Guwahati, 4th November: Manash Borgohain, a youth from Golaghat district in Assam, has recently declared his affiliation with the proscribed outfit ULFA-Independent (ULFA-I).
In a video posted on social media, he highlighted the discrimination faced by Assamese youths and explained his decision to join the group.
Manash, who hails from Sarupathar in Golaghat, holds a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Guwahati Institute of Technology, graduated in 2016. He revealed that he left a job at Indigo Airlines due to discrimination faced by Assamese youths from Hindi-speaking colleagues. Subsequently, he pursued a course in aviation and hospitality management in Kolkata and worked at Jet Airways, where he claimed to face discrimination once again.
Frustrated with these experiences, Manash returned to Assam and launched a small company involved in mail packaging and food item manufacturing. He applied for the PMGB scheme to support his business but alleged that local authorities handed his project to a non-Assamese individual. He also encountered difficulties securing a loan, partly due to his Assamese identity.
In 2022, Manash initiated the service provider app “Pitpit Dot Com,” aiming to make indigenous youth self-reliant. Around 80 local educated unemployed youths joined the project. However, the app was reportedly shut down under pressure from non-Assamese individuals.
Manash emphasized that the discrimination faced by Assamese youths is a longstanding issue and not limited to him. He argued that the only solution to preserve Assam’s identity is independence from India, citing historical separation before British colonization in 1826.
He criticized constitutional restrictions that hinder Assamese people from asserting their identity through democratic means, leading him to advocate for armed struggle for independence. Manash accused the Indian government of running propaganda to weaken the independence movement in Assam.
He urged Assamese youth and people from all walks of life to join the quest for Assam’s freedom, emphasizing the importance of unity and collective effort in their struggle for self-determination.