Monday, Aug 21, 2023 08:45 [IST]
Last Update: Monday, Aug 21, 2023 03:04 [IST]
The tricolour was hoisted for the first time in the country on 20 August 1942 at Sootea police station in Darrang district (erstwhile) of Assam. It may be mentioned that during India's freedom struggle many plans were taken on an all India forum of the National Congress Party. All the schemes passed by the National Congress did not find a place in the hearts of the general public. But the 'Quit India' campaign passed in the Bombay session of 1942 knocked in every house, every village. This does not mean that the schemes taken up across the country did not have an impact in Assam. The people of Assam had actively participated in all the movements of India, many martyrs had attained martyrdom. But the Quit India movement was even more effective. The reason for this is that due to the skill of the leadership, this mass movement had reached every house, every courtyard.
The resolution of the Quit India movement was passed in the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee. Immediately after this convention, i;e on 9 August 1942, along with Mahatma Gandhi, other prominent national leaders were arrested. Gopinath Bordoloi and Siddhinath Sharma were arrested by the administration in Dhubri, Assam while returning to their state Assam after participating in the Bombay session. 'Thane Dakhal' (capturing the police station) was one of the many resolutions passed in the Bombay Session of 1942. But Gandhiji had taken a stand to run the Quit India movement only on the basis of non-violence policy.
In the British administration, the police stations had a major role in maintaining the law and order and peace of the society. That is why 'the present regular police was constituted in 1861 (pg. 111' (A Statistical Account of Assam, Vol. 1, William Wilson Hunter, 2020 (edn.)) is stated. The existence of police stations at Tezpur, Chutia (Sootea) and Gahpur under the Tezpur Sadar of the undivided Darrang District is confirmed by WW Hunter’s A Statistical Account of Assam, Vol. 1, 2020. (Ref. p.111).
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee had geared up to take the Quit India movement to every home and every courtyard. For this, the regional leadership had guided the organizations on the right path. In Assam, leaders like Gopinath Bordoloi, Tarunram Phukan, Omeo Kumar Das, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala etc. had led the mass movement for independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala had composed many songs and poems to take the freedom movement among the people and to highlight the spirit of patriotism in the minds of the people. People were awakened by the feeling of patriotism and dying for the country by listening to his songs filled with fervent sentiments. On the other hand Congress volunteers were trained while Jyoti Prasad Aggarwala united people in every village by forming Dead Squad and Peace Squad (Mrittu Bahini and Shanti Bahini). Volunteers who joined the death squad had to sign a will with the blood of their finger that 'I have joined the freedom movement of my own will. No one is responsible for my death but I am myself.’
According to the advice of Jyoti Prasad, on 20 September 1942, a plan was made to hoist the tricolor in all the police stations across the state. Due to this Lokanayak Omeo Kumar Das had organized a meeting of the Tezpur Congress Committee in Tezpur. During that time all the prominent leaders of the State Congress were arrested by the British Government. Omeo Kumar Das was not arrested due to being physically unwell. In the meeting held at Tezpur in the presence of Bijay Chandra Bhagwati, Biman Chandra Bora and twelve more members of the Congress, it was decided to hoist the flag at the Sootea police station and Biman Chandra Bora was entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out that campaign. Biman Chandra Bora reached Sootea from Tezpur and informed many prominent leaders of Sootea area in detail about the discussion, while implementing a self-governance system in Sootea and also decided not to pay government taxes and provide no cooperation to government establishments.
On August 11, 1942, Bijay Chandra Bhagwati and Kamakhya Prasad Tripathi were arrested by the administration for giving a speech in the general meeting held at the Namghar in Kachadi Gaon of Sootea and inciting people towards the freedom movement. According to Jyoti Prasad’s plan, the flag was to be hoisted on 20th September. But due to the organizational strength, the people of Sootea prepared themselves to carry out that work a month before the scheduled time. For this, the teachers and students of Sootea High School were working for a long time. Similarly, after resigning from the post of teacher from the Behali High School, Dimbeshwar Hazarika, Trinayan Barkati jumped into the movement.
In order to prepare for the campaign of August 20, 1942, many sittings, discussions and meetings were organized to make the common people aware and alert. On August 20, under the leadership of teacher-students of Sootea High School, a big procession marched peacefully through KachariGaon village, Hazarimal, Barbhuyan, railway line, Charaijaniya, hospital road, on the banks of Marnai river and reached Sootea PS. People blocked the police station and Deben Barkataky and Chenidhar Das hoisted the tricolor peacefully in the midst of the environment. About three thousand people from Sootea, Nagsankar, Jamugurihat, Bishwanat Charali were present in this campaign. Teachers, students, farmers, workers, laborers, youth, women, businessmen etc. people from every section of the society took part in the procession. The precisionists carried two hundred flags, five peace flags (white) with them in their hands while shouting slogans. After the intervention of the police station, a general meeting was held at the police station premises under the chairmanship of Biman Chandra Bora. Leading the procession were Baloram Barmudai and Dimbeswar Hajarika, while Swarnaprabha Mahanta went ahead with a huge flag in her hand and the students carried the hand-made paper flags. On the same night Biman Chandra Bora, Dimbeswar Hazarika, Mahendra Barkataky, Biren Barkataky, Benudhar Hazarika Chandranath Bora, Chenidhar Das, Baloram Barmudai, Devendranath Sharma, Puwal Baruva etc. were arrested by the British administration on the charge of hoisting tricolor at the police station premises.
Exactly one month after the successful completion of the August 20 campaign, i.e. on September 20, 1942, the tricolor was again hoisted at the Sootea police station like other police stations in Assam. Due to the organizational skills of the leaders of the local Congress Committee, at seven in the morning, when the people of the Police Department were not ready to perform their duties, Sootea's death squad’s sectional commander Golak Saikia hoisted the tricolour in association with the students of Sootea High School and comrade of Sootea death squad peacefully. On the same day, Gohpur and Dhekiajuli police opened fire on the people who tried to hoist the tri-colour at Gohpur and Dhekiajuli PS respectively.
To get the recognition of the historic police station as a heritage site, Sootea MLA padma hazarika along with other leading organizations of the greater Sootea area had raised demands from time to time. Due to which, on January 23, 2017, the then Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal (recent Union Minister) had visited the Sootea police station and had given the status of a historical heritage to the Sootea police station. The present Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sharma, had talked about the historical importance of Sootea police station many times in the national context. Apart from this, Assam's Health Minister Keshab Mahanta had highlighted the historical importance of this police station at the Assam Legislative Assembly.
I wholeheartedly request the Government of Assam to highlight this golden history in the all India perspective and to get it written in golden letters in the history of India's independence. The State Government, Education Department, SCERT should come forward in this work. From the last 2022, August 20 has been celebrated as 'Sootea Divas'. At the end, I pay my respects to all the martyrs in India's freedom struggle and to the late freedom fighters of our country.
(Email: anjanbaskota11@gmail.com)
