Will History Remember Akhil Gogoi as the Nelson Mandela of NE?

By: Rana Pratap Saikia

"Mandela was deified and died a dignified man after serving for several years as the leader of the African nation, while Akhil still finds himself behind bars, a man hunted for his outspokenness..."

Akhil Gogoi, the firebrand peasant leader from Assam who has been immortalized on University campuses across the nation, and particularly in Delhi, is being hailed as a freedom fighter amid rising clamours for his release in the aftermath of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

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Akhil Gogoi, easily recognized by his trademark red sweater and scraggly beard, was perhaps the first to raise his voice when the Government announced its resolve to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that would go on to incite riots in Guwahati towards the fag end of 2019. Leading the masses, and especially the peasant community against the Bill that was seen as a demographic threat to the Northeast, the KMSS supremo soon asserted himself as a leader to be reckoned with. Thousands upon thousands joined him in rallies in every nook and cranny of the State.

Amidst the raging protests, the peasant leader was suddenly picked up from Jorhat town in Assam, where he was leading teeming masses in the song of protest, under unspecified and mysterious sedition charges, and now finds himself under judicial custody as the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months.

After the taming of Akhil Gogoi, he has been accorded a cult-like status, especially by the students of institutions such as JNU and Jamia Millia, where a mural depicting the peasant leader was recently erected on one of its walls. Now, Akhil's struggle has started comparison with former South African President Nelson Mandela's, whose name itself is eponymous with "struggle" for his fight to secure the future and existence of the black race in a white-domanated South Africa.

So where does the comparison to Mandela, who fought against apartheid in South Africa, come from?

Mandela was later deified and died a dignified man after serving for several years as the leader of the African nation, while Akhil still finds himself behind bars, a man hunted for his outspokenness and, at the same time, appeal among the masses. "The establishment fears Akhil, that much is obvious. His influence extends to the very grassroots levels, in the villages of Assam. Moreover, he has been opposed to the BJP regime. Politically, he is a big thorn in their side. And socially, he poses a threat to the Government, especially in regards to the CAA", opines Adip Phukan, prominent activist from Assam. Phukan also told Inside Northeast that although comparing Gogoi to Mandela would be a bit far-fetched at this point in time, he has clearly distinguished himself as a prominent neta of the current generation a la Anna Hazare. "In the current context, Akhil is undoubtedly one of the more prominent regional leaders with a penchant for standing by the poor and the needy in their times of grief. Thus, he can be compared to Anna Hazare who himself is influential for his immense contribution in the anti-corruption movement. Akhil, I feel, can be accorded a similar status.."

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Meanwhile, Gogoi's influence among the student fraternity remains unquestionable. Himadree Sonowal, a JNU student leader who hails from Assam's Dibrugarh district, feels that the KMSS leader's arrest is symbolic of the current administration's disdain for protest. "Gogoi who has been active for the Anti CAA protest in Assam was arrested from Jorhat on December 11 for prima facie causing violence through KMSS and also for sedition and having Maoists links. Many other students are also being arrested under the same, which reeks of suspicion. This is a larger political picture of how the current government ruled by BJP in nexus with RSS is creating a situation of fear and anxiety among the masses."

Gogoi, who has been a prominent fixture in Assam's political scenario since gaining prominence as an RTI activist, has also caught the notice of the tribal activists of the land. Daniel Langthasa, once an activist who has now been elevated as a member of the Council in Dima Hasao district, says that it is still early days to proclaim Gogoi as the next Mandela, but his fight for the rights of the downtrodden masses is commendable. "I support him in the sense that I myself was an activist before. I believe dissent is an integral part of democracy. Today, voices of dissent are being crushed. Akhil is an important voice of dissent. I do not know the details of the NIA case, but it is evident there is a conspiracy to crush his voice. I support his protests, but I do not think innocents should be caught in the crossfire..", Langthasa told Inside Northeast earlier today.

Yogendra Yadav, a noted social activist who is currently fronting "We the People of India", an umbrella body of anti-CAA organizations recently visited Akhil in his Guwahati jail and later heaped praise on the firebrand. Although Gogoi has been booked under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Yadav believes that Gogoi has done nothing "wrong" and history will be kinder to him. "Now, Akhil Gogoi will become an akhil bharat (united India) leader", Yadav opined, hinting at the unique national recognition that Akhil has carved for himself through his relentless struggle.

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