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Professor Amalendu Guha's passing away on the morning of 7 May 2015 is a huge loss for the world of historical scholarship in India. It will not be an exaggeration to describe him as a pioneer of modern history of Assam and among the tallest of Indian historians of twentieth century. Starting his career as a young teacher in Darrang College, Tezpur in 1948, he went on to become one of the greatest historians of North East India. His scholarship, though well known for works on Assam, also included some of the finest research works on aspects of quantitative, entrepreneurial and economic history of modern India. Far less known but equally important was his work on Central Asia and Afghanistan. His works covering the political, social and economic history of peasants, labour and middle classes of Assam inspired a whole generation of younger scholars. Despite reaching such heights in his intellectual life Guha's modesty was exemplary. Amalendu Da or Guha Sir, as he was addressed affectionately, lived a long and active life which was an incredible combination of a great historian, eminent poet and literary figure, both in the Bengali and Assamese languages, and a communist activist at the grassroots. The hallmark of his scholarship was rigour, utmost care for detail, and sophistication. One of the finest historians of our times, his engagement with and concern for the changing world around him were shaped by his deep empathy for the poor and working classes. Throughout his life he simultaneously engaged with the historical past and the present of North East India with equal seriousness and enthusiasm.