Assam Begins "Stage-at-Home" Protest Demanding Release of Akhil Gogoi amid Lockdown

Dispur, April 10, 2020:

Despite the 21-day lockdown that has kept 1.3 billion Indians at home, the clamour for the release of Assam's foremost peasant leader leader Akhil Gogoi refuses to die down. Today, people across Assam, despite staying indoors amid the lockdown, have once again raised their voices to demand the immediate release of Gogoi and others who led the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

"Is Akhil Gogoi a bigger criminal than Manabendra Sarma's murderer?"

"Is Akhil Gogoi a bigger criminal than Saurav Bora's murderer?"

"Is Akhil Gogoi a bigger criminal than Parag Das's murderer?"

These are some of the questions asked by his supporters, and the answer to all of these seems to be a resounding "NO"!

Today, beginning at 4, people of the state have been urged to raise slogans and banners, while at the same time following the Government issued-directive to stay at home and follow "social distancing" norms. This protest is indicative of the Assamese people's anger at the Government which has shut Gogoi behind bars under a string of different charges. Moreover, his very life is seen to be in peril, as COVID-19, termed as a "great leveller", continues to sweep across the nation at an unprecedented rate.

ALSO READ: Akhil Gogoi’s Suffering Continues in Jail amid Nationwide COVID-19 Lockdown

The Gauhati high court on Tuesday, April 7, issued an interim stay order on the default bail which was granted to peasant leader Akhil Gogoi and founder-secretary of the Assam-based peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in the National Investigation Agency (NIA)-related case that charged him of being a ‘Maoist’.

However, he still finds himself entangled in a web as he is being taken from one jail to another, although any of the charges are yet to stick. Several have marvelled at the almost comical turn of events, with fingers being raised at the administration for its "vindictiveness".

Dr Navanil Barua, a senior neurosurgeon from Assam, opines that this ever-continuing process of filing different cases against the peasant leader reeks of a conspiracy. “Akhil Gogoi, whether he is guilty is not for me to judge, but something smells fishy here. Not a chargesheet has been given. He was arrested in Sibasagar. If it was an old FIR, why did they wait so long to file a case against the man? The police accountability commission should answer this — why have these cases been pending? The High Court must seek answers from the Assam Government — if these cases are indeed genuine or bogus.”

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Now Gogoi, to the utter dismay of his supporters in the anti-CAA brigade, is yet to smell the fresh air of freedom ever since he was put behind bars when the agitation in Assam had reached its peak.

Protests, in the corona era, have taken on a different hue as they people are now starting to turn towards . Thus, while Assam not that long ago raged on the streets against the CAA, it is now turning tech-savvy to compel the Government through "social media pressure."

Protests of this kind are now slowly but surely gaining ground, and the usual has given way for the social-media style of protest. People now have no option but their creativity speak volumes.

Thus, while Assam demands the release of Gogoi via social media protests, over 500 PHE employees in Dima Hasao district have launched a 'Beton Deu' movement in a bid to  Manipuri students, on the other hand, have initiated a similar movement in order to decry racism, especially against those from the Northeast. And protests for the release of Gogoi's release, it seems, are here to stay.

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