Scribes and patriotic citizens of Guwahati have once again shown their defiance to the militant’s diktat on the 67th Independence Day with unfurling the national flag in a festive atmosphere. As declared in advance, they paid homage to the martyrs of the freedom struggle at an event in the Guwahati Press Club campus.

A number of armed separatist outfits based in northeast India asked the citizens of the land-locked region to keep away from any kind of celebrations on the occasion of I-Day and they even called for a general strike on the day. But countering the militant’s order, the Guwahatians in a large number poured in for the I-Day celebrations across the city.

Unfurling the tricolour journalist N Thakuria said, “In saluting the tricolour we actually pay our heartiest tributes to those martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice for us. If we disobey the martyrs of freedom struggle, we can no longer survive as a nation with pride and self-esteem. Moreover, a nation ungrateful to its own martyrs cannot maintain its sovereignty for long,” said Thakuria.

Following the flag hoisting ceremony, the participants also took out a procession on the streets of the city shouting patriotic slogans, where many kids also joined in it with tricolours on their hands. Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA), in an earlier appeal to the people of the region urged them to defy the militants' diktat and celebrate the auspicious day.

The JFA argued that a number of martyrs from Assam including Kanaklata Barua, Mukunda Kakoti, Kushal Konwar, Tilak Deka, Bhogeswari Phukanani, Nidhanu Rajbangshi, Kamala Miri, Lerela Boro, Madan Barman, Rauta Kachari, Hemoram Patar, Gunavi Bordoloi, Thagi Sut, Balaram Sut and others laid down their lives for the honour of the tricolour during the British rule.

The observation of I-Day in the press club was attended by many senior journalists including Rupam Barua, Hiten Mahanta, Ranen Kumar Goswami, Pramod Kalita, Anup Sarma, Prasanta Majumder, Mukul Kalita, Sabita Lahkar, Rubi B Das, DN Singh, Pranabjit Doloi  with patriotic citizens like Ajay Dutta, Dhiren Barua, Jagadindra Raichoudhury, Kishor Giri, JP Saikia, Kailash Sarma, Pradip Thakuria, BR Das, Purabi Barua, Sujit Guha and Kartik Choudhury.