Nava Thakuria-
Amid existential crisis in northeast India’s well-known media house the Assam Tribune group of newspapers, which worsened after the Covid-19 pandemic, a popular Assamese weekly newspaper lost its publication in the later part of 2025. Asom Bani, once a mainstream weekly for Assamese readers for decades, stopped hitting the stand since September last year, as the management lost interest to continue its printing on every Friday. Even though the seven decades old Guwahati-based Assamese-language weekly was lost in the media market, the management did not make any statement about Asom Bani’s fate. Prior to its departure, the weekly was merged with Dainik Asom, an acclaimed Assamese daily from the prestigious media house, as its Friday supplement.
Once edited by prominent Assamese journalist-authors namely Satish Chandra Kakati, Tilak Hazarika, Phani Talukdar, Nirod Chowdhury, Homen Bargohain, Chandraprasad Shaikia, the weekly had Dilip Chandan as its last editor, who served Asom Bani for nearly three decades. Launched on 1 July 1955 by legendary Assamese entrepreneur Radha Govinda Baruah, the weekly witnessed and reported various important socio-political developments including Assamese medium (of instruction in schools) movement, Assam anti-influx agitation, abrupt rising of separatist-influenced insurgency, social unrest, emergence of regional politics and its diminishing popularity with all sincerity to the indigenous population.
As the pandemic severely affected the circulation of all newspapers published by the Assam Tribune group, the subsequent impact was observed in shrinking advertisement revenues from commercial entities. Like many other media institutions across India, the Assam Tribune group also faced a severe financial crisis that started reflecting in irregular salary disbursements to the employees including the working journalists. The employees union came to the public with various difficulties including the unpaid dues meant for the retired employees. The union leaders also made allegations that their group was not receiving a heavy amount of money from the State information & public relations directorate (against the published advertisements).
Soon rumours spread over the probable sale of the entire media group to another city-based television house. But the Assam Tribune management strongly denied it terming those as false portrayals. In an official statement, the management assured its firm commitment ‘to its editorial independence, journalistic integrity, and continued services to its readers, advertisers, and stakeholders’. The management even urged all concerned to ‘disregard such baseless speculation and refrain from spreading misinformation’. Needless to mention that its primary news outlet The Assam Tribune, which came to light on 4 August 1939 (first editor being Lakshminath Phukan) and continues to be the highest circulated English daily in the north-eastern region.
But assurances of the management led by Prafulla Govinda Baruah (second son of RG Baruah, who lately died on 14 December at the age of 93) did not prevent from handing over the responsibility of Dainik Asom, by now it’s over six decades old publication, to a different media group owned by young entrepreneur Kishor Borah that runs an Assamese satellite news channel ND24. The deal was made public on 17 September last year following which new management took the responsibility to publish Dainik Asom, but did not prefer to take care of Asom Bani (which already ceased to be an independent publication). As a supplement of Dainik Asom, the weekly hit the stands on 12 September 2025 for the last time.
The new management of Dainik Asom did not pick up all the engaged media employees and on a single day on 18 September over 70 employees (many of them were enjoying extended tenures with a monthly lump sum payment) lost their jobs. The Assam Tribune management assured them of all legal dues within a few weeks, but it was not materialised. Having no options, they have approached the labour court demanding their dues (which seemingly to the tune of rupees six crores altogether). It’s unfortunate that the media house, which was India’s first institution to implement the recommendations of statutory Majithia Wage Board in 2012, now takes the route of escapists (avoiding the legal payments to the retired employees).
Media observers believe that the Tribune house usually maintained its credibility while disseminating information, editorial viewpoints and other pieces of articles, but in recent times the same principles were largely compromised. Their prime mover (The Assam Tribune) lavishly supported the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement that broke out in 2019, where it provided huge space to the public uprising that denounced the Union government’s initiative to politically support the persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian families coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to India. The chaos engulfed the Brahmaputra valley of Assam for weeks with the narrative that the new citizenship law would discredit the Assam Accord (signed in 1985 to culminate the six years long anti-foreigner agitation).
Moreover, the people of Assam remember when the newspaper produced a series of voluminous reports on the backdrop of a city press club election with little credibility, where the editorial focus was exposed as biased, unprofessional and maligned with character assassinations to the then secretary of Guwahati Press Club putting its hard earned integrity on stake. The Assam Tribune in particular exercised its liberty (with no accountability) to report over the matter as some ill-motive reporters callously planned. The present financial status of Assam Tribune group remains pathetic, but it was not entirely orchestrated by the pandemic alone, rather the situation made complicated by a section of arrogant media professionals, who enjoyed all due benefits but bet upon creating disorders in the media house, shockingly where the management turned out to be a mute spectator.
