Guwahati
People across eight northeastern States defied a boycott call by some extremist groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), to celebrate the country’s 76th Republic Day on Sunday (January 26, 2025).
An aberration in the festival-like atmosphere was a “bomb blast” the ULFA(I) claimed to have detonated at a truck parking lot in the Beharbari area on the outskirts of Guwahati in the morning. Another bag, suspected to contain an improvised explosive device, was found at the Inter-State Bus Terminus nearby.
The police downplayed the outlawed outfit’s claim. “It was a loud sound, not an explosion. We have launched an operation to catch the miscreants involved,” Guwahati’s Commissioner of Police, Partha Sarathi Mahanta said.
Earlier, the Paresh Baruah-led ULFA(I) claimed it carried out blasts in Guwahati and other parts of Assam “not to harm anyone but send a message to the people to not participate in occupational India’s Independence Day and Republic Day programmes in the future”.
In an email, a spokesperson of the group said the “blast” was also to remind New Delhi of what it was capable of doing on a larger scale.
Adhering to a decades-old template, the ULFA(I) and some other extremist groups in the northeast called for the boycott of the Republic Day celebrations. They have often struck on or before January 26 and August 15 to show they mean business. The goriest of such attacks was on August 15, 2004, killing 13 people, including 10 children, in eastern Assam’s Dhemaji.
Assam’s second capital
Speaking at a Republic Day programme in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government was developing infrastructure to turn Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Silchar towns into cities.
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“Dibrugarh will have an Assembly complex by 2027 and will be Assam’s second capital. Tezpur will emerge as the cultural capital and will house a Raj Bhavan. Silchar will house a mini-secretariat and the Chief Secretary’s Office,” he said.
He also announced the inclusion of chess in Assam’s school curriculum and a rollback of the New Pension Scheme for State government employees from April 1.
Manipur CM calls for peace
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh hoped the Republic Day celebration would mark the beginning of the return of peace in the ethnic violence-scarred State.
“On this historic day, as we commemorate the adoption of our glorious Constitution in 1950, let us reaffirm our commitment to upholding the values and principles that define India — its unity, integrity, and vibrant spirit,” he posted on X.
His Mizoram counterpart Lalduhoma said, “Republic Day is a reminder of our collective commitment to democracy, equality, and progress. It is a day to reflect on how far we have come and the work still ahead in building an inclusive and just society.”
Mr. Lalduhoma has been critical of Mr. Singh’s handling of the ethnic conflict.
In Nagaland, Governor La. Ganesan said the State government had made every effort to resolve the “Naga political issue”, a euphemism for the peace talks between the Centre and various factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland.
He recalled Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Cabinet colleagues apprising Union Home Minister Amit Shah last year of the people’s yearning for an early solution to the issue. He also said substantial progress has been made on the proposed Frontier Nagaland Territory and hoped the remaining concerns of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation are addressed in the spirit of brotherhood.
In his speech, Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu lauded the State government for resolving the decades-old insurgency issues in 2024.
