Assam: AASU Burns Ravana Effigy with CM Sonowal's Face in Dibrugarh

Dibrugarh, January 16, 2019:

A 50-foot tall Ravana effigy made of hay and bamboo with the 'face' of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was burned on the occasion of Magh/Bhogali Bihu by All Assam Students' Union (AASU) activists in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh.

Members of the AASU also affixed pictures of many other BJP leaders such as Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Amit Shah, PM Modi, Ram Madhav, and several other leaders of the saffron.

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Although Bihu comes with its own set of mythology and indigenous culture, the people of Dibrugarh used the primary antagonist Ravana to represent the BJP party, which has been accused of threatening the indigenous people's linguistic and cultural identity. Assam Chief Minister Sonowal, in particular, has been targetted for his "betrayal" of the AASU, of which he was once a member.

According to reports, the members of the AASU were also seen burning copies of the CAA in the effigy, keeping with the student body's resolution to burn the contentious Bill during the auspicious harvest festival of Bihu, as a symbol of protest against the Centre's move to enact the Bill into a law.

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It may be mentioned that the CAA fast-tracks the process of granting citizenship to six non-Muslim communities who took shelter in India after fleeing 'religious persecution' in the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.