Krishna Nath Sarmah: The Gandhian from Assam who opened schools for Dalits

Here's a look at the life and work of a devoted Gandhian Deshpran Krishna Nath Sarmah.

Early Life:

Born in 1887 in Jorhat, Krishna Nath Sarmah was the first child of a well-known and respected advocate, Gangadhar Sarmah, and his second wife.

He had taken his matriculation exam in 1909 and enrolled in Cotton College the same year for pre-university degree. Graduating in 1911, he enrolled himself into a BSc course in Calcutta the same year.

Krishna Nath Sarmah exchanged wedding vows with Swarnalata Devi in 1912; and in 1913, after graduating with a BSc degree, he had enrolled into an MSc in Mathematics along with a Bachelor of Law (BL) degree. However, within one year, Sarmah changed his course to MSc (Physics) at Presidency College, Calcutta. Sarmah cleared his Preliminary exam in Law in 1915 and returned home. Graduating from Earle Law College in Guwahati in 1916, Sarmah started his legal career in 1917 in the Jorhat cutcherry. While he proved his mettle as an advocate, he could not wholly adopt the ways often used in the cutcherries to get by. He felt disillusioned by the discrimination meted out against Indian innocents or offenders by the English judges.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Gandhi in 1921. The movement sought to reduce reliance on the British goods and government; and boycott all government institutions like schools, colleges, courts, and councils. Inspired by Gandhi’s clarion call, Krishna Nath Sarmah, ironically, as an advocate, advised people to not fight out cases in courts of law but resolve disputes amongst themselves amicably. In line with Gandhian ideas, he established panchayats in several areas.

Elected as the Vice President of the Khilafat Committee in Jorhat, Krishna Nath Sarmah spoke about Hindu-Muslim unity and brotherhood and had indicated that communalism was a colonial pathogen.

Khadi revolution

Gandhi’s 1921 visit to Assam left him impressed with the expertise of people in hand spinning and weaving. He remarked in Young India about the Assamese women weaver, “Every woman of Assam is a born weaver...And she weaves fairy tales in cloth.” The Non-Cooperation Movement had ushered in a new era in the history of khadi in Assam. The Assam Khadi Board, after initial setbacks, was reconstituted with Krishna Nath Sarmah as its Secretary. Even in the unfavourable political climate, most of the suggestions of the Congress committees were implemented; one of them being the establishment of one khaddar depot in each district.

Sarmah was arrested for his involvement in the Non-Cooperation Movement, before he was released in December 1922. After the Chauri-Chaura violence of February 1922, Gandhi had called off the Non-Cooperation Movement as he believed that the people in the country were not yet ready to adopt the path of ahimsa.

The Congress Working Committee had resolved to get involved in constructive work like the popularisation of khadi, national schools, campaigning for Hindu-Muslim unity, and against untouchability.

In 1923, under the leadership of Kuladhar Chaliha, Rohinikanta Hatibaruah, and Krishna Nath Sarmah, an exhibition was held by the Assam Khadi Board. The exhibition had played a role in imparting the importance of khadi for self-reliance and swaraj, and making an income of Rs 1500. Khadi centres were opened in Barpeta, Guwahati, Nagaon, Barakathani, Dergaon, Chelenghat, Charing, Kakatigaon, and Chaungi.

Krishna Nath Sarmah and Sankarlal Baruah had attended the 1925 Patna meeting of the Provincial Khadi Boards, representing the Assam Khadi Board; where they had the opportunity to meet Sankarlal Banker, the Secretary of the All India Khadi Board, who had suggested that the khadi movement in Assam be implemented in a more vigorous manner

Gandhi had formed the All India Spinners’ Association in the wake of a khadi revolution and home-spun cloth in India. Dr Rajendra Prasad had visited Assam to inspect the progress of the implementation of the khadi programme and was profoundly satisfied with the activities of the Assam Khadi Board. Dr Prasad recommended to the All India Spinners’ Association that the Assam Khadi Board be given more funds for vigorous implementation of the programme

The Congress session of 1926 was held in Guwahati. It was with Sarmah’s and other leaders’ hard work and dedication that the pavilion, made of khadi left other leaders spellbound and astonished. Gandhi himself remarked that the city was “under khadi canvas”. The huge Congress pavilion was itself made of Pure Assam Khadi. The khadi programme would go on to receive widespread support from the people of Assam during the Civil Disobedience Movement, which was to be launched in 1930.

Eradicating use of opium

Sarmah was of the opinion that opium was a poison that gnawed away at the Assamese society.

Cultivation of opium was banned in Assam in 1860, and the system of issuing the same through government treasury was introduced, thus making it a monopoly of the government. Since opium brought rich revenue to the English treasury, the government was reluctant to stop or put an end to the use of opium.

