Rangia, Assam: A six-day arms training camp organised by the Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal (RBD) has raised eyebrows and stoked anxieties in Assam, even as the state grapples with contentious eviction drives targeting alleged encroachments. The event, christened “Veer Hindu Vijeta Hindu Prasikhn Sibir 2025” (Brave Hindu Victorious Hindu Training Camp), unfolded between July 2 and July 7 at the Arimatta Mini Stadium in Rangia, approximately 55-60 kilometres from the state capital, Guwahati.
Reports indicate that over 200 young men, primarily aged between 20 and 35, participated in the rigorous camp. The training encompassed a wide spectrum of disciplines, including martial arts, weapon handling, essential survival tactics, ideological orientation, Vedic rituals, and intense hand-to-hand combat. Sources privy to the inner workings of the organisations further confirmed that training in small arms was also an integral component of the regimen.
A senior functionary of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, addressing the press, defended the controversial programme by citing perceived “security threats” attributed to alleged illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “If these Bangladeshis attack us on a huge scale and engage in combat, we are preparing our people for self-defence,” the spokesperson asserted, underscoring the perceived need for such a initiative.
Organisers articulated that the primary objective of the training was to empower their cadres for potential “civil strife-like situations,” which they claim are stemming from unverified incidents involving illegal migration. The individual also alleged that numerous such incidents have gone unreported, contributing to an escalated sense of threat within certain communities.
Internal sources within the organisations revealed that a significant number of the trainers were volunteers from Assam itself, offering their expertise, particularly in the critical areas of survival skills and various martial arts forms. Cumulatively, the AHP and RBD claim to have already imparted training to over 2,000 individuals through similar camps conducted across the state.
Leaders from both the AHP and RBD have indicated that more such training initiatives are firmly on the anvil. These future camps are purportedly planned with a specific focus on regions within Assam that they identify as having a higher concentration of suspected Bangladeshi immigrants. These ideological and physical training sessions have already been successfully conducted in a number of districts, including Tamulpur, Hojai, Dhubri (on two separate occasions), Nalbari, Mangaldoi, and had previously taken place in Rangia as well.
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