The President of India conferred ‘Padma Shri’ to Prof. Arunoday Saha from Tripura for his contribution in the field of Literature and Education during Civil Investiture Ceremony in New Delhi today.

Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha has congratulated Prof. Saha for this remarkable achievement.

Prof. Arunoday Saha is an economist and a renowned literary personality with a vast reader base in India and abroad. He is the first and founding Vice-Chancellor of Tripura University (a Central University) and the former Chairman of Tripura State Higher Education Council.

Born on February 4th, 1948 in Sepahijala district, Tripura, Prof. Saha did his schooling from Bishalgarh Higher Secondary School. He studied briefly at Umakanta Academy, Agartala. He attended M.B.B College in Tripura to pursue his pre-university course before moving to the prestigious Presidency College, Kolkata, to obtain his bachelor's degree in Economics. He completed his master's in Economics from Calcutta University and received a Ph.D in Economics from Utah State University, USA.

Prof. Saha during his four-and-a-half decades-long professional career held various positions in academic and civil administration. He began his professional career as a school teacher, and his first assignment was at Bir Bikram Institute, Dharmanagar, North Tripura. After serving there for brief period, he moved to Agartala to join Ram thakur College as a faculty of economics. He joined Tripura University as a teaching faculty in 1978 when it was just a study centre under Calcutta University. Tripura University became a fully pledged state university in 1987, and in 2007, it became a Central University. He served Tripura University in all stages of progress and promotion. He was a professor of Economics there, and in 2007, he was trusted with the responsibility of the first and founding Vice-chancellor of Tripura University (Central University) to lead it from the front.

Prof. Saha returned back to India after completing his Ph.D in the USA with his newly acquired skills, experience, and wisdom to serve the people of his home state and country, and he did so successfully throughout his professional career and thereafter.

He is a prolific writer in Bengali literature. His writings have taken the flavor of cultural tradition and harmony of Tripura beyond the geographical and cultural boundaries and barriers to have a long-lasting impact on the minds and thoughts of the readers. He has made an immense contribution to strengthening the treasure house of the literature of Tripura. He has inspired writers of his time and the next generation. His writings and literary creations reflect the cultural and traditional bonds of the two communities, the tribal and non-tribal of the state of Tripura. He enjoys the love and appreciation of his readers from all across the globe.

To recognise and acknowledge his service and contribution to society through education and literature, Prof. Saha was conferred with the prestigious ‘Tripura Vibhushan Samman-2024’, the highest civilian award of the Government of Tripura.