Jayanta Baruah

Jayanta Baruah (Assamese: জয়ন্ত বৰুৱা) is a media entrepreneur from Assam. He is the editor of Assamese daily Asomiya Pratidin and the owner of Sadin-Pratidin Group which also publishes Sadin, Nandini, Anuradha Sharma Pujari and runs Pratidin Time news channel. He is the grandson of Hemchandra Barua, known for compiling the first Assamese language Hemkosh.
== Early life ==
Jayanta Baruah was born on 9 August, 1959 in Assam's Jorhat to father Debananda Baruah and mother Kalpana Baruah. His father, Debananda Baruah was a government servant who worked in the state's rural development department . 
Jayanta Baruah's early schooling took place at Kalgachia ME School in Assam's Barpeta district. Owing to his father's transferable job, Baruah's schooling continued at Dongkamukam High School in Dongkamukam in Assam's Karbi Anglong district. He went on to study Science at B. Borooah College in Guwahati.
In his youth, Jayanta Baruah had a brief stint in politics with his association with the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) . He also took part in the massive Assam Movement|Assam movement against illegal immigrants in the state. Later on, he ventured into the media industry. He started the Sadin-Pratidin Group in 1988 with its weekly newspaper publication Sadin going into print the following year.
== Media ventures ==
* Sadin
Sadin was established in 1989 as a weekly tabloid which covers news, views, information and entertainment from Assam. It is also available online and covers local, national and international issues along with politics and several other segments. Sadin was conceptualized in 1988 with literary enthusiast Vipul Mahanta, senior journalist late Tilak Hazarika and Jayanta Baruah with the aim to cater to the people with news focusing on socio-political issues.
* Asomiya Pratidin 
Asomiya Pratidin is an Assamese language daily published under the Sadin-Pratidin Group. It was established in 1995. Asomiya Pratidin was once led by martyred radical journalist and human rights activist Parag Kumar Das , who served as the chief editor of the newspaper. Asomiya Pratidin has four editions printed from Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Bongaigaon and North Lakhimpur. In 2008, Asomiya Pratidin entered the Limca Book of Records as one of the most widely circulated regional language newspapers in Assam . 
* Nandini 
Nandini is a monthly women's magazine which is published by the Jayanta Baruah-led Sadin-Pratidin Group. It was established in the year 2000. Maini Mahanta is the editor of the magazine.
* Satsori 
Satsori was established in 2005 as a literary magazine under the leadership of founding editor late Homen Borgohain . The present editor of Satsori is renowned Assamese journalist and author Anuradha Sharma Pujari.
* Patidin Time
Pratidin Time was started in 2015 as a television news channel covering issues from across Assam and the Northeast India|Northeast. Pratidin Time covers topics including politics, sports, culture and issues of national and international importance. The programs on the channel range from talk shows to analysis and infotainment. Noted journalists including Nitumoni Saikia and Talukdar are currently associated with Pratidin Time.
* Pratidin Digital
With the advent of the digital age, the Sadin-Pratidin Group also ventured into it with the digital editions of Asomiya Pratidin and Pratidin Time in 2015. While Asomiya Pratidin caters to the Assamese audience, Pratidin Time is an English language|English language news portal.
== Humanitarian efforts ==
* Jayanta Baruah established the Oja Hemchandra Baruah Vidya Mandir in Guwahati in 1992. The school was named in honour of his grandfather, and strives to provide education to the less fortunate children of society, free of cost. 
* As a member of the Asam Sahitya Sabha|Assam Sahitya Sabha and the convenor of the 'Jatiya Nyash Puji', he worked towards growing the corpus fund initiated in 1981 for the self-sustenance of the society and during his tenure, the fund grew considerably.
* Jayanta Baruah set up the Achievers’ Awards to recognize and encourage the efforts of people who have reached great heights in their respective walks of life. Achievers from the fields of Art and Culture, Business, Journalism, Civil Administration, Social Activists, and the likes are felicitated and recognized for the efforts towards society.
* In 2018, Jayanta Baruah conceptualized a biennial award named after his late grandfather as ‘Hemchandra Baruah Literary Awards’. The award is presented every two years to people who have excelled in the field of Language and Literature. A financial assistance of Rs 2 lakhs is also awarded to the winner. The first award ceremony was presided by the then Sahitya Akademi President Shri Chandrashekhara Kambara as the chief guest.
* In September 2022, Jayanta Baruah unveiled the braille version of the first etymological Assamese dictionary Hemkosh , for the visually-impaired. He was praised for his efforts by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi , who mentioned Baruah in his 'Mann Ki Baat' podcast . The braille dictionary will be distributed free of cost.
== Achievements ==
* In 2008, Baruah received the Outstanding Contribution of Vernacular Daily Award by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh|Dr. Manmohan Singh. The award was handed by Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA).
* In 2017, Jayanta Baruah was awarded the prestigious Mahabir Lachit Award by the then Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The award was conferred on him by the Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad.
* Jayanta Baruah was among eight eminent personalities to be felicitated by the Sahitya Sabha in 2018. The Nalbari district Sahitya Sabha presented him with the Mahendra Narayan Chaudhury Memorial Award at Nalbari Natya Mandir .
* In 2019, Jayanta Baruah's efforts were recognized by Sanskritik Mahasabha Assam, a socio-cultural group, who presented him with the Sangbad Surjya award .
* The Asam Sahitya Sabha|Assam Sahitya Sabha conferred the prestigious Sashi Chandra Barbaruah Award to Jayanta Baruah in 2019 . The award was presented at the 21st North East Book Fair by the then Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu.
Category:1959 births
Category:Entrepreneurs