The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and three other separatist groups active in the northeastern region of the country have called for a boycott of the Republic Day celebrations, a rebel statement said on Sunday.
The rebels also announced a general strike on January 26 to enforce the call, the joint statement signed by ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said. The statement was e-mailed to journalists in the region.
According to the statement, the rebels will hold a general strike throughout the northeast region from 1 pm to 6 pm on that day.
The other three insurgent groups that have joined the ULFA in calling the Republic Day boycott are the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), which is fighting for a separate homeland comprising parts of Assam and West Bengal, the Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), an umbrella group of several Manipuri rebel groups, and the Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF).
"We have reiterated time and again that the destiny of the region lies only in interdependent unity and coexistence with sovereign independence among the fraternal peoples of the region," the rebel statement said.
"The imposed Indian constitution has undermined the basic unity of the region by fragmenting it on ethnic lines as part of India's colonial policy of divide and rule," the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}"The imposed Indian constitution has undermined the basic unity of the region by fragmenting it on ethnic lines as part of India's colonial policy of divide and rule," the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}It has become a routine for the insurgent groups in the region to call for boycotts and announce general strikes during important days in the national calendar of India like the Republic Day and the Independence Day.