The Cunningham Circular was issued on May 30, 1930 by R. J. Cunningham, the Director of Public Instruction in Assam. The circular ordered that students and their parents must give a written promise stating that students would not take part in any political activities.
It also warned that students who violated this rule would be punished—they could be fined, lose their scholarships, or even be expelled for serious offences.
The students of Assam strongly opposed this circular. As a result, large numbers of students joined the Civil Disobedience Movement, and the circular actually helped to spread the movement widely in Assam.
Q7. Write briefly about the problems faced by the ministry of Gopinath Bordoloi after independence.
After the 1946 elections, Gopinath Bordoloi became the first Chief Minister (then called Prime Minister) of Assam. His ministry had to face several serious problems after India’s independence in 1947.
The major problems were:
i. Lack of educational infrastructure: Before independence, Assam did not have proper educational facilities. The new government had to build a strong education system to develop human resources.
ii. Border issues: After independence, fixing the borders of Assam and the entire North-East became a major challenge.
iii. Disruption of communication: Partition broke the railway and river routes between Assam and the rest of India because they passed through East Bengal (now in Pakistan). New transport routes had to be created.
iv. Breakdown of economic ties: The old economic connections between Bengal, Assam, and Arakan were disturbed due to partition.
v. Impact on major industries: Assam was known for tea, indigo, jute, silk, and cotton textiles. These industries suffered after partition, and the government had to take steps to revive them.
vi. Low economic condition: Assam had a very weak economy with low per capita income and a low standard of living. Improving this was a major responsibility of the ministry.
vii. Immigration problem: Soon after independence, large numbers of people migrated from East Pakistan into Assam, creating social and administrative challenges for the government.