With the demise of Sarat Chandra Sinha, Assam lost a leader of unparallel simplicity, honesty and integrity. 

North East News Agency

The grand old man of Assam politics is no more. Sarat Chandra Sinha, former chief minister of Assam, breathed his last in Guwahati on Christmas Day. With his demise, the State lost a leader of unparallel simplicity, honesty and integrity. The end came at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital where he was being treated for  renal failure. He was 92 and survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.

Assam Government declared three days of official mourning for the great man, who was the chief minister from 1972 to 1978. He was cremated with full state honours.

Born on January 1, 1994, to a poor farmer family in Dhubri district, Sinha received his primary education in the village school. After completing middle school, he joined high school in Bilasipara about 25 kms from his village, a distance that he had to cover daily on foot. He graduated in science from Cotton College in Guwahati. He passed LLB from Benaras Hindu University. All through his academic career, Sinha was a brilliant student. Before plunging headlong into politics, Sarat Sinha first became a teacher. He was the Headmaster of a high school in Bongaigaon from 1942 to 1944 and of Chapar High School in Dhubri from 1944 to 1952.

He rose to prominence with the agitation against the move to merge Assam’s Goalpara district with West Bengal. He was elected to the State Assembly for the first time in 1946 and went on to become a legislator four more times. He was also the president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee for two terms – 1964 – 1967 and from 1970 – 71.  Considered close to Indira Gandhi during the pre-emergency era, Sarat Sinha was made chief minister in 1972. However, he was disillusioned by the emergency and became a member of Congress (S) in 1978. He went on to head the Assam unit of the Congress (S). He was also the national president of the party in 1987. He joined Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when his close friend Sharad Pawar formed    it breaking away from the Congress party. He became the state president of NCP in 1999 and relinquished   the charge only recently due to  poor health.

A crusader for the rights of the under privileged, he led a number of peasants movements and trade union agitations. He was also the leading figure in several social movements that fought for the upliftment of the backward communities. He was also a great champion of Co-operative and Panchayati Raj movements. As chief minister Sarat Sinha was responsible for bringing the sixth schedule in to the Assam Land Revenue Act. The former chief minister’s tenure witnessed a number of significant events. The capital of Assam was shifted from Shillong to Guwahati when he was the chief minister. The ‘medium of instruction’ movement of 1972 also took place during his regime.

Sarat Chandra Sinha earned the nickname ‘barefooted chief minister’ for he often use to walk barefoot from the Congress headquarters to Janata Bhavan, the seat of power. Hailed as ‘Jananeta’ He was epitome of simple living and high thinking. His commitment and selfless service made him a colossus of Assam’s political arena. He was a staunch follower of Gandhian principles. He never lost touch with the grass roots and was actively associated with various social works till a week before his death. He led an exemplary life. With his death, Assam and the North-East have lost a leader of unique quality and stature that will be difficult to match.

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