Meghalaya marks Netaji Diwas with rallies and tributes

Shillong: Floral tributes were paid to the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Tuesday, to mark his 127th birth anniversary, at the state central library premises in Shillong. Besides the statue at the library, named ‘Prince among Patriots’, Netaji’s birth anniversary was celebrated across the state and various parts of the city, as well.
Early morning processions were held, with portraits of Netaji, amidst ‘Jai Hind’ slogan.
Netaji’s tryst with the northeast begun in 1938 in a bid to install the first Congress government in the then undivided Assam. Netaji had met the-then British governor of Assam in Shillong and put forth a claim to form the Congress government. As per historical records, Netaji understood that the governor was not inclined to form a Congress-led government and said that if he was not allowed to form a government, then Congress governments all across the country would resign.
Finally, the governor agreed to swear-in a Congress government under the premiership of Gopinath Bordoloi on November 18, 1938. That year, Netaji had addressed seven public meetings in Shillong, including at the Khasi national durbar hall and the Opera hall, at Thana Road.