Mamoni Raisom Indira Goswami was famous not only for her writings which won her the Jnanpith award but she was also one of the first who brokered peace between the Centre and the ULFA. She was only 69 when she died. Indira had been suffering from a lung infection and later had a cerebral attack. She wrote a number of best selling novels and short stories and was awarded the highest national literary honour in 2000. She had earlier received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982. In 2008, she became the first recipient in India of the Principal Prince Claus Award (Netherlands). Indira donated the prize money of Rs. 60 lakh to the Assam government for construction of a hospital in her ancestral village. She also distinguished herself for her scholarship on the Ramayana.
For some reason, the ULFA cause struck a sensitive chord in her creative mind as it did in the mind of the famous singer, Bhupen Hazarika who died a few weeks earlier. As a peacemaker, her efforts had made the ULFA form a people’s representative group in 2005. The Centre and the group held talks to do the groundwork for a dialogue with the militants. The ULFA’s insistence on sovereignty at that stage scuttled the talks but her initiative was something of a starter. Goswami later kept out of the controversy especially as the ULFA violated the ceasefire accord. On her death, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi paid a tribute to her for her advocacy of peace and acknowledged that she had made a major contribution to the peace process with the ULFA which was nearing a settlement. The ULFA also mourned her death. Even the outlawed Paresh Barua praised her for correctly presenting the outfit’s point of view. Furthermore Indira Goswami will also be remembered as a champion of women’s rights.
