Skip to content Skip to navigation

The First Indian Leader trying to Prevent Partition of India

Please look at the 1946 photo from the London Parliamentary Archive --- the individual standing, with left face seen in the photograph, with clenched fists on the table, is Gopinath Bardoloi. Please look at the scare on the face of the Member of the British Cabinet Mission.


Partition of India in August 1947 is an unforgettable tragedy where a million innocent people lost their lives and belongings.


British Administration put up two plans, one after the other, for Partition of India. The first plan, known as "Cabinet Mission Plan" (AKA "Grouping Plan") was presented by a British Cabinet Mission in March 1946. One Indian leader, Gopinath Bardoloi, known as "Gopinath of Assam", thwarted that plan with help from Mahatma Gandhi. Some Indian leaders, led by Jawaharlal Nehru (who became very angry at "Gopinath of Assam") did not mind partition of India in order to grab political power.


A second plan to partition India was forwarded by Bengali leaders in April 1947 who wanted to dissect India to carve out an independent Bengal --- this ignonimous plan was known as "Suhrawardy-Sarat Bose Plan".


One year after the British Cabinet Mission Plan, the British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, arrived India with the third proposal known as "Mountbatten Plan" in June -July 1947. Fully supported by Nehru, India was partioned on August 15, 1947 by the Mountbatten Plan. Subsequent communal riots claimed millions of lives and unimaginable, unforgettable suffering.


If this matter is discussed with a verified time-line, the truth will come out that "Gopinath of Assam" was the only Indian leader besides Mahatma Gandhi who stopped Partition of India ---- proving the true "Assamese Grit" that is needed by the Assamese again today for the survival of Assam.


Himendra Thakur
Boston, USA


Photo has been taken from this page.

Comments

Pallavi Barua's picture

Today, Assam has Nehru Stadium, Nehru Park, etc. These have been named after a person who didn't provide any helping hand to Gopinath Bordoloi when he was fighting against Assam being clubbed with erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)in 1947. The only thing which mattered to Pt. Nehru was the Prime Minister's chair. On assumption of the office of the PM, Nehru thought of using Assam as a dumping yard for refugees from erstwhile East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Here is an excerpt from a letter which Nehru wrote to Gopinath Bordoloi, "...If Assam adopts an attitude of incapacity to solve the refugee problem, then the claims of Assam for financial help obviously suffer."
Ajoy Warisa's picture

How is assam different from bangladesh now? 38 years of infiltration - what is left of assam? when will New Delhi awake from its slumber?
Anwar A. Ansari's picture

