govind Baruah, this weekly witnessed and reported on several critical socio-political developments, including the Assamese medium movement, the anti-infiltration agitation, the sudden surge of insurgencies influenced by separatists, social unrest, the rise of regional politics, and its eventual decline among the local population.

As the pandemic severely impacted the circulation of all newspapers published by the Assam Tribune Group, the fallout was visible in the decline of advertisement revenue from commercial companies. Like many other media organizations across India, the Assam Tribune Group faced a severe financial crisis, which manifested in irregular salary payments to staff, including working journalists.

The employees' union went public with several grievances, including the non-payment of dues to retired employees. Union leaders also alleged that the group was not receiving substantial payments from the State Directorate of Information and Public Relations (in exchange for published advertisements).

Rumors soon spread that the entire media group was being sold to another television house. However, the Assam Tribune management denied this, calling it false. In an official statement, the management committee promised "continued dedicated service to valued customers/readers, advertisers, and partners while maintaining its editorial independence and journalistic integrity."

The management also appealed to everyone concerned to "disregard such baseless speculations and avoid spreading misinformation." It goes without saying that its flagship newspaper, The Assam Tribune (founded on August 4, 1939), remains the most widely circulated English daily in Northeast India today.

However, the confidence of the management authority led by Prafulla Govind Baruah (the second son of RG Baruah, who recently passed away on December 14 at the age of 93) did not prevent them from handing over the responsibility of Dainik Asam (now over six decades old) to others.

Dainik Asam is now being published by the media entity of young entrepreneur Kishore Borah, who operates the Assamese news channel ND24. The deal was made public on September 17 last year, after which the new management took responsibility for Dainik Asam but declined to take over Asam Bani. As a supplement to Dainik Asam, the final print edition of Asam Bani was published on September 12, 2025.

Media experts believe that while the Tribune House generally maintained credibility in disseminating information, editorial views, and articles, it has largely compromised those principles in recent times.

Their flagship newspaper (The Assam Tribune) openly supported the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) movement that began in 2019, giving massive coverage to the agitation. It condemned the Central Government’s initiative to support persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Christian families coming to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. That chaos gripped the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam for weeks.

Furthermore, the people of Assam remember that five years ago, The Assam Tribune published unverified news against the backdrop of the Guwahati Press Club elections, where the editorial focus was biased, irresponsible, and filled with character assassination of the former Press Club Secretary, putting its integrity at stake.

The current financial situation of the Assam Tribune media house remains alarming, but this was not caused solely by the Corona pandemic; rather, certain "arrogant" journalists complicated the situation—individuals who enjoyed all the benefits of the media house while doing their best to create disorder.

Shockingly, the management authority remained a silent spectator during that time.

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The author is a senior journalist based in Northeast India

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