Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture

Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture (ABILAC) is an autonomous research institute located at Rajaduar in North Guwahati, Assam, India. Established by the Government of Assam in 1989, the institute is dedicated to the study, research, and promotion of the languages, arts, and cultural traditions of Assam and Northeast India.

Named after the noted Sanskrit scholar and civil servant Anundoram Borooah, the institute conducts research projects, publishes scholarly works, organises academic programmes, and supports the preservation of indigenous languages and cultural heritage.

The institute is recognised as a research centre by Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University for doctoral-level research in language, literature, and cultural studies.

History

The Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture was established in 1989 by the Government of Assam as an autonomous institution dedicated to the advancement of linguistic and cultural research in the region.

The institute was founded in memory of Anundoram Borooah (1850–1889), one of Assam's earliest modern scholars and the first graduate and Indian Civil Service officer from the state. Borooah made significant contributions to Sanskrit scholarship and Indological studies during the late nineteenth century.

Since its inception, the institute has been involved in research and documentation projects related to languages, literature, folklore, and cultural traditions of Assam and the wider northeastern region of India.

Campus

The institute is located at Rajaduar in North Guwahati. The campus houses administrative offices, research departments, seminar halls, and a specialised library supporting research in humanities and cultural studies.

The ABILAC library contains a collection of more than 10,000 books and several hundred journals related to linguistics, literature, folklore, religion, philosophy, and cultural studies, serving as a resource for scholars and researchers working on Northeast Indian languages and cultures.

Departments

To carry out specialised research activities, ABILAC operates several academic departments:

• Department of Language and Linguistics
• Department of Literature and Translation
• Department of Folklore and Oral Traditions
• Department of Culture, Art and Music

In addition, the institute maintains a Sanskrit Studies Cell devoted to research in classical Sanskrit texts and Indological studies.

Research and publications

The institute undertakes a variety of research projects on languages and cultural traditions of Northeast India. One of its important initiatives has been the preparation of multilingual dictionaries to document indigenous languages such as Mising, Rabha, Bodo, Karbi, and Dimasa.

ABILAC also publishes scholarly books and research works related to linguistics, literature, folklore, and cultural heritage. Its academic journal Anandam is published annually and focuses on themes related to language, art, and culture.

In addition to print publications, the institute has organised workshops and research programmes aimed at preserving endangered languages of Assam, including projects related to the documentation and standardisation of languages such as Tiwa.

Cultural preservation initiatives

The institute plays an important role in the preservation and documentation of Assamese literary heritage. In 2024, ABILAC collaborated with the Nanda Talukdar Foundation under the “Digitizing Assam” initiative to digitise rare Assamese books and manuscripts held in its library collections.

Such initiatives aim to safeguard literary materials published during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and make them accessible to scholars and the wider public.

Anundoram Borooah Award

The Anundoram Borooah Award was instituted by the institute in 1991 to honour distinguished scholars who have made outstanding contributions to Sanskrit, linguistics, literary studies, and cultural research.

The award includes a cash prize, citation, and publications of the institute, and is presented annually to scholars working in fields related to language, literature, and cultural studies.

Recipients have included several prominent linguists, historians, and scholars associated with Assamese and Indian cultural studies.

Collaborations

The institute collaborates with academic organisations, universities, and research bodies to promote interdisciplinary studies in language and culture.

In 2025, ABILAC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute for Educational and Developmental Studies (IEDS) to promote academic exchange, joint research initiatives, and collaborative programmes in language and cultural studies.

See also

• Anundoram Borooah
• Culture of Assam
• Assamese language