Assam DGP Harmeet Singh urges public to reject boycott calls, join Independence Day celebrations

Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh has called on citizens to participate wholeheartedly in the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, dismissing boycott calls from insurgent outfits as outdated and unrepresentative of the state’s current reality.

Speaking to the media after reviewing preparations at the Khanapara Parade Ground on Wednesday, the state’s top police officer said, “No person who truly loves Assam would engage in anti-national activities. In my 32 years of service in Assam, I have witnessed immense changes. Everyone should come forward to celebrate Independence Day.”

DGP Singh inspected the final rehearsals for the 79th Independence Day parade, which will feature 27 platoons from the military, paramilitary, and state police. The event, he assured, will be conducted under tight security measures, with all contingents in full readiness.

His remarks came in response to a joint statement issued by the Paresh Baruah-led United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) and the Yung Aung faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). The insurgent groups have called for a total bandh across the Western South East Asia (WESEA) region—encompassing parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur—on August 15, terming the day’s celebrations “so-called” and claiming they hold no significance for the region’s indigenous communities.

In their statement, the outfits accused “colonial” India of perpetuating exploitation, deceit, humiliation, and oppression since independence. “The British imperialists exploited and deprived this region, and for the past 79 years, colonial India has maintained even more pervasive domination in the name of independence,” the groups alleged.

The DGP noted that similar boycott calls have been made for decades on both Independence Day and Republic Day, but large numbers of citizens continue to participate in the official programmes. “The Assam of today is not the Assam of the past. We have progressed, and our people have embraced peace and development,” he said.

Security has been heightened across the state in view of the bandh call, with additional forces deployed to sensitive areas to ensure that celebrations proceed without disruption.