The Assam Tribune Group of publications, the oldest media house in northeast India, is facing a crisis. Employees of the group that publishes the English daily The Assam Tribune and Assamese daily Dainik Asom, recently came out in public, claiming that they have been deprived of their salaries for months. Social media is full of reports that the media group – established by Assamese entrepreneur Radha Govinda Baruah nearly 87 years ago – could be sold, which the management has denied.
The Assam Tribune was launched as a weekly newspaper on 4 August 1939 from Dibrugarh. It was later shifted to Guwahati and reshaped as a daily on 30 September 1946. It was the first English language daily published from Northeast India. Dainik Asom, launched on 4 August 1965, continues its journey as the longest-serving Assamese daily.
The Assam Tribune has a daily distribution of around 52,000 copies, while Dainik Asom has a circulation of 16,000, according to 2023 data from the directorate of information and public relations quoted by a media report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on the occasion of its platinum jubilee in 2014, whereas its diamond jubilee celebration was graced by former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999.
The Assam Tribune Employees’ Union (which was formed in 1956 and affiliated to the All India Newspaper Employees’ Federation) recently stated that the employees have been agitating since 13 May 2025 over unpaid salaries.
Addressing a press meet on 10 June, the ATEU representatives said employees of The Assam Tribune, Dainik Asom (along with a supplement named Asom Bani), Gariyoshi (a literary monthly magazine) along with Sahitya Prakash and Tribune Press did not receive their salaries for April and May (with a portion of March too). It was not known if the salaries were released when this article was published.
ATEU president Shiva Prasad Deka and general secretary Dugdha Ram Kalita alleged that a large number of employees were deprived of due benefits after their retirement. They, however, claimed that their agitation did not hamper the working hours of the media outlets.
Asserting that the group was first among newspaper houses in India to implement the Majithia Wage Board in 2010 for its 350-plus employees, the ATEU leaders lauded former managing director Prafulla Govinda Baruah (the second son of founder RG Baruah) for his efficient management policies. They claimed things changed after the present management took over
The management has attributed an outstanding payment (to the tune of Rs 6 crore) from the Assam government against published advertisements for the delay in salaries. The union has appealed to the government to support all media houses by regularly releasing payments for advertisements at higher rates and also encourage government employees, educational institutions, and libraries to buy the local newspapers regularly.
The union said media houses should look at other means to generate revenue rather than depending for government advertisements (which is the case with most small Indian newspaper groups).
The Assam Tribune Group, in an official statement, denied all news relating to the sale of the group as “misleading, entirely false and without merit.” The management said the newspaper group remains firmly committed to its editorial independence, journalistic integrity, and continued services to its readers, advertisers, and stakeholders, adding that all concerned should “disregard such baseless speculation and refrain from spreading misinformation.”
