Northeast rebel outfits declare 11-hour 'bandh' on Independence Day, urge boycott

Guwahati: As many as 6 proscribed groups from the Northeastern region of India have called for a boycott on the occasion of India's Independence Day on August 15 next.

In a joint release, the groups pressed for a total ban on India's Independence Day in the West Eastern South East Asia (WESEA) Region. The proscribed bodies also called on the inhabitants of the region to make their "ban" a "success."

The 6 rebel outfits from the Northeastern region of India who are planning the boycott are: Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO), People's Democratic Council of Karbilongri (PDCK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), Kanglei Yawol kanna Lup (KYKL) and Hynniutrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).

Justifying their call for boycott, the Northeastern organizations said that "the peripheral rimland colonies are different from heartland India."

Underlining the "dependency" of the bordering region on mainland India, the groups stated that "no human group can live and survive in the manner we live now. The degree of dependence we are surviving with is not natural for human beings. If it continues, our collective death is inevitable. If we are to survive and prosper, we must do away with this unnatural variety of economy prevailing in our region. This is the basic foundation to build up our national freedom movement on."

The groups also brought attention to the alleged "racial discrimination" against the people from Northeastern India due to their mongoloid features amid the pandemic.

"We, Weseans, were racially discriminated, spat upon, driven out of rented houses, refused to shop, to get medical treatment, etc. Such acts were done, not by uneducated urchins, but by educated middle-aged middle-class people", the release added.

The 6 insurgent bodies, declaring their intention to boycott the I-Day celebrations, said that "peaceful non-cooperation is also a potent form of resistance."

We, the undersigned representatives of our respective revolutionary organizations, declare to ban India's Independence Day celebrations", the insurgent bodies stated, adding, "in order to actualize the ban, we call for total shut-down of the entire region for 11 hours, that is, from 6 AM to 5 PM of the day, the 15th August, 2020. We call upon all peoples of this occupied region to take responsibility to make this ban a success."

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