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

Guwahati : Unidentified militants abducted Mr. Anirudha Tanti from Hirajuli Tea Estate last night. Anirudha is the son of Ex MLA and senior congress leader Bhimananda Tanti. He is an Assistant Manager of the Tea Estate. Anirudha was on the way to his official quarter, when he was abducted. Family member filed an FIR about his abduction this evening. Tanti is also the Vice President of Assam Chah Majdoor Sangha. Police are yet to confirm who is behind this kidnapping. Anirudha is about 35 years old.
Guwahati: All people forcefully chucked out from Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are Indian citizens according to the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. " I want to make it very clear that government have verified their cases and it has been found that they are all India citizens"- He said in a press conference held at the Secretariat conference hall. He also informed that Government would publish a list of names of those persons along with their address so that people can know whether they are Indian citizens or foreigners. He also reiterated that the Government will not allow making Assam a dumping ground of foreigners. Government had also decided to constitute committees consisting...
Guwahati: Nearly half a crore/five million people were displaced in devastating flood in Assam. According to 2001 census, the total population of Assam is 2, 66, 38, 407 and floods have displaced about one fifth of the total population. Total 24 districts out of 27 have been hit by outpouring and 3967 villages ravaged, says the Assam Government in an official communiqué. Number of total displaced up to Tuesday morning was 44, 19, 792 but as heavy rain continues the number of people affected are going up rapidly. Though government claims only 15 lives were lost during second spate of flood starting sicne12 July, local news paper published from Guwahati claimed it to be 29 quoting...
Lakhimpur: The flood situation in the North Bank of Assam mainly the Dhemaji district has turned critical once again. Flash Floods in Ronganodi breached a vital dyke in four places of Lahimpur cutting off parts of Lakhimpur district and Dhemaji from the rest of Assam. The temporary Bailey bridge constructed by the Army for connecting Dhemaji has also been damaged once again by floods. Reports have just come in on Friday morning that four more embankments have been washed. The silver lining is that no causalities have been reported so far and there is no shortage of essential commodities as well.Meanwhile the Brahmaputra is reported to be rising in various parts of the State.Puthimari river...
Guwahati: Ceasefire with National Socialist Council of Nagaland has been extended for an indefinite period. A meeting was held at Circuit House, Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland on Tuesday between the representative of NSCN (IM) and Govt. of India where it was decided to extend the ceasefire indefinitely. While NSCN President Isaac Chichi Swu and General secretary Th. Muivah led the hostile side, Union Labor Minister Oscar Fernandez and interlocutor K Padmanavaiah represented the Govt. of India. Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajit Lal and Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs Naveen Verma were among others in the delegation that assisted the minister. NSCN is a pioneer militant...
New Delhi: Networking major Cisco Systems has launched two new certificate courses (of 280 hours duration each) under the Cisco Networking Academy brand, primarily targeting entry-level jobseekers. Part of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) programme, the two courses CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration will focus on applied skills and technical depth respectively. Ms Sandy Walsh, Regional Manager, Education Programmes and Corporate Responsibility, Cisco - Asia Pacific said that Cisco wanted to “increase the talent pool of candidates with networking skills”. According to an IDC report, India is expected to have a shortage of over 86,300 networking professionals this...
Barpeta: Tragic stories have started pouring in from various parts of the State as floods in Assam continue unabated for the umpteenth day today. An elder lady, Sukhla Boro of Pathsala Balapar village of Barpeta who died due to cardiac arrest was flooded into the Brahmaputra river by her hapless relatives as there was no place to cremate her due to floods and water all around.
Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh Police have recovered a large amount of explosives from Namrup Twenty Four kg TNT explosives were recovered on Sunday night and four people including a woman have been arrested.Police suspect that the explosives were dumped to set off a series of explosions on Independence Day on 15th of August.It may be mentioned that TNT is a very powerful explosive and only 400 grams is sufficient to destroy an aircraft.
Guwahati : The All Assam Students Union( AASU) and the All Minority Students Union(AMSU) are exchanged in a bitter war of words.In a press conference at Guwahati on Saturday, The AMSU Organising Secretary Ajijul Hussain Khondakar, chief organizing secretary of AAMSU had criticised the AASU Adviser, Sammujal Bhattacharya as a Congress stooge and also warned of a backlash against the Asomiya community in the minority dominated districts of Dhubri and Goalpara.AASU central leaders as well as the Anchalik Units have come down strongly against these statements and they have issued strong warning to the AAMSU to abstain from such dangerous statements. AGP and BJP have strongly criticised the AMSU...
New Delhi: Cotton College may soon become a deemed university. This was informed by the Cotton College General Secretary, Samiran Baishya.A delegation of the Cotton College Students Union had recently visited New Delhi and met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Prime Minister has assured them that he would personally look into the matter and recommend the case to the University Grants Commission (UGC).Cotton College is the oldest Institution in Northeast India. It was established in 1901. The demand to make Cotton College a deemed university has been in existence from 1980.Leading academicians have welcomed the move