Padma Shri Geeta Upadhyay, founder president of the Assam State Indian Gorkha Association and noted author, paid her last respects on Tuesday. Due to old age, he breathed his last at his residence in Tezpur’s Chandmari at 9:10 pm on Monday. He was 87 years old at the time of his death. A delegation led by Thandi Newar, executive president of Assam State Committee of Gorkha Parishad of India, visited his residence on Tuesday to pay floral tributes and express condolences to the bereaved family. The delegation formally draped the organizational flag of the Gorkha Parishad of India around the mirror box containing his body and observed a minute’s silence in his memory.
Sonitpur District President Gaur Bahadur Chhetri, District General Secretary Muktinath Luitel, State Executive Member Ganesh Paudel, Assam Rajya Gorkha Parishad Founder General Secretary Praveen Roy, Sonitpur District Committee Executive President Him Sagar Upadhyay, Manik Sapkota, Ratneshwar Newar, Amarendra Upadhyay, Mahadev Upadhyay, Dr. etc. Kumar Sharma, Mohan Subedi, Kharg Bahadur Kaushik, Deenath Nirala, Khemanand Mishra and many other dignitaries were present. The speakers paid tribute to his unparalleled contribution to the establishment and expansion of the organization as well as to the development of the Indian Gorkha community.
Padmashri Geeta Upadhyay was born on 14 February 1939 at Gangmouthan in the then Darang District (now Vishwanath District). She was the first elected president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and the granddaughter of prominent freedom fighter Babu Shabilal Upadhyay. He was a distinguished educationist and retired as Head Professor of Political Science, Shivsagar College. She was the first woman from Assam’s Gorkha community to receive a master’s degree and set a historic milestone in women’s higher education. He received national recognition for his contribution to Gorkha and Assamese literature. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award in 2012 for his translation into Gorkha of the invaluable work of Assamese literature ‘Kareng Ligiri’ titled ‘Darbarki Susare’. Shabilal Upadhyay.