Bhogeswar Baruah (born 3 September 1940) is an Indian former athlete, coach, and military driver. He is the first recipient of the Arjuna award from Assam and Northeast India. At the 1966 Asian Games, he won the 800 metres in 1:49.4, setting a games record. He later won a silver medal at the 1970 Asian Games as part of the Indian 4 x 400 metre relay team, which finished in 3:11.9.
Born in Sibsagar and raised near the Joysagar tank, Baruah joined the Indian Army Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) as a driver in 1960. At the EME, he initially played football but later switched to athletics. Baruah made his first national appearance in 1963, where he was part of the 4 x 400 metre relay services team which won the All Indian Open Athletics Meet. The following year, he won the 400 metres and 800 metres at a Sri Lankan open athletics meeting. Baruah competed at the Asian Games in 1966 and 1970, and served on several Indian sporting committees. He retired from the army at the rank of Havildar, and worked for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) until his retirement in 1998.
Since 1984, the "Abhiruchi Sports Day" has been celebrated on his birthday in his honour. He was the chef de mission of the Assam contingent at the 2007 national games, and was awarded the Bir Chilarai award in 2019. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for a state sports school in honour of Baruah in 2019, and in 2021 the state government under Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that Baruah's birthday would officially be celebrated as Assam's sports day. In 2025, a national sports award named after Baruah was created, and the Sarusajai sports complex was renamed the Arjuna Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex.
Early life and education
Birth and family life
Bhogeswar Baruah was born on 3 September 1940, the sixth of eight children born to Bhodraswar Baruah () and Aikon Baruah (–1983). His family's ancestral village was Thakurpara, which was about a kilometre west of the Joysagar tank Tini-Ali. The Archaeological Survey of India established its first office in Sibsagar in 1935; Baruah's father, Bhodraswar, joined the Joysagar office as a chowkidar (a Class IV employee). Due to the job, Baruah's parents moved from Thakurpara and built a small bamboo-and-thatch house by the Joysagar tank. The family received ration benefits because his father's job was a central government one. The old Thakurpara home was left to his uncles and an aunt, and Baruah was born at the Joysagar Tank house.
While growing up, Baruah often accompanied his father while he worked in the field. He later described his father a "calm and quiet" man, "devoted" to his work. Bhodraswar Baruah was uneducated, and in addition to his government job, he did all his farming himself. The family's total land was around fifteen bighas and Baruah's father also worked on leased land. Their work included ploughing, harvesting, sowing, and carrying bundles of paddy on their shoulders. Baruah's father was also a local village healer, who treated the sick with traditional Assamese herbal medicine; Baruah asserted that his father never accepted any money for this practice. His father was also fond of sports, and during the time of British rule where football matches and horse racing were often held at Nazira, he would often go to watch football. Baruah's mother, Aikon, handled both the household chores and farm work. He described her as an "expert weaver" who spun yarn, and wove chadors and blankets on the loom. Baruah himself helped her by collecting castor and keseru leaves for the silkworms. He also described her in his biography as strict and "strong-willed".
Baruah had two elder brothers, three elder sisters (two of whom were married before his birth), one younger sister, and one younger brother. The large Joysagar tank was beside their home, and Baruah stated that from around the age of 3 he taught himself to swim.
Childhood and education
Baruah did not begin his education straightaway, and spent much of early childhood outdoors near the Joysagar tank. He was later enrolled at the Meteka primary school, which was the nearest one to him. His attendance at the school was irregular, as reaching the school required him to cross a big stream; bamboo bridges were only put up when it was dry so during monsoon season he had to travel by boat. A few years later, a school opened at Zolagaon, and he transferred there in Class III because it was closer. None of Baruah's elder sisters went to school, and of his two elder brothers: the older studied up to lower primary and the younger passed high school at Meteka.
After finishing at Zolagaon, Baruah joined Vidyapith school in Sibsagar town. At the school, he began to develop his interest in football. He became a right-sided defender, and played for the Sibsagar district at an Upper Assam Schools Tournament in Jorhat, where he competed against schools from Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Tinsukia and other areas. He later failed his matriculation exams, largely due to his focus on sports. Around the time of the second world war, he saw American soldiers fish, shoot, and drive; this later sparked an interest for him in joining the army. He learned to shoot a rifle by helping the American soldiers set up posts in the water, and learned how to drive from observing and copying how they used the clutch and gears in their jeeps.
