Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday visited the Assam Agitation memorial, ‘Swahid Smarak Kshetra’, in Guwahati and paid homage to those who lost their lives during the mass movement against illegal immigration.

During the visit, Shah was accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Accord Implementation Minister Atul Bora, and other senior leaders.

The memorial, inaugurated earlier this month, honours 860 people who died during the six-year-long Assam Agitation, which culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985. An eternal flame at the site continues to burn in remembrance of the martyrs.

The memorial complex includes a martyrs’ gallery featuring busts of individuals who were killed during the agitation, including Khargeswar Talukdar, regarded as the first martyr of the movement, who died on December 10, 1979.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also visited the memorial earlier this month during his two-day visit to Assam.

Built at a cost of ₹170 crore, the memorial complex houses water bodies, an auditorium, a prayer hall, a bicycle track, and facilities for a sound-and-light show depicting major phases of the Assam Agitation and the state’s history.