By accepting the Cabinet Mission Plan unanimously and unconditionally, Jinnah and his Muslim League had drawn a curtain to all that had gone before. Then Indian National Congress gave its approval, not unanimous, And then, according to Abul Kalam Azad, happened something that changed the course of history - Nehru's repudiation of the agreement by declaring "we are unfettered by any agreement". By unanimously approving the Cabinet Mission Plan, Jinnah and his Muslim League had put a lid on everything past. I have read a lot of books and articles on the subject of 'Partition of India'. None, repeat none, carries this episode of Nehru's 10 July press conference. And all books and articles give quotations from Abul Kalam Mazda's 'India Wins Freedom'. Again, none, repeat none, gives the passages that I have given in my article, below. Why? Abul Kalam Azad, giving account of the A.I.C.C.'s passing the resolution to approve the Cabinet Mission Plan, says: "Now happened one of those unfortunate events which changed the course of history. On 10 July, Jawaharlal held a Press Conference in Bombay in which he made a statement which in normal circumstances might have passed almost unnoticed, but in the existing atmosphere of suspicion and hatred, set in train a most unfortunate series of consequences. Some Press representatives asked him whether with the passing of the Resolution by A.I.C.C., the Congress had accepted the Plan in toto, including the composition of the interim Government. "Jawaharlal stated in reply that Congress would enter the Constituent Assembly 'completely unfettered by agreements and free to meet all situations as they arise.' (Inverted comas of the author) "Press representatives further asked if this meant that the Cabinet Mission Plan could be modified. "Jawaharlal replied emphatically that the Congress had agreed only to participate in the Constituent Assembly and regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best. "I must place on record that Jawaharlal's statement was wrong. It was not correct to say that Congress was free to modify the Plan as it pleased. ................................................................. These matters could not be changed unilaterally by Congress without the consent of other parties to the agreement. "The Working Committee felt that it faced a dilemma. On the one side, the prestige of the Congress President was at stake. On the other, the settlement ....... was in danger. To repudiate the President's statement would weaken the organization but to give up the Cabinet Mission Plan would ruin the country. Finally, we drafted a Resolution which made no reference to the Press Conference but reaffirmed the decision of the A.I.C.C. "His Excellency the Viceroy, with the approval of His Majesty's Government, has invited the President of the Congress to take proposals for the immediate formation of an interim Government and the President of the Congress has accepted the invitation. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru will shortly visit New Delhi to discuss this proposal with His Excellency the Viceroy." A few passages further, Abul Kalam Azad says: My comments: Lord Wavell, the Viceroy, had earlier declared that whichever party first accepted the plan, would be invited to form the Interim Government. That gutless Viceroy went back on his promise and bypassing Jinnah in blatant deceit invited the President of the Congress instead to form the Interim Government, who had already repudiated the Cabinet Mission Plan and whose catalogue of mistakes had ruined the unity of India. The gutless, supine and myopic leadership of the Indian National Congress could not see woods from the trees and, in all lunacy, went on to pass a resolution which begins unashamedly by shoving all the blame on the Muslim League. They were so blinded by their selfish interest that they could not see the impending catastrophe by not calling a spade a spade and, as Abul Kalam Azad has recorded, completely omitted even the mention of the bone of contention: the notorious 10 July Nehru Press Conference. The imbecile leadership of Indian National Congress came out in full force to cover up the Himalayan blunder of Nehru rather than rectifying it, which blunder according to Azad changed the course of history (of India). What a farce! What a farce!! The display of lunacy did not stop there. Lord Wavell, in utter insanity, called upon Jawaharlal Nehru, who had repudiated the Cabinet Mission Plan agreement, to form the Interim Government of India. And then all those lunatics, Congress leadership, Wavell and all, went on to blame Mr. Jinnah for the partition. What hypocrisy! What hypocrisy!! It is not Jinnah who brought about the partition of India; it is the duo of the gutless, spineless, unashamed Jawaharlal Nehru and the self-opinionated, egoistic Lord Mountbatten (now in control) who brought about the partition and the destruction upon India. These two demagogues, Nehru and Mountbatten, preferred the ruination of the country over the false prestige of the Congress President. (It still remains an enigma that Nehru had earlier gone to Malaysia and met Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander. Mountbatten, a soldier in uniform on active war service, then made a momentous political statement of great significance by calling Nehru “the future Prime Minister of India”.) Going by the account of events given by Azad that changed the course of history, there is only one single reason of the disastrous partition of India: The display of Nehru's obnoxious & foul diplomacy at the time!!! And the Indian National Congress going along with it. Thus, united India was sacrificed at the altar of false prestige of the President of Indian National Congress. Events have proved Gopinath was a shortsighted man. Anwar Ansari, Harrow, Middlesex, England.
Himjyoti Talukdar's picture

Is somewhere mentioned that the person addressing the meeting is Gopinath Bordoloi? According to few sources He's Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Request author to clarify the issue with sources. 

