The Assam Association held its first session at Dibrugarh in 1905 with Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua as President and Manik Chandra Baruah as General Secretary. From 1900 to 1920, it acted as the voice of the Assamese people. It did not follow confrontation but used peaceful and constitutional methods to influence the British government.
The Association worked to improve Assam’s social, economic, and political conditions. Its main contributions were:
i. Opposed the excess presence of government officials and tea planters in local bodies.
ii. Demanded democratisation of local institutions.
iii. Opposed increases in taxes and the unfair excise policy.
iv. Called for total prohibition of opium.
v. Demanded Assamese teachers in Cotton College and Assamese representation in the Calcutta University Syndicate.
vi. Asked for technical schools in Assam.
vii. Opposed the annexation of Assam with East Bengal in 1905.
viii. Wanted the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (1919) to be applied to Assam.
ix. Demanded the establishment of a university in Assam.