Amit Shah recalls Golap Borbora’s 19-month imprisonment during emergency

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 29 praised Golap Borbora, Assam’s first non-Congress Chief Minister, for his landmark contributions to the state during his brief tenure. 

Speaking at Borbora’s birth centenary celebrations, Shah said, “When Golap Borbora became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Assam in 1978, it was the beginning of a very big change in the political history of Assam. Despite mistakes in the post-independence era, no non-Congress chief minister was elected here till 1978. And for the first time, Golap Borbora left an indelible mark.”

Shah recalled Borbora’s personal sacrifices during the Emergency, noting, “He was the first leader to go to jail and the last to come out. He was kept in jail for a full 19 months.” 

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He also highlighted Borbora’s educational reforms, saying, “He made education up to the 10th standard free for the first time in Assam so that even the poorest could access it. He also worked to set up more than 200 educational institutions in a year.”

The Home Minister further congratulated Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP-led Assam government for recognising contributions of leaders outside the Indira Gandhi family, adding, “In such a large country, many people from diverse cultures have contributed to the country’s progress, but they were neither respected nor did they receive a platform. Today, that legacy is being acknowledged.”