- Novanita Sharma
In 2010, the Nature’s Beckon led ‘Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam’, which refers to India’s first people’s movement to protect the last surviving rainforests of the Brahmaputra valley, under the firm leadership of the renowned environmentalist Soumyadeep Datta found a new lease of life with the publication of the first edition of ‘Namchangar Antexpur’, a remarkable narrative that presents the unique conservation story of this rainforest which gave birth to the Dihing Patkai National Park in 2021.
Written by Soumyadeep Datta, this powerful narrative is a widely acclaimed testimony of the iconic Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam. This compelling literature crafted by Soumyadeep Datta, the activist, conservationist, and the unfazed crusader of this conservation movement has breathed a living account of his thoughts, emotions, insights, and experiences from this crucial period of his struggle in saving the largest contiguous patch of rainforest in Assam, through three decades of continuous activism, advocacy, and extensive conservation work with unrelenting efforts and resilience. This narrative of courage, grit, and perseverance provides a rare chance to everyone to connect with an extraordinary event of India’s modern environment history in the 21st century.
This book represents the indomitable spirit of an Indian environment activist who fought against the dispirited, disillusioned, and mostly corrupt Government machinery to transform the destiny of the richest forest of Assam from its doomed predicament to the famed status of the present Dihing Patkai National Park. No one knew about the occurrence of rainforests in Assam before Soumyadeep Datta shared the information about this natural treasure with the world, no official documents and publications ever mentioned about the presence of rainforests in Assam before Soumyadeep Datta announced its presence in 1992. The subsequent movement for permanent protection of this rainforest that followed this discovery witnessed steep resistance and adversity from a group of politically backed people who conspired to break this movement and crush the leadership to ensure their selfish pursuits of earning fortunes by exploiting the rainforest of Upper Assam. ‘Namchangar Antexpur’ connects everyone with this stupendous fight of the Nature’s Beckon led Rainforest Conservation Movement. This book further strengthened the movement in Assam through the powerful medium of prakriti sahitya and acted as the strongest mouthpiece of this movement since its first publication in 2010.
While the Rainforest Conservation Movement has earned the respect of being a milestone in the conservation history of India, the book ‘Namchangar Atexpur’ has become a cornerstone of prakriti sahitya movement in Assam apart from being a living force of the Rainforest Conservation Movement in its timeless presence through literature. The mastery of the author’s penmanship has given permanence to the spirit of the Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam through this book, which is nothing less than a classic of prakriti sahitya in the contemporary world of Indian literature.
The publication of ‘Namchagar Antexpur’ in 2010 was an act of activism in the literary world of Assam. Many well-known publishing houses of Assam considered this narrative too provocative. Fearing backlash and possible political sanctions against them, these publishers showed their reluctance in publishing the unaltered manuscript of this book during that time. Sri. Bipul Deuri, well known translation -literature writer of Assam and Smt. Binu Deuri Baruah portrayed exceptional courage and solidarity towards the cause of the Rainforest Conservation Movement by publishing this bold narrative in 2010 under the banner of Banphool Prakashan, Guwahati. Their commitment to the cause also reflects the widespread support and participation of the civil society of Assam towards the Nature’s Beckon led Rainforest Conservation Movement. Sri. Bipul Deuri has enriched the movement with his continued intellectual support and guidance, and Banphool Prakashan has greatly contributed to the cause of nature conservation and prakriti sahitya by sustaining the flame of the Rainforest Conservation Movement alive among the people by making this book available to the readers in Assam with the publishing of the consecutive editions of the book since 2010. The publication of the fourth edition of ‘Namchangar Antexpur’ in 2025 thus bring immense joy and motivation to many like me, who were part of this journey of Nature’s Beckon which triumphed over all impediments in protecting Assam’s largest patch of rainforest with its undefeatable spirit led by the single-minded determination of Soumyadeep Datta.