Further, several English doctors had stated that opium was of medicinal value to malaria-infested Assam; and not much attention was paid to the side effects of the consumption of opium.

Following the Non-Cooperation Movement widespread picketing of opium shops were started in the province. Addicts were requested not to purchase opium and liquor. Kanee Nibarani Sabhas were established in various places within the Assam province. After the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement, the leaders had decided to put the opium question in the International Opium Conference, Geneva in 1924-1925.

CF Andrews had visited Assam in May 1924, and an Opium Enquiry Committee with Kuladhar Chaliha as its President was constituted. Rohinikanta Hatibaruah was the Secretary and other members included Tarunram Phukan, Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, Krishna Nath Sarmah, Ambikagiri Raichoudhury, and Amiya Kumar Das; and the Committee travelled various places within the province to collect information.

Some of the recommendations of the Committee stated that the traffic in opium and its derivatives should be limited to medical and scientific use. Confirmed addicts (aged 40 and above) were to be given a rationed amount of opium and their names were to be registered for the same purpose. Addicts under 40 were to be treated as medical patients, who had the permission to use opium under a qualified doctor; and their permission needed to be renewed quarterly. This plan of action was to be carried out until the next 5 years, after which opium was to be treated as poison under the Dangerous Drugs Act. The government had later enacted the Assam Opium Smoking Act in 1927, which imposed certain restrictions on the preparation of opium.

Sarmah as Harijan Bandhu

Sarmah was one of the many followers of Gandhi in the 1930 Dandi March to break the Salt law and launch the Civil Disobedience Movement. The infamous Cunningham Circular was issued by the then Director of Public Information, JR Cunningham, which prohibited students in Assam from participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. The Circular had issued a blanket-ban on all swadeshi activities. This led to the formation of regional schools in several places like Guwahati, Tezpur, and Jorhat, among other places.

The second Round Table Conference (September-December 1931) saw the issue of separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, on which Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar fiercely differed. Gandhi was against the idea of separate electorates for untouchables, for he did not want them to be viewed as outside of the folds of the Hindu community. The historic Poona Pact was signed in 1932 that provided for reserved seats for the Depressed Classes in the general electorate.

The spectre of untouchability and casteist discrimination had deep roots in the Indian society. Gandhi set out on a campaign to eradicate the social evil of untouchability, and the leaders for this programme in Upper Assam were Krishna Nath Sarmah, Lakshmi Nath Sarma, Radhanath Phukan, and Chandradhar Barua among others. Krishna Nath Sarmah was the Secretary of the Abolition of Untouchability Committee in Jorhat in February-March 1934.

Gandhi had visited Assam in 1934. He opened the gates of the naamghaar at Krishna Nath Sarmah’s residence to the people belonging to Harijan community, on Sarmah’s request. Sarmah is further credited to have built as many as 12 schools for Dalit children. He was thereafter also known as Harijan Bandhu among the common people.

For this, Sarmah and his family were socially ostracised. The forward march of time is not directly proportional to the forward march of ideas and liberal thoughts. Socially ostracised in colonial India, and living almost in penury, Sarmah continued to uphold the Gandhian ideas that he held so dear.

Assam Khadi Sangha, Assam Pradeshik Rashtra Sanmilan (1935), Jaji High School, Assam Ryot Sabha, Assam Rashtra Bhasha Prasar Samiti, Abolition of Intoxicating Substances Committee, Provincial Opium Inspection Committee, and Jorhat Farmers’ Committee were some of the causes and bodies Sarmah was involved in.

Sarmah participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942, and was a member of the Legislative Assembly. Owing to his ill health, Sarmah passed away in 1947, a few months before India gained independence.

Sarmah was a harbinger of revolutionary ideas, who did not have money to buy footwear to use after he left his legal practice. Where casteist mores demanded that people down the caste hierarchy need not wear footwear, here was an upper caste Brahmin who believed in the equal access of the lower castes to public spaces like temples. Education was not to be restricted to a privileged few, self-reliance was necessary to generate income and employment, and villages organised into panchayats, were probably some of the fragments of the India of this Gandhian’s dream.

Sources:

Sarmah, Krishna Nath; “Krishna Sarmah’r Diary”, by Assam Prakashan Parishad, Guwahati, 2020 (Source: Assam State Museum, Digholi pukhuri)

Dutta, Anuradha; “Assam in the Freedom Movement”, by Darbari Prokasan, Dixon Lane, Calcutta, 1991 (Source: Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Panbazar)

Deka, Kanak Chandra; “Assam’r Prasiddha Mukti Jujaroo” (Source: Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Panbazar)

Boruah, Sagar; “History of the Non-Cooperation Movement in Assam” (Source: Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Panbazar)