• Union Home Minister addressed the birth centenary celebrations of former Assam Chief Minister Golap Borbora in Guwahati on August 29.

• Golap Borbora was born on August 29, 1925 in Golaghat, Assam.

• A socialist leader and freedom fighter, Borbora was also the first opposition member to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from this northeastern state. 

• Shah said that when Borbora became the Chief Minister of Assam in 1978, it was the beginning of a major change in the political history of Assam. 

• He was the state’s first non-Congress CM. He led a Janata Party government from March 12, 1978, to September 4, 1979. 

• Shah said that Borbora left an indelible mark as Chief Minister in a short tenure of just 17 months. 

• He led the workers in the historic railway strike in 1974. 

• He strongly opposed the then Prime Minister during the Emergency and became the voice of Assam in the movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan. 

• He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam by a margin of just one vote — the deciding vote being that of Bhupen Hazarika, who played a crucial role in sending Borbora to the Upper House.

• He made education up to 10th standard free in Assam and established more than 200 educational institutions in a year. 

• During his tenure as CM, voter lists were scrutinised, and despite limited resources and the absence of computerisation, Borbora succeeded in removing 36,780 illegal infiltrators from the rolls. Shah said that if one were to trace the roots of the Assam Movement (also known as Assam Agitation), they would find them in this voter list purification.

• The Assam Movement (1979-1985) was a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam. 

• The six-year-long Assam Agitation culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord in August 1985.

• Golap Borbora passed away on March 19, 2006.