Assam Province

Assam Province (1912 - 1947) North-East Frontier (1874 - 1905) অসম
Province of British India
← 1912–1947 →   →
Flag
Assam Province in a 1907 map of Eastern Bengal and Assam
History
•	Bifurcation of Eastern Bengal and Assam	1912
•	Independence of India	1947
Area		140,118 km2 (54,100 sq mi)

Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1911 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong.

The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' non-regulation province. It was incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 and re-established as a province in 1912.

History

In 1824 Assam was occupied by British forces following the First Anglo-Burmese War and on 24 February 1826 it was ceded to Britain by Burma. Between 1826 and 1832 Assam was made part of Bengal under the Bengal Presidency. From 1832 to October 1838 the Assam princely state was restored in Upper Assam while the British ruled in Lower Assam. Purandar Singha was allowed to rule as king of Upper Assam in 1833, but after that brief period Assam was annexed to Bengal by the British. In 1873 British political control was imposed on western Naga communities. On 6 February 1874 Assam, including Sylhet, was severed from Bengal to form the Assam Chief-Commissionership, also known as the 'North-East Frontier'. Shillong was chosen as the capital of the Non-Regulation Province of Assam in September 1874. The Lushai Hills were transferred to Assam in 1897. The new Commissionership included the five districts of Assam proper (Kamrup, Nagaon, Darrang, Sibsagar and Lakhimpur), Khasi-Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills, Naga Hills, Goalpara and Sylhet-Cachar comprising about 54,100 sq miles. Ironically, Cooch Behar a historical part of Assam, was left out.

From 16 October 1905 Assam became part of the Province of East Bengal and Assam. The province was annulled in 1911 following a sustained mass protest campaign and on 1 April 1912 the two parts of Bengal were reunited and a new partition based on language followed, Oriya and Assamese areas were separated to form new administrative units: Bihar and Orissa Province was created to the west, and Assam Province to the east.

British India's Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms enacted through the Government of India Act 1919 expanded the Assam Legislative Council and introduced the principle of dyarchy, whereby certain responsibilities such as agriculture, health, education, and local government, were transferred to elected ministers. Some of the Indian ministers under the dyarchy scheme were Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla (Education and Agriculture 1924-1934) and Rai Bahadur Promode Chandra Dutta (Local Self-government).

The Government of India Act 1935 provided provincial autonomy and further enlarged the elected provincial legislature to 108 elected members. In 1937 elections were held for the newly created Assam Legislative Assembly established in Shillong. The Indian National Congress had the maximum number of seats with 38 members but declined to form a government. Therefore, Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla was invited to form the government. Saadulla's government resigned in September, 1938 and the Governor then invited Gopinath Bordoloi. Bordoloi's cabinet included future President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. In 1939, all of the Congress ministries in British Indian provinces resigned and a new government under Saadulla was formed.

Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla remained as the Premier or Chief Minister of Assam till 1946 barring a brief period of Governor Rule. During the Japanese invasion of India in 1944, some areas of Assam Province, including the Naga Hills district and part of the Manipur princely state, were occupied by Japanese forces between mid March and July.

When fresh elections to the provincial legislatures were called in 1946, the Congress won a majority in Assam and Bordoloi was again the Chief Minister. Prior to the Independence of India, on 1 April 1946, Assam Province was granted self-rule and on 15 August 1947 it became part of the Indian Union. Bordoloi continued as the Chief Minister even after India's independence in 1947.

Chief commissioners

• 1912 - 1918 Archdale Earle (b. 1861 - d. 1934)
• 1918 - 3 Jan 1921 Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell (b. 1867 - d. 1936)

Governors

See also: List of Governors of Assam

• 3 Jan 1921 - 2 Apr 1921 Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell (s.a.)
• 3 Apr 1921 - 10 Oct 1922 Sir William Sinclair Marris (b. 1873 - d. 1945)
• 10 Oct 1922 - 28 Jun 1927 Sir John Henry Kerr (b. 1871 - d. 1934)
• 28 Jun 1927 - 11 May 1932 Sir Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond (b. 1873 - d. 1939)
• 11 May 1932 - 4 Mar 1937 Sir Michael Keane (b. 1874 - d. 1937)
• 4 Mar 1937 - 4 May 1942 Robert Neil Reid (b. 1883 - d. 1964)
• 4 May 1942 - 4 May 1947 Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow (b. 1890 - d. 1957)
• 15 Mar 1944 - Jul 1944 Mutaguchi Renya (b. 1888 - d. 1966) Mil (Japanese military commander)
• 16 Mar 1944 - Jul 1944 A.C. Chatterjee IIL (for the provisional government of Free India)
• 4 May 1947 - 15 Aug 1947 Sir Akbar Hydari (b. 1894 - d. 1948)

Chief Ministers

• 1 Apr 1937 - 19 Sep 1938 Maulavi Saiyid Sir Muhammad Saadulla (b. 1885 - d. 1955) ML (1st time)
• 19 Sep 1938 - 17 Nov 1939 Gopinath Bordoloi (1st time) (b. 1890 - d. 1950) INC
• 17 Nov 1939 - 24 Dec 1941 Maulavi Saiyid Sir Muhammad Saadulla (s.a.) ML (2nd time)
• 24 Dec 1941 - 24 Aug 1942 Governor's Rule
• 25 Aug 1942 - 11 Feb 1946 Maulavi Saiyid Sir Muhammad Saadulla (s.a.) ML (3rd time)
• 11 Feb 1946 - 15 Aug 1947 Gopinath Bordoloi (2nd time) (s.a.) INC

Deputy Commissioners of the Naga Hills District

See also: Naga Hills District, British India

• 1912 - 1913 J.K. Webster
• 1913 - 1917 H.C. Berners
• 1917 - 1935 John Henry Hutton (b. 1885 - d. 1968)
• 1935 - 1937 James Philip Mills (b. 1890 - d. 1960)
• 1937 - 1947 Charles Ridley Pawsey (b. 1894 - d. 1972)

See also

• Bengal Presidency
• Colonial Assam
• Northeast Frontier Railway zone
• Partition of Bengal

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• Integration of the North East: the State Formation Process