Two Decades On, 2004 Dhemaji Independence Day Horror Lingers

"The visuals—the bodies, the blast, the screams—will never leave our hearts. We want peace. Such incidents must never happen again." – Eyewitness

Independence Day Turned Nightmare

The sun rose over Dhemaji College grounds on 15 August 2004, a day to commemorate to observe Independence Day. Children accompanied by their mothers, teachers along the route of the march, and flags fluttered in anticipation of the procession. But at 09:30 a.m., the air was shaken with a resounding boom.

A remotely detonated bomb went off near the college gate. Eighteen individuals were killed—ten children, three mothers, and five other innocent civilians. Forty others were injured, their bodies mangled within seconds. The town of Dhemaji would never remain the same again.

Twenty-one years have passed, and the memory still lingers. "Time moves on, but the despair remains," says one eyewitness. "That day changed us forever."

Eyewitness Voices: Pain and Plea

One other survivor recalls the fear of the time: "The parade was about to begin. Then… a huge blast. Bodies flew through the air. The screams… the fire… it's ingrained in my brain. We want peace. We cannot endure such atrocity again."

They're not simply repeating words—they're living proof of trauma, a town's grief etched into memory.

Mamoni Raisom Goswami: A Voice for Peace

Mamoni Raisom Goswami, the late Jnanpith award-winning writer, witnessed the aftermath of the tragedy firsthand and dedicated herself to fostering peace. 

In a speech that is still fresh in many minds, she had said: "I knew our gun-carrying revolutionaries for years. I visited their camps in 1993. They were providing education to villagers, participating in welfare activities. That was when I realized that they had something beyond the gun. But the Dhemaji tragedy… shook me to the core. I wrote an appeal to the Prime Minister—and he listened."

Goswami’s courage led her to engage with ULFA, striving to open dialogue with insurgents even as ULFA leadership dismissed her appeals. Her unwavering belief in empathy and dialogue amidst violence remains legendary.

The Aftermath: Failure of Justice

Inquiries established that the bomb was planted in the college gate and detonated remotely. ULFA, which was a banned militant group, dissociated from the act, even though they had called for a boycott of the procession. A crowd went berserk, attacking police for lapses in security. Top officials were put on hold. Critically injured victims were shifted to Dibrugarh Civil Hospital.

Then-Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi denounced the blast as "most barbaric, inhuman, and pathetic." Compensation was assured and 16 August declared a day of mourning. Justice did not prevail, however. Nobody was convicted. The town's suffering has not found closure, two decades later.

No One Convicted?

On 24th August 2023, the Gauhati High Court acquitted all six accused in the 2004 Dhemaji bomb blast, a horrific incident that killed 18 individuals, including 13 schoolchildren.

Earlier, in 2019, the Dhemaji District and Sessions Court had given life imprisonment to Lila Gogoi, Dipanjali Borgohain, Muhi Handique, and Jatin Dowari, whereas Prashanta Bhuyan and Hemen Gogoi were given four years of prison time.

The convicts had appealed the judgment in the high court. In accordance with their lawyer, Abhijit Khanikar, "The Gauhati High Court acquitted all six people and gave them the benefit of doubt. The court did not state they were not involved; in criminal law, the guilt has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, which the prosecution could not do in this case."

Resilience Amid Shadows

Now, flags fly and parades march through Dhemaji with pride and with pain. Mothers tell their surviving kids about heroism, and citizens honor the dead while yearning for peace. The community's resilience as a whole is a wordless vow: that no terror act will define Dhemaji.

"Twenty-one years later, Dhemaji looks out. The scars do not fade, yet neither does hope—a hope that peace is not a mirage, but a choice that we continue to make every single day..."

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