Since last week, there has been a flurry of news items in social and mainstream media about Sanjukta Parashar, the superintendent of police in Assam’s Sonitpur district. They gave instances of her bravado, heaped richly-deserved praises on her, and many of them described her as the “first female IPS officer from Assam”.
Sadly for me, the articles were a reminder that popular history, both in Assam and the rest of India, has forgotten all about Yamin Hazarika. That petite lady wore a heavy mantle at a time when women were still defining their roles in India. She was selected in 1979 for the state police services DANIPS (B) and made it to Indira Gandhi’s security team. While it’s unclear whether she was later promoted to the Indian Police Services, most people in Assam saw Hazarika as no less than an IPS officer and a trailblazer in every way.
To those growing up in Guwahati in the ’90s, Hazarika was one of the few modern female Assamese icons. I met her only twice in my school years but she left a lasting impression on my young mind. She belonged to the Assamese Muslim community, from which few women icons had emerged until then. That impression stayed with me. So last week, when the news reports on Parashar began appearing, I decided to learn more about Hazarika. Who was she truly? To find out, I met her 80-year-old mother and her younger brother Yusuf Hazarika at their home in Guwahati. – READ MORE
