Indias oldest Assembly
India's oldest Assembly
Many people do not know that the Assam Legislative Assembly is one of the oldest Legislative Assemblies of India, second only to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
| 28 Feb 2021 4:45 AM GMT
Many people do not know that the Assam Legislative Assembly is one of the oldest Legislative Assemblies of India, second only to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. It is important to remember that the proposal for establishing Legislative Assemblies for the provinces of British India was first mooted in 1932. It was however only in 1935, when the Government of India Act was passed by the British Parliament, that decks were cleared for setting up a bicameral Legislature in Assam comprising a Legislative Council and a Legislative Assembly. A general election was held across the country in February 1937 under provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935, and Legislative Assemblies were thus constituted in the provinces – Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces, Madras, the North West Frontier Province, Orissa, the Punjab, Sind and United Provinces. While the first elected government in Assam was formed by Saiyid Mohammad Saadulla on April 1, 1937, the Assam Legislative Assembly first met on April 7, 1937. Those days, virtually the whole of today's North-eastern Region, barring present-day Manipur and Tripura (they were then princely states) constituted Assam province, with the capital in Shillong. Prior to that, while Assam became part of British India on February 24, 1826, it was first placed under the Bengal Presidency. On February 6, 1874, it was made a separate Chief Commissioner's province. The Presidency of Bengal did have a Legislative Council constituted in 1862 under the Indian Councils Act of 1861. But there was no representation from the Assam Division. On September 12, 1874, Sylhet – till then a part of Bengal – was incorporated with the new Chief Commissioner's province of Assam. The same year Assam's headquarters was shifted from Guwahati to Shillong. Assam's status as Chief Commissioner's Province however was abolished in 1905 and it was merged with the newly-created Eastern Bengal. The new province came to be known as 'Eastern Bengal & Assam', and Dhaka became its capital. The same year (1905) the Legislative Council of Eastern Bengal & Assam was established in Dhaka under provisions of the Councils Act of 1892. It started functioning from December 18, 1906. This Council had 15 members; of them, two quasi-elected seats were allotted to Assam. In reality however, there was only one member from Assam; he was an Englishman called James Buckingham, whose sole concern was that of the European tea planters. The other seat lay vacant for the first couple of years. The government finally conceded to the Assam Association's demand in February 1909 and Manik Chandra Barua was made a member. He was elected by the various Local Boards of Assam. In December 1911, Assam's status as a Chief Commissioner's province was restored, Shillong was once again made the capital, and she also got her own first Legislative Council, constituted on April 1, 1912. But, a mischief was played despite being separated from Eastern Bengal; the Surma Valley – comprising the present-day Barak Valley and the Sylhet region of present-day Bangladesh – was clubbed with the new Chief Commissioner's province of Assam; seeds of today's biggest problem were sown then. The new Assam Legislative Council had 25 members, of whom 14 were government nominees (including the Chief Commissioner himself). The Council, which had a three-year term, was reconstituted in 1916, and its term extended till 1920. With the passing of the Government of India Act in December 1919, Assam was made a Governor's Province. The Act also provided for a reformed and enlarged Assam Legislative Council, which became effective from April 1, 1921. Its strength was raised from 25 to 53; they included 41 elected members and 12 nominated, of whom 12 were Europeans (mostly British), and 41 Indians. The Council had a three-year term, and elections to the second, third and fourth Council were held in 1924, 1927 and 1929 respectively. As certain important political developments related to granting Independence to India had put on hold the election of a new House, the fourth Council continued till 1937. Proposal for the Legislative Assemblies for the provinces was first proposed in the Communal Award of 1932. The Government of India Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1935 provided for a bicameral Legislature in Assam comprising the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly, the Upper and Lower Houses respectively. Accordingly, election to the first Assam Legislative Assembly was held in February, 1937.