AJYCP Holds Silent Sit-In Demanding CAA Repeal, Martyr Recognition for Five

In a powerful show of dissent, the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Friday staged a three-hour silent sit-in protest near the District Commissioner’s office at Hengrabari, Guwahati, calling for official recognition and honour for the martyrs of the anti-CAA movement.

The demonstration, conducted under the central committee’s statewide call, was organised by the Kamrup Metropolitan district unit.

Members raised strong demands before the government and issued a press statement outlining their concerns.

In its release, the Council recalled that the historic and bloody Assam Movement, which was launched to free the state from the burden of illegal foreigners, culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord, a pact earned through the supreme sacrifice of more than 860 Assamese youths.

The Council said that four decades later, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, laws that threaten the very foundation of the Accord and the identity of the Assamese people, sparked another mass uprising, during which five young protesters sacrificed their lives.

Condemning the state government’s continued refusal to grant official martyr status to the five who died during the anti-CAA agitation, the Council termed it “deeply unfortunate.”

The organisation stated that the anti-CAA struggle was not a political movement but a spontaneous people’s uprising aimed at protecting Assam and the Assamese from the threat of unchecked illegal migration.

Criticising the government’s “double standards,” the Council accused the administration of opening the gates wider for outsiders through CAA while simultaneously showing no genuine interest in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) or implementing the Assam Accord in its true spirit.

Referring to the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament in December 2019, the Council said the move had “crushed the emotions of the Assamese people” and pushed the state once again into a climate of uncertainty and cultural insecurity.

Declaring that the sacrifices of the 860 martyrs of the Assam Movement cannot be undermined, the Council warned that attempts to enforce CAA in Assam would not be accepted under any circumstances.

“Instead of restricting itself to political rallies and symbolic events on Martyrs’ Day, the government must officially recognise the five youths who died in the anti-CAA movement as martyrs. Only then will true respect and honour be accorded to them,” AJYCP stated.

Also Read: ‘Declare Them Martyrs’: Chaygaon Voices Fresh Appeal for Five CAA Protest Victims