First MSCW chairperson Biloris Lyndem passes away

SHILLONG, March 4: Dr Biloris Lyndem Lasso, the first chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW), passed away on Sunday in Encinitas, California, United States, after a brief but courageous battle with gallbladder cancer. She was 82.
Lyndem served as the inaugural chairperson of MSCW from 2005 to 2008. A distinguished academician, she was a former head of the Centre for Distance Education at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and the former coordinator of the IGNOU Study Centre, Shillong.
She also held the positions of director of the College Development Council at NEHU and director of the State Resource Centre, NEHU, since its inception in 1987.
In 1999, Lyndem was honoured with the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Award for Women Empowerment in recognition of her grassroots efforts in promoting women’s literacy and empowerment.
A prolific writer, she authored several books and articles and worked on numerous projects sponsored by the state’s Department of Social Welfare. She was the author of Tryst with Literacy: A Meghalaya Experience and had published several research papers on distance education, mass education, and higher education.
The National Commission for Women had also recognised her expertise by appointing her as an expert on Northeast India and research programmes related to women’s issues.
Beyond her academic contributions, Lyndem also served as the president of Ramakrishna Mission Secondary and Higher Secondary School in Sohra.
She is survived by her brother, Reginald Lyndem; her daughter, Badalin Helvink, a practicing physician in the United States; her granddaughter, Heather S Helvink; and her son-in-law, Joseph A Helvink.