Unsung Leaders Like Golap Borbora Deserved More Respect, Says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday paid rich tributes to first non-Congress Chief Minister of Assam Golap Borbora on the occasion of his birth centenary at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

Expressing gratitude to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and party members for organizing the commemorative event, Amit Shah said, “I would like to pay my heartfelt tribute to former Chief Minister Golap Borbora on his birth centenary. He played an important role in shaping Assam’s politics and contributed significantly in the years after India’s independence.”

Quoting Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, Shah recalled the lines ‘Manuhe Manuhor Babe, Jibon Jibonor Babe’, noting that Golap Borbora embodied these ideals of empathy and service, and dedicated the lines to him.

Highlighting Borbora’s political journey, Shah said that when Borbora became the Chief Minister in 1978 as Assam’s first non-Congress leader, a new era of development began in the state. He recalled Borbora’s early days as the general secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party in 1965, his support for workers during the railway strike, and his strong opposition to Indira Gandhi’s Emergency rule, where he emerged as a prominent voice of Assam alongside Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement.

The Home Minister also took a swipe at the Congress party, alleging that successive governments only glorified their own leaders while ignoring others who made significant contributions to the nation. He pointed out that freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue was realised only under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership in 2022 and that Assam’s first Chief Minister, Gopinath Bordoloi, received the Bharat Ratna only after the BJP came to power.

“Despite belonging to Congress, Bordoloi never received the honour when the party was in power. It was PM Modi who ensured such stalwarts finally got their due recognition,” Shah said.

Thanking Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for organising the centenary celebrations, Shah added, “Golap Borbora lived by his socialist principles and had no association with the BJP. Yet, it is important to recognise his legacy and contributions. The younger generation must know about leaders like Borbora, who was truly the voice of the poor and the marginalised.”

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