GUWAHATI: The Northeast celebrated the 79th Independence Day on Thursday despite calls from militant groups ULFA-Independent and the Yung Aung faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland urging people to boycott the occasion. The celebrations passed off peacefully, except for a minor incident in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, where motorcycle-borne miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at the Pasteur Beat House in the early hours. The attack caused no significant damage.In his Independence Day address, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned that power would slip into the hands of unknown people if the Assamese remained silent. “We, the Assamese, cannot stay silent or else, we will lose our race, land and foundation in 10 years; 80% of our ministers will be unknown people within 15 years, and the tricolour on the I-Day will be hoisted by an unknown chief minister after two decades,” Sarma said.He assured that ongoing eviction drives would continue until every inch of government land was reclaimed. “The Assamese will not rest till land is cleared of encroachment,” he added. Sarma also criticised previous governments, stating, “The bureaucracy under previous governments has to answer as to how such a mind-boggling scale of encroachment by infiltrators was allowed.”
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