The roots of the Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha (estd. 19830), the largest socio-religious organization in Assam and also one of the oldest in India, may be traced to the early 20th century when the great Sankaradeva Movement, afflicted by several ills, was in urgent need for reform.

According to Dr Maheswar Neog, some sections of Assam Vaisnavas had begun tolerating and even "trysted with heresies" emphatically denounced by Sankaradeva, Madhavadeva, Damodaradeva and all the other saint-reformers. "And along with this has come the disappearance of one of the finest contents of religion, catholicity." He was referring to the vicious casteism that threatened to tear apart the very fabric of Assamese society. In fact, the situation was so bad that even the Namghars, the most democratic of all institutions, were getting segmented of the basis of castes. And, quite unsurprisingly, almost all of these disturbing developments were accompanied by a gross dilution of Sankaradeva's core ideology.

At this axial period, as in other parts of India, so also in Assam, several socially conscious individuals came together, formed organizations and embarked on a programme of reform. Thus, while literarly stalwarts like Lakshminath Bezbararoah fought the social evils through the pen on the intellectual front, at the grass-roots level, numerous organizations like Prarthana Sabha, Jnanamalini Sabha etc held study circles, Kirtana-ghosha reading sessions, religious seminars etc in every nook and corner of the State. Audrey Cantlie who surveys the period in The Assamese, writes, " The reform sects of the 1930s can be viewed as a transformation of the traditional religious systems to meet the requirements of citizenship in a modem democratic state." In their view, the original message of Sankaradeve has been corrupted in the course of transmission so that it no longer corresponds to the religion of the founder. And therefore, "the reform sects seek, on the basis of his (Sankaradeva's) writings, to abolish caste and introduce widespread social reforms."

But although many organizations had sprung up, the necessity of an umbrella organization which would unite all these into one body was increasingly felt. In order to fill this void, the Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha came into existence.This became possible when two persons, Ramakanta Muktiar and Haladhar Bhuyan came together at Nagaon in the year 1928 and formed a small 'publicity centre' at a place called Palasoni near Nagaon town with the active support of the Jnanamalini Sabha. This centre was named as ' Sankara Sangha' in 1930. Attracted by its ideology, all those scattered units which had been engaged in reform activities since 1909-10 now came together under its umbrella and the reform activity gathered momentum. Eminent scholars and intellectuals of the period such as Gopika Ballabh Goswami, Dambarudhar Baruah, Bhuban Chandra Bhuyan, Rameswar Barooah and many others led the Sangha in its initial years.

The formation of the Sangha had a massive impact all over Assam. It had to face stiff resistance from the protagonists of orthodoxy and many public debates were organized in different places of Nagaon, Kamrup, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat districts. There was a marathon debate for long 23 days in Barpeta. The Sangha registered impressive victories in these debates. Much of the credit behind the success of the Sangha during those early years goes to Haladhar Bhuyan who was an excellent organizer and prime strategist. In one public meeting held at Suwalkuchi, he placed Rs 2000 in a bundle on the stage and announced it as a reward for anybody who could prove Sankaradev's religion as implemented by the Sangha to be contrary to the Hindu sastras. Although there were many scholars assembled on that occasion, nobody dared to come forward.

As a result to these victories, the credibility and popularity of the Sangha increased by leaps and bounds. The first ever state level committee of the Sangha was formed on February 4, 1934 in Sankaradeva Mandir premises of Nagaon town. The fourth conference held in 1935 was presided over by Nilamani Phukan, the great litterateur, as Padadhikar. As per his suggestion, the name of the organization was changed to 'Sri Sri Sankaradeva Sangha'. Later, this name was changd yet again in the North Lakhimpur session of the Sangha (1970), when it became 'Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha'. From the very beginning, the Sangha received the support and goodwill of a wide cross-section of society in Assam. Enlightened Satradhikars like Pitambar Deva Goswami (Garmur Satra), Tirthanath Goswami (Dhalar Satra), Gahan Chandra Goswami (Nikamul Satra) and others presided over the annual sessions of the Sangha. The Sahityarathi if Assam Lakshminath Bezbaroah sent his best wishes to the Sangha in a message that was read out in the 1933 session. Many other intellectual giants also joined the Sangha. The Silver Jubilee Session in 1956 was presided over by eminent scholar Dimbeswar Neog as Padadhikar. A new thinking was infused into the Sangha and emphasis was given on opening of separate wings for the growth and nourishment of Sankari literature and culture. Bishnu Prasad Rabha inaugurated the cultural function of this session.

The headquarter of the Sangha was established in Kalongpar, Nagaon on July 27, 1969. A cultural centre was established at Guwahati in 1985. The cultural wing of the Sangha was started in 1957 followed by the formation of a literary wing. It has, over the years, published many important books and monographs, chief among which are the complete works of Srimanta Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, the 12 Cantos of the Sri-mad-Bhiagavata and the English translation of the Kirttana.

But the primary focus of the Sangha remains the propagation of the pure creed of Sankaradeva at the grass-roots level, putting an end to all class and caste distinctions along with other obscurantist practices and of course, putting and end to the religious distortion of the Vaisnava faith.These are the ideals which drive the Sangha as it tries to build a robust and healthy society in Assam.