The historic Assam movement, one of the famous movements in post-colonial era of the nation led by students of Assam in 1979 under the leadership of All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) officially ended on 15 August, 1985.
During this period of six long years of the anti-foreigners movement as reported 855 peoples sacrificed their lives and thousands were victims in the hope of an ‘infiltration free Assam’ during the 1979-1985 Assam agitation.
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As days passed into months and months into years, thirty years passed into the culmination of the anti-foreigners’ movement in the State, yet hundreds of sordid stories of the victims of the movement remain untold and unheard.
The friends of the victims turned into student leaders, ministers and critics but they hardly manage time to pay a visit to such persons whose supreme sacrifice for the sake of the identity has sought them social positions.
Living a hand-to-mouth existence with only the due recognization of being victim of the Assam movement, one of such victims is Bipin Deka from a hamlet of then undivided Darrang district and presently Udalguri district’s Naharbari village under Kalaigaon police station.
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Deka who has lost his vigour and youthhood fighting for the sake of the identity with revolutionary zeal still reminisces the days of his struggle which though has continued for him in the form of his struggle for livelihood.
Deka who claims that eight bullets which pierced his legs during the movement still remain unextracted.
Deka, the third son of Lare Belaram Deka was one of the front-runner leaders of the agitation.
Deka recalling the days of 1983 narrates that one night he was attacked by the members of the rival groups by handmade firearms and around 31 bullets hit his right leg.
All of his fellow accomplices taking him to be dead left him unattended and fled the scene for saving their lives.
His news grabbed media headlines when doctors operated on critically injured Deka and extracted 23 bullets from his leg while eight bullets couldn’t be extracted.
Deka has passed 35 long years with his bad health and those bullets in his leg.
He though counting his last legs of life is still optimistic and living with great hopes that the student leaders turned politicians will pay a visit to his place to take a first-hand account of his life and struggle.
Will Bipin Deka ever het his due for his sacrifices is a million dollar question.