SWAHID DIWAS

Subject : History

Context : The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has paid homage to the martyrs of the Assam Movement on Swahid Diwas.

Concept :

• Assam has been paying tribute to the martyrs who had made supreme sacrifice in the historic Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985.
• The Assam Movement (1979-1985) was an popular uprising in Assam, that demanded the Government of India to detect illegal immigrants, delete their names from electoral rolls and deport them.
• The movement ended in 1985 with the Assam Accord.
• It was led by All Assam Students Union and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, an umbrella organization of different political groups.
• The agitation leaders formed a political party, Asom Gana Parishad. It came to power in the state of Assam in the Assembly elections of 1985 and later in 1996.

Additional Information

• In India, mainly on 2 dates, Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas is observed and out of 15 nations, India is the one that celebrates Martyr’s Day every year. On this day we pay homage to the freedom fighters who have sacrificed their lives for their Motherland.
• On 30 January Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas is celebrated in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and on 23rd March also Martyr’s Day is celebrated to pay tribute to three extraordinary revolutionaries of India who were hanged to death by the British namely Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar.