A contentious Bill to legitimise the stay of non-Muslim migrants from India’s neighbourhood has made many in Assam decide to break an age-old tradition — by fasting during an agrarian festival of feasting.
Large swathes of Assam have been witnessing protests since the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8.
The anger is believed to have diminished the intensity with which the mid-January Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is celebrated.
Bhogali Bihu is to Assam what Pongal is to Tamil Nadu and Lohri to Punjab.
“The Bill is a threat to the existence of the Assamese people. Festivities should not make us forget this. We shall be fasting on Uruka for 24 hours till the Meji is burnt the next morning,” Akhil Gogoi, adviser of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, said on Sunday.
Uruka, on Monday, is the precursor to Magh Bihu to be celebrated on Tuesday and Wednesday. Uruka is marked by lighting bonfires and feasting at a Meji or Bhelaghar, a temporary structure made with bamboo, hay and dried plantain leaves.
Traditionally conical, the Meji turned designer and thematic a few years ago, spurring contests for the best structures across Assam.
Gohain’s plea
“Let the celebration be subdued this time as a mark of protest. We also urge people to burn copies of the anti-race Bill at the Meji,” Hiren Gohain, president of the Forum Against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, said in a statement. The police had last week filed a sedition case against Dr. Gohain, 80, and two others for allegedly stoking separatism while mobilising support against the Bill. The Gauhati High Court granted them bail a day later.