Military career
Initial work
Despite having had ambitions to join the army for a long while, Baruah's military career began incidentally. In 1960, Baruah was hired to drive two men from Sibsagar to Jorhat, and he dropped them off in front of the Paradise hotel. Recruitment for the army was being held nearby in a field, and after watching the drills, Baruah was approached by an officer who asked him to join to which he agreed. He initially did not tell his father about the decision, though when he went home the same day he told his mother who accepted the choice when Baruah said that others were also joining.
Baruah was selected to become a driver for the Indian Army Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army in November 1960; the headquarters of the department were located at Secunderabad. During his first two months there, he did not undertake training activities such as army drills and parade routines, and instead focused on clean-up, maintenance and construction work.
The first stage of his basic training was platoon training. In this, he was taught drill commands and rifle-shooting training. After this, he completed the passing-out parade before he was posted to his unit. He did not undergo the full basic training schedule as he was training with the EME football team, and so only practiced for two days. Previously, Baruah observed the Home Guard training camp at the Joysagar tank where he observed the parade drills of the trainees, and had practiced rifle shooting with American soldiers. After passing the parade and being confirmed as a soldier, Baruah recounted that his allowances and facilities were improved.
Later years Baruah was reluctant to inform his father that he joined the army since he was his father's main help in farming. Instead, Baruah decided to divide the time into two parts during the planting season and the harvest season, so that he could return home to help with farming. He did not take leave during festivals such as Bihu. During his military career, he returned home twice annually to assist his father with farming.
After three years, Baruah was promoted from a constable to a Havildar. He did not focus on promotion much initially, but after seeing others promoted later on in his career, he became more concerned. He subsequently decided to apply for a home-posting near Assam to plan for post-retirement life. His first home posting was in Dimapur, where he drove army trucks to transport supplies to different areas. In Dimapur, his concerns over promotion, combined with his second child being due, influenced his decision to take voluntary retirement and return to farming in his village. He retired at the rank of Havildar.
Early sports career
Football
In the early stages of his military career, Baruah was often taken out to play different sports such as running, jumping, kabbadi, volleyball and football. He played as a right-sided defender in football and was later selected to join the main EME team. The main EME team also held matches against teams from the Air Force, AOC, and the P&T. Tarlok Singh, a former member of the Indian football team which won gold at the 1962 Asian games, was the captain of the team, and as there was no coach of the team, the training was supervised by senior players such as Singh. Baruah was selected at the right-back in the first eleven.
In 1962, the EME Secunderabad team went to Delhi to participate in the Durand cup where Baruah was in the starting eleven. It was the first time he had ever visited Delhi, and the team stayed at an army unit near the Red fort. In the team's first match, they defeated former champions, the Punjab police team. However, after a few days, the tournament was cancelled due to the Sino-Indian war. During the tournament, he met Talimeren Ao, captain of the first Indian national football team, and Indian international Sheoo Mewalal, both of whom would later work with Baruah as member of the India sports council. After their time at the Durand cup, they began playing practice matches against stronger local teams.
To participate in the Santosh trophy, Baruah attempted to qualify for the Andhra Pradesh state team which would allow him to participate in the tournament. For the selection of the state team, a special tournament was organised at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad, and the state team would be formed based on the performance of players in the tournament. The top five teams in the Hyderabad football league participated, and on the final day Baruah played against the Andhra Pradesh police team in a match which finished in a draw. After the end of the tournament, Baruah was not selected for the team, and attributed this experience as a contributing factor for his decision to move from team sports to an individual sport.
Transition to athletics After leaving football, Baruah tried numerous other sports. Although he primarily focused on football, Baruah often entered other events during inter-platoon competitions including 400 metres, relay races, long jump and javelin throw. He also tried boxing and swimming.
Despite having never boxed before, he entered an inter-platoon competition. He reached the final, but was injured and hospitalised; later deciding not to take up boxing again.–69 Baruah then leaned towards taking up swimming, where he met Bengali athlete and services member B.K. Dey. He advised Baruah that, in order to earn his colour service, he should take up athletics, and specifically the 400 metres. Under Dey's mentorship, Baruah trained during the off-season under Dey.
Athletics career
Early career Baruah began his running career with inter-platoon events, and won numerous 400 metres races. Then he began running in inter-department races between the army, navy and air force, where he again won the 400 metres as well as the relay. He finished second at the southern command meet which earned him a place at the Inter-Command championships in Pune, where the Northern, Eastern and Southern commands also competed. He finished third, earning a bronze medal, behind Makhan Singh who won the race. He later recalled that he was thrilled at winning a medal and his services colour within a year of switching from football.