ASSAM: N Assam, the gamosa, a handwoven towel-scarf, is a cultural symbol of immense pride. For Numal Momin, the Deputy Speaker of the Assam Assembly, it is also a lifesaver, paired with the medicines he carries during his travels. This unique blend of tradition and practicality underscores his dual role as a politician and a doctor.
On a recent visit to his home constituency, Bokajan, in the Karbi Anglong district bordering Nagaland, Momin’s convoy came to an abrupt halt. A highway mishap had left a couple lying unconscious after a collision between their two-wheeler and a car. The scene was grim, with bystanders fearing the worst.
“It was around 4.30 pm and the people thought the couple, especially the woman, was dead. I could feel her pulse, but she was in critical condition with an arm and a leg broken. I plucked some strips of bamboo from a roadside fence, tied them around her broken arm and leg with the gamosas in my car to serve as makeshift splints, put her in my car and took her to the nearest hospital. She and her husband recovered in time to lead normal lives,” Momin recalls.
Since 2016, Momin has been a two-time BJP legislator. However, to the people of his constituency, he is more than a politician; he is a reliable doctor on call. His constituency, one of the less developed areas, benefits immensely from his medical expertise whenever he visits Bokajan town or his native village, Dillawjan, about 290 km east of Guwahati.
Momin’s journey to becoming a doctor was fraught with challenges. Born in Guwahati in 1972, he spent his childhood in Dillawjan. His father, Bikram Raddly Momin, had quit his job with Indian Airlines to look after his grandfather and started farming to make ends meet.
“I cleared class 10 from the Balipathar High School near our village in 1989 and class 12 in the science stream from Diphu Government College, about 70 km away from my home, two years later. We had no money for my higher education. I engaged in farming to augment the family income,” Momin says.
His fortunes changed in 1994 when a relative, who taught at Cotton College, Assam’s premier educational institution, brought him to Guwahati and enrolled him in a two-month coaching class for the MBBS entrance exam. He topped the exam in the Scheduled Tribe category.
“Dr. RPM Bordoloi, my aunt, funded my medical education from her pension. She is the first lady Ph.D. from my Garo community,” Momin said.
After completing his two-year internship at the Gauhati Medical Collee and Hospital, Momin worked in two hospitals in Delhi to save enough for his MD at the Assam Medical College (AMC) in Dibrugarh. Despite financial stability brought by his brothers’ employment, Momin remained focused on his goal. He completed his MD in 2006 and worked for three years at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Shillong before joining AMC as a Registrar. By 2011, he was an assistant professor at GMCH, a position he resigned from in 2016 to contest the Bokajan seat on a BJP ticket.
Since his election, Momin has gone beyond the typical duties of a legislator. He has employed a “liaison officer” at GMCH to ensure every patient referred from his constituency receives special attention.
“His duty is to monitor every patient from my area, which department he or she is admitted to so that I can follow up with the doctors concerned in person or over the phone. Additionally, I have arranged with some pharmacies to provide medicines to needy patients on credit. I reimburse them according to my convenience,” the MLA says.
Momin’s wife, Anupama Hajong, a gynaecologist at a private hospital, is supportive of his extensive community service. His passion for helping patients started during his student days, organizing blood donation camps and aligning with Seva Bharti to conduct up to 26 free health camps a year. His official programs and political rallies often transform into “mini medicals” where he conducts health check-ups and prescribes medicines.
Momin underplays his service. “It is nothing compared to the love the people shower on me,” he says, attributing his altruistic drive to his father, who established eight schools around Dillawjan and taught poor students for free despite financial struggles. Momin hopes his children—a daughter pursuing a degree and a son in high school—will carry forward this tradition of service.