Soumyadeep Datta has immortalised the intense struggle of the Rainforest Conservation Movement that transpired between 1992 and 2021, in bringing the forgotten rainforests of Assam situated in the Dibrugarh – Tinsukia districts to the forefront of global recognition with his writings. His book ‘Axamar Barxaranya Dihing Patkai Rashtriya Udiyan’, published in 2024 by VISTAAR, Publications of Kolkata has put forth the intriguing course of events that led to the area expansion and upgradation of the Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary (estd.2004) to Dihing Patkai National Park in 2021. This book presents the real story behind this decisive turn in the Rainforest Conservation Movement, which is akin to a sequel to ‘Namchagar Antexpur’.
This book provides the first published accounts regarding the multi-structural advocacy and struggle that ensued to include the entire block of the Joypur Reserve Forest inside the jurisdiction of the Dihing Patkai National Park declaration in 2020. Soumyadeep Datta has eloquently written regarding the contributions of many individuals and the decision makers from fossil fuel based public sector companies of India like Oil India Ltd., and Coal India Ltd., who honored the long-standing demands of the Nature’s Beckon led Rainforest Conservation Movement to legally protect the entire patch of the Joypur Reserved Forest. These officials played a crucial role in facilitating the protection of the Joypur Reserve Forest with their landmark decisions. This book also put forth the rich contributions of many forest officials who have wholeheartedly supported the conservation of this rainforest with utmost sincerity in the past seventeen years since 2004 when 111.19sqkm of this rainforest was protected as Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.
Soumyadeep Datta’s bold narrative in this book provides an overview regarding the change of political approach towards forest conservation in Assam, as seen under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party elect Chief Ministers of Assam in the past few years since 2016; this began with the former Chief Minister of Assam Sri. Sarbananda Sonowal who took initiative to upgrade the status of Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary to Dihing Patkai National Park and effected the preliminary notification for the declaration of Dihing Patkai National Park with an area expansion to include the Joypur Reserve Forest in December 2020; this political support continued to get strengthened under the able leadership of the present Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma who has gifted the world with one of the richest protected areas of India right after assuming his charges as the Chief Minister of Assam by declaring the creation of the Dihing Patkai National Park with its final notification on 15th June 2021.
Soumyadeep Datta has expressed deep gratitude to the sea of people that strengthened this movement with their invaluable support, including several organizations, journalists, intellectuals, dramatists, actors, artists, writers, physicians, social workers, students, youth, and nature lovers from across Assam and different parts of India. Sri. Datta has highlighted the fact that the Nature’s Beckon led Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam have succeeded to give a decisive turn to the future conservation of Assam’s largest rainforest patch because of the political support from the Bharatiya Janata Party led state government in Assam towards the cause, the declaration of the Dihing Patkai National Park would have been a distant dream without this political support.
His books on the Rainforest Conservation Movement, which include the classic work of ‘Namchangar Antexpur’ and ‘Axamar Barxaranya Dihing Patkai Rashtriya Udiyan’, depict the complete conservation journey of the rainforest of the Dibrugarh -Tinsukia districts in Assam, and the ‘Namchangar Antexpur’ will continue to represent the soul of this movement in literature till eternity.
The names of Soumyadeep Datta and Nature’s Beckon are integral with the past, present, and future of the Dihing Patkai National Park, and so is the spirit of the Rainforest Conservation Movement for the future conservation of this rainforest and the course of biodiversity conservation in Assam. Likewise, the book ‘Namchangar Antexpur’ is an inalienable part of this movement, and at the same time it is an inseparable part of the illustrious literary journey of Soumyadeep Datta who has pioneered and enriched the genre of prakriti sahitya in Indian language with his relentless writings that empowered the unique biodiversity conservation movement of Assam since 1980s.
The publishing of the fourth edition of ‘Nanchangar Antexpur’ is a matter of celebration for everyone in Assam, and the people of Assam will forever remain grateful to Banphool Prakashan, Guwahati for their contributions in infusing a progressive approach in Assamese literature by supporting such path breaking work of prakriti sahitya.