Context: Recently,  Assam Cabinet announced that Gaon Buras (village headman), village-level functionaries of the district administration, will henceforth be called ‘Gaon Pradhans’.

• The government has reasoned that a number of young men (and women) become Gaon Buras, and thus, the word ‘Bura’ (meaning old in Assamese) is no longer appropriate.
• While it is yet to be notified, the move has been criticised by several in Assam as an imposition on the culture and language of the state.
• One needs to be a Class X pass, and as per the new Cabinet decision, a minimum of 30 years of age (upper limit 65) to apply for the post.

Colonial Legacy

• The institution of Gaon Bura in Assam dates back to the colonial era, when the British appointed the oldest person in the village as the head for overseeing matters relating to land and revenue in a particular area.
• The position would usually go to the oldest, most knowledgeable man who had good personal ties with everyone in a village, or a cluster of small villages.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, too, the Gaon Buras (and Buris) are the most important village-level functionaries.
• Post-independence, the government continued with the institution and made the Gaon Bura a formal part of the Assam Revenue and Disaster Management department, increasing his responsibilities, and eventually introducing a small honorarium for the role.

Current role of Gaon Bura

• Gaon Bura act as eyes, nose, ear of the district administration at the village level.
• A Gaon Bura is paid a monthly honorarium of Rs 9,000.
• The role commands respect, and the responsibilities.
• Their work includes recording births and deaths.
• They also helping mauzadar in revenue collection, notifying circle officers if there is any encroachment on land, helping police investigate crime, among others.
• In recent years, their role has become more multifarious — whether it involves distribution of relief material during natural disasters like flood, maintaining a log of Covid-19 cases in the village, organising vaccination camps, functioning as booth-level officers during elections etc.