Few will argue the fact that the famous student leader of yesteryears, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan, was a tragic hero with ?fatal flaws?, a character straight out of a Greek play. And it was those flaws which saw to it that Phukan would die a disenchanted man, his dreams having died long before him.

Born on April 25, 1956 at Sivasagar, Phukan studied in his hometown till his graduation from Sibsagar College, where he was the union general secretary. He subsequently studied law in Gauhati University and was the union?s general secretary in the Law College there.

He is survived by his wife, a daughter (a Class XII student) and his mother.

Phukan had his days in the sun, when as the general secretary of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) he led the anti-foreigners? movement along with former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

Those were tumultuous days in the state?s history and the mere mention of the words Prafulla-Bhrigu ? yes, they were always together ? was enough to bring out thousands, nay lakhs, out on the streets.

After the historic Assam Accord was signed in 1985, the softspoken man found himself home minister in the first Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) government led by Mahanta. But he soon fell out with him.

In 1991, he left the AGP to float the Natun Asom Gana Parishad (NAGP) with the late Dinesh Goswami. Both fared badly in that year?s Assembly elections and the Congress returned to power.

The NAGP was dissolved when Phukan and his group returned to the AGP before the 1996 Assembly elections. He even campaigned with Mahanta for the 1996 polls. But they fell out yet again.

He then launched the Asom Jatiya Sammilani in 1998, before joining the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2001 as working president of its state unit. He went on to become president of the unit and remained in the post till leaving the party last year to return to the AGP.

The main reason for his troubled political career, many would say, was his mild nature. In a political arena filled with in-your-face, even brash, leaders, Phukan was almost a misfit. In fact, his aides would say he was never assertive and allowed others to dictate terms.

But despite this, Phukan managed to keep intact what most of his friends in the party lost ? a clean image. It was something he assiduously guarded, like a prized jewel.

In many ways, Bhrigu Phukan stood out in the political arena. The odd man out. He lived and died a lonely man. But with him, an enigma also died.