ULFA (I) and NSCN call for 'bandh' in 5 NE states on Independence Day

Banned rebel outfits United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) and a Yung Aug led faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang) on Friday (August 5) have called for a total ban on the celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day, even as the Centre made plans to observe the occasion with a ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign to sweep every household with nationalistic fervour.

Opposing the celebrations in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, and Meghalaya, the rebels told people "at all levels" to not participate in all forms of ‘fake’ Independence Day activities.

On August 15, the rebels said, there will be a shutdown from midnight to 6 pm. However, "emergency departments, media, and religious activities" are being exempted.

Slamming India as a "colonial’ state", the insurgents reiterated the demand for Assam’s sovereignty, while also demanding that all neighbouring hill districts should also be included. It also alleged that India has been "betraying the glorious existence" of Nagaland under the pretext of "constitution, sovereignty, and integrity."

"In this context, there is no alternative without the United National Liberation Revolution to restore that lost independence," it said.

The rebels posited that since the standards of living have declined and the economy has seen a dramatic downturn in the days since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, it is not correct to observe Independence day.

It listed "the indigenous are suffering from debt, GST, soaring prices of essential commodities" as problems plaguing the nation.

"It is unfair, historically irrelevant, and worthless for a state, which is unable to stand by the suffering problem in such a time of declining living standards, to celebrate the 76th pretentious Independence Day," the rebels said in the joint statement.

Making an appeal to the people of Assam and Nagaland, the proscribed groups said: "Do not push your motherland into the slavery of the occupying Indian rules and put an ax on your feet. We never want Assam-Nagaland to be subjected."