Days ahead of the 75th Independence Day celebrations, the banned United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) has called for a shutdown in Assam and also urged people to boycott the occasion.
Last year the outfit had decided not to call for a boycott of the event—for the first time since 1996. The latest decision could act as a hurdle in efforts to bring ULFA-I to the negotiation table for peace talks.
In the statement issued on Saturday, both ULFA-I and the Yung Aung faction of National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Khaplang (another banned terror outfit) asked people in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya not to take part in “fake Independence Day activities”.
The statement mentioned that the shutdown will be from midnight of August 14 and would continue till 6 pm the next day. However, “emergency departments, media and religious activities” would be exempted.
Mentioning a decline in standards of living of people and a slowdown of the economy following the Covid-19 pandemic, the outfits said it was “worthless” to celebrate Independence Day.
“It is unfair, historically irrelevant and worthless for a state, which is unable to stand by the suffering in such a time of declining living standards to celebrate the 76th pretentious Independence Day,” the statement read.
{{/usCountry}}“It is unfair, historically irrelevant and worthless for a state, which is unable to stand by the suffering in such a time of declining living standards to celebrate the 76th pretentious Independence Day,” the statement read.
{{/usCountry}}Last year, for the first time in its 42-year-old history, ULFA-I had not boycotted Independence Day celebrations or called for a ‘bandh’ to mark the occasion.
“In view of the Covid-19 situation….and other problems like flood, erosion and unemployment affecting indigenous populations, ULFA-I has refrained this time from armed protest of the fake Independence Day of colonial India or called for a ‘bandh’,” the statement, issued by the outfit last year, read.
Since its inception in 1979 with the aim of an armed struggle to create an independent Assam, ULFA has been boycotting Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations and also indulging in violent activities on those days.
Since May 2021, when the second Bharatiya Janata Party-led government assumed office in Assam, there have been speculations that ULFA-I could join peace talks with the Centre. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had indicated on occasions that back channel discussions were underway for it.
The outfit, has, however, maintained that the issue of Assam’s sovereignty should be part of talks---a pre-condition, which has been ruled out by the Centre as well the state government citing the Covid-19 pandemic, the outfit declared a unilateral ceasefire in May last year, which still continues.