Assam: First Bhupen Hazarika National Award to Usha Mangeshkar

The Assam government has instituted a national award in honour of Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, and veteran playback singer Usha Mangeshkar will be its first recipient, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced after a Cabinet meeting in Guwahati on Friday, October 23.

The award

The Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika National Award carries ₹10 lakh in cash and a citation and will be given every three years. Sarma said it would go to an internationally acclaimed singer, composer, lyricist, film director, actor or someone from another field linked to Hazarika's work.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present the award to Mangeshkar on November 29 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, at the closing ceremony of Hazarika's year-long birth centenary celebrations.

The centenary finale

Sarma said 5,000 to 7,000 people from across the country are expected at the event. Singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal, along with artistes from Assam, will perform a musical tribute, and an exhibition will introduce Hazarika's work to a wider audience.

The celebrations began last year with a tribute event attended by the Prime Minister, who also released a ₹100 commemorative coin issued by the Reserve Bank of India and a biography titled "Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika".

Hazarika was born on September 8, 1926, at Sadiya in present-day Tinsukia district and died in Mumbai on November 5, 2011. Known as the "Bard of the Brahmaputra", he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019.

Assam's civilian awards for 2025

The Cabinet also approved the state's civilian honours for 2025, according to the Hindustan Times:

• Asom Baibhav (highest honour): Dr Harsha Bhattacharjee, founder trustee and president of Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya.
• Asom Saurav: wildlife veterinarian Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma, sculptor and set designer Padma Shri Nuruddin Ahmed, singer Pulak Banerjee and conservationist Purnima Devi Barman.
• Asom Gaurav: ten individuals from agriculture, business and sports, plus one NGO and one farmer producer organisation.

Awardees for 2026 will be announced in about a month, with separate ceremonies for the two years.

Other Cabinet decisions

• The prize for the Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva International Award rises from ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh.
• A ₹300-crore Welspun Group investment proposal for an industrial unit at Rangia in Kamrup district was approved.
• Election rules for the Mising and Sonowal Kachari autonomous councils were approved, clearing the way for polls in November.