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Moran : Suspected ULFA activists hurled a bomb at Moran in front of Mahabir Bhawan under Moranhat PS. No casualities have been reported so far.
Celebrating freedom is a basic human right. But the people of Assam or the northeast for that matter have been deprived of this joyous occasion for so long that it has lost its charm completely. The shadow of guns have always prohibited the people to let their hair down freely on these special days be it a Republic Day or an Independence Day.When the entire nation erupts in joy celebrating these days of national significance Assam watches waiting on the sidelines awaiting a day when it too can partake in the festivities.The people are unable to exercise their basic rights freely due to the decree of rebel organizations. As expected a series of serial bombings across the state marred the...
Assam Association, Delhi has celebrated the 61st Independence day at their Cultural Centre Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan located at Qutub Institutional Area. This was the second consecutive year that the association has been celebrating the occasion.The National Flag was unfurled jointly by the President and General Secretary. Speaking on the occasion, the President Mr. A Barua said that this is a very historic occasion as India celebrates its Diamond jubilee year of independence. It was in the same year a few people from Assam formed the 'Assam Sangha"- which later was renamed as "Assam Association, Delhi". India has made tremendous progress against many odds. It is growing...
Guwahati: To mark the 61st anniversary of Indian Independence Day, a function was organized on the campus of the Guwahati Press Club on Wednesday. On the occasion, the National flag was hoisted by noted litterateur Nirupama Borgohain and veteran journalist Dhirendranath Chakrabarty led the rituals of paying tributes to the martyrs of the freedom struggle. The function was organized in response to the call given by 16 journalists, who asked the people of the State to celebrate the Independence Day defying the diktats of the militants.Hoisting the flag, Ms Borgohain underlined the significance of Independence Day celebrations in today's context and she called upon the young generations...
New Delhi : The President has approved Kirti Chakra award to Shri Tarun Kumar Dutta (Guwahati) posthumously. Shri Tarun Kumar Dutta, Senior Intelligence Officer of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Guwahati. He was a brave officer who was actively involved in the checking of smuggling of drugs in Shillong region. He was made a target by the drug mafia and killed on 12 September, 2006 at Guwahati. The other Kirti Chakra winners are Capt Abhinav Handa of 9 Maratha Light Infantry and Lt. Pankaj Kumar of 7/11 Gorkha Rifles. Dutta, originaly an Inspector of Central Excise was on deputation to Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which works under the jurisdiction of Central Board of Excise...
Guwahati : A 12 hour long statewide Assam bandh disrupted normal life in the state from early in the morning. The Bandh was called by a forum of 12 political parties to protest against the killings of Hindi-speaking people by the ULFA and KLNLF militants in Karbi Anglong district. The Bandh is total and barring a few stray incidents, the situation is reported to be normal. Schools, colleges, banks and other commercial establishments remain closed and the government, semi government and private offices registered thin attendance. Very few vehicles are plying on the streets and all long distance buses are lying idle. A few state transport buses are on the streets and that too with police...
New Delhi : Though it is hard to believe, an India Air Force team recovered the dead body of an Assamese airman, who had gone missing thirty years back from Chandrabhaga peak of Himachal Pradesh on 2nd of August. The airman has been identified as Mahendra Nath Phukan of Sivsagar district in upper Assam. Altogether three dead bodies have been recovered from the site. All the three had gone missing since February 7, 1968 after the IAF plane that they were travelling in crashed near the 20,500-foot high Chandrabhaga peak in Himachal Pradesh. The dead bodies had been located in a remote Himalayan valley and flown to Chandigarh air base, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said on last Friday....
Guwahati : Security forces have decided to launch joint operations against ULFA and KLNLF militants according to well-placed government sources This is obvious, as militants had killed 34 Hindi speaking people in the last five days in Karbi Anglong. Earlier a meeting of the Strategic Group of Unified Command Structure held at Guwahati today discussed about the situation and decided to send 15 more company Para-military forces to Karbi Anglong immediately. Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi presided over this meeting, where Special Secretary (Internal Security) of the ministry of Home Affairs, M L Kumwat, and Director NE of the ministry A K Goel, DG, BSF, A K Mitra and his CRPF counterpart...
Guwahati : Three Bihari organizations, Akhil Assam Bhojpuri Yuba Chatra Parishad, Akhil Assam Bihari Yuba Manch and Purbottar Hindustani sammelan have called a 12-hour ‘Assam Bandh` on 14th August to protest the killings of Hindi-speaking people in the Karbi Anglong by ULFA and KLNLF in last week. Twelve other political parties also joined their hands and have called a 12-hour bandh separately on the same day. The parties are Asom Gana Parishad Pragatisheel (AGP-P), Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), CPI and CPI (M). The Kamrup Chamber of Commerce (KCC) has also declared support to the bandh
NEW DELHI: The UAE Govt has launched a scheme for granting amnesty to foreigners who are illegally staying in the country. The scheme was launched to give a chance to all foreigners illegally staying in the country to regularize their status. Till date according to the Ministry of External Affairs more that 28,000 Indians have returned to The Indian consulate general in Dubai informed in a statement that it had already distributed around 19,100 of the 40,000 Indian passports received from immigration authorities. It may be mentioned that most of these people are contract labourers who come for a particular period of time. The consulate also said it had delivered 31,500 emergency...