Modi Targets Congress Over Assam, East Pakistan Claims
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused the Congress of having once agreed to let Assam become part of East Pakistan during the final years of British rule. Addressing a public gathering, Modi said Congress leaders were willing to compromise Assam’s future and claimed it was Assam’s first chief minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, who resisted the move and ensured the state remained with India.
What the Historical Record Shows
Historical records from the period do not support the claim that Congress formally agreed to hand over the entire province of Assam to East Pakistan. The controversy traces back to the 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan, which proposed a grouping of provinces for constitutional negotiations. Under this plan, Assam was placed in the same group as Bengal. This grouping raised serious concerns in Assam, as Bengal had a Muslim majority and was expected to form part of Pakistan.
Congress Leaders Opposed Forced Grouping
Senior Congress leaders from Assam strongly opposed the grouping, fearing it would undermine Assam’s political autonomy. Bordoloi repeatedly objected to the arrangement. Mahatma Gandhi backed Assam’s right to refuse the grouping, while Jawaharlal Nehru later clarified that provinces could not be forced into such groups. The Cabinet Mission Plan eventually collapsed and was never implemented in full.
Sylhet Referendum Often Misconstrued
During Partition in 1947, only the Sylhet district of Assam voted in a referendum to join East Pakistan. The rest of Assam remained in India, with Karimganj staying back. This was a district-level decision and not evidence of any plan to transfer the entire state.
Political Narrative and History
Modi’s remarks have reignited a long-running political debate over Congress-era decisions before Independence. Historians note that while there were disagreements and complex negotiations in 1946–47, there was no documented agreement by Congress to cede Assam as a whole to Pakistan.
