Guwahati: Arani S. Hazarika, a 21-year-old from Guwahati, has become the first Assamese to earn a BA in Sanskrit and Classical Hindi from Balliol College, University of Oxford, completing the degree programme this month after three years of study.
This milestone was confirmed on Sunday and highlights a rare achievement for a student from India’s Northeast on the world’s classical-studies stage.
“Proud of you, Arani!
Heartiest congratulations to Arani S. Hazarika – the first Assamese to graduate in Sanskrit & Classical Hindi from Oxford’s legendary Balliol College! Your dedication to preserving our heritage, like studying Majuli’s palm-leaf manuscripts, embodies Assam’s intellectual spirit.
You’re an inspiration to young scholars everywhere. Wishing you boundless success ahead!”
— Dilip Saikia, BJP leader wrote on X on Sunday.
This celebratory message from a prominent political figure adds a powerful personal touch to Arani’s achievement.
Born and raised in the Noonmati area of Guwahati, Arani’s path to Balliol began with strong school-level foundations in languages and an early fascination with Sanskrit texts and philology. Her admission to Balliol one of Oxford’s oldest colleges and successful completion of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies programme reflect both individual perseverance and increasing visibility for Assam in global academic circles.
Local educators and community leaders welcomed the news as a spur for aspirants across the state. “This is proof that talent from Assam can stand beside the best in the world,” said a school principal .
Academic commentators note that a combined degree in Sanskrit and Classical Hindi opens doors to specialised fields such as textual criticism, manuscript studies and South Asian intellectual history areas where deep language training matters. Balliol’s curriculum, delivered under Oxford’s Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, emphasizes philology, comparative linguistics and cultural history, giving undergraduates rare exposure to primary classical sources.
Arani’s achievement has already provoked widespread coverage on social media and in regional and national outlets, prompting renewed conversations about scholarships, mentorship and preparatory support that can broaden access for students from Assam and other Northeastern states. “I hope my story encourages more young minds from Assam to dream big,” Arani said .
Educationists welcomed the moment but urged structural follow up,improved teacher training, stronger library collections, and targeted coaching for international applications if such successes are to become common rather than exceptional. For Assam, the spotlight on Arani is both a cause for celebration and a prompt to invest in the systems that produce scholars.
