Historic Sootea Police Station
(20 August on the occasion of Sootea Divas)
Anjan Baskota , Samar Dalani, Sootea, Biswanath, Assam
The tricolor was hoisted for the first time in the country on August 20, 1942 at Sootea Police station in erstwhile Darrang District of Assam. 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 respective state Assam after participating in the Bombay session. 'Thane Dakhal' (capturing the police station) was one of the main resolutions passed in the Bombay Session of 1942.
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. 69 '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 enlighten the spirit of patriotism in the minds of the people. 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).
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. 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.
On August 11, 1942, Bijay Chandra Bhagwati and Kamakhya Prasad Tripathi were arrested by the administration for delivering a speech in the general meeting held in the Namghar in Kachari 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 Biman Chandra Bora, Bolo Bormudoi, Mahendra Nath Barkataky, Thuleswar Hazarika and students of Sootea High School including Debendra Nath Sarma, Biren Barkataky, Swarna Prabha Mahanta, Shrenidhar Das, Puwal Barua, Chandra Bora etc. had worked for a long time. Similarly, after resigning from the post of teacher from the Behali High School, Dimbeshwar Hazarika, Kuladhar Hazarika jumped into the movement.
On August 20, under the leadership of teacher-students of Sootea High School, a big procession marched peacefully through Kachari Gaon, Hazarimal, Barabhuyan, railway line, Charaijaniya, hospital road, on the banks of Marnai river and reached Sootea PS. The procession was led by Baloram Barmudai and Dimbeswar Hazarika, while Swarnaprabha Mahanta went ahead with a huge flag in her hand and the students carried the hand-made paper flags. People blocked the police station and hoisted the tricolor peacefully. About three thousand people from Sootea, Nagsankar, Jamugurihat, Biswanath Charali were present in this campaign. The precisionists carried two hundred flags, five peace flags (white) with them 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. On the same night, Biman Chandra Bora, Dimbeswar Hazarika, Mahendra Barkataky, Biren Barkataky, Kuladhar Hazarika, Chandranath Bora, Chenidhar Das, Baloram Barmudai, Devendra Nath 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 station 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, Naduar MLA Padma Hazarika along with other leading organizations of the greater Sootea area and elite citizens had raised demands from time to time. Due to which, on January 23, 2017, the then Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal (present 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 Sarma, had talked about the historical importance of Sootea police station many times in the national context. Apart from this, Assam's then Health Minister Keshab Mahanta had highlighted the historical importance of this police station at the Assam Legislative Assembly.
From the last 2022, August 20 has been observed as 'Sootea Divas' at Sootea PS (heritage) premises to mark the historic day by the people of the greater Sootea. On August 29, 2024 Naduar MLA Padma Hazarika presented a detailed lecture in the state legislative assembly stating about the historical significance of Sootea PS (heritage) and made an appeal to the state government to host the Sootea Divas as a government programme. Similarly, the chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma declared to observe the Sootea Divas under the aegis of the state government from 2025. The chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma graced the Sootea Divas organized by the state government at Sootea as a chief guest and announced a financial grant of rupees 5 crore for conservation and beautification of the heritage police station.
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. 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.
(Samar Dalani, Sootea, Biswanath, Assam, 7002702268)
