Volume 16, No 1, 2019
A Historical Study Of Oil Refinery Movement Of Guwahati In Assam
Manash Jyoti Nath
Abstract
The British was the first who noticed the presence of petroleum in Assam in 1825. The British not only found several oil seepages in Assam, but also paid full attention towards exploration of petroleum in Assam and they finally formed the Assam Oil Company. After the establishment of Oil Refinery in Digboi in 1901, the British authority carries out serious experiments in oil till the arrival of India. After independence, when the oilfield was discovered at Naharkatiya in Assam, the government of India formed a committee with Assam Oil Company (AOC). Government favored Barauni (Bihar) as best suitable site for construction of the new refinery, but Assam Oil Company want Calcutta as the site for refinery, and they completely neglect the rights of Assam over its own mineral resources. Hence, a dispute was stared between Assam and the government of India over the location of the refinery but settled through the debates in the public sphere and in the Assam legislative assembly. Elevated larger affairs like the rights over natural resources, also related the question of Assam`s development and the centre`s role in it for proper guidance. This paper mainly focused on how the negligent altitude towards Assam led to a movement during the period of 1956 to 1962. As an outcome of this movement, finally in 1962 Noonmati oil refinery was established in Guwahati (Assam).
Pages: 228-236
Keywords: Petroleum, Oil seepage, Oil refinery, Digboi, Movement, Noonmati.