Latest news with #Nagas'
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Assam begins eviction drive to clear encroached forest land on Nagaland boundary
The Assam government has launched an eviction drive to clear 11,000 bighas of encroached forest land in Uriamghat area of Golaghat district. The Rengma Reserve Forest, where the first phase of the drive was carried out on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), shares a boundary with Nagaland. A large contingent of police and Assam Forest Protection Force personnel, along with more than 150 excavators, were deployed in the area, anticipating violence. Officials said the exercise passed off peacefully, as a majority of the illegal settlers had vacated the area after receiving notices from the government Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who was at the site, told presspersons that shops and houses built in the reserve forest areas were demolished. 'We provided adequate police protection, and the locals are supporting the exercise. The law and order situation is under control,' he said. 'More than 20% cleared' A Forest Department official in the district said more than 20% of the reserve forest has been cleared of encroachment so far. 'The encroachers started leaving a few days ago when it was conveyed to them that they cannot stay inside the reserve forest any longer,' he said. Some 15,000 people, mostly migrant Muslims, were living in the reserve forest after turning vast swathes of the land into betel nut plantations. The eviction drive followed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's visit to Uriamghat recently. 'People of Assam are victims of the mass-scale encroachment, demographic alteration, and violence, which is caused by illegal settlers. They are firmly behind our Govt in our crackdown against encroachment and realise the need to reclaim what's truly ours,' he posted on social media platform X. The security forces in Assam have been wary of a bid by extremists in Nagaland to take over the cleared forest, claiming it to be an ancestral Naga area. Assam and Nagaland have a decades-old boundary dispute that has claimed more than 150 lives. 'Move to grab land of Nagas' On Monday, the Niki Sumi faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland stated that the eviction drive was a 'well-planned' move by the Assam government to grab the lands of the Nagas. It accused successive Assam governments of first encouraging 'illegal Bangladeshi immigrants' to settle in forests along the interstate border and then evicting them to grab the lands of the Nagas. The eviction drive at Uriamghat is one of a series of such operations since June. More than 55,000 people, mostly Muslims with roots in present-day Bangladesh, have been evicted from forestlands, grazing lands, and government revenue lands in Dhubri, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, and Nalbari districts.
NDTV
25-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Naga Insurgent Group NSCN-IM Alleges Conspiracy After Houses Set On Fire In Manipur's Kamjong
Imphal: The civil arm of the NSCN (IM) has asked people not to fall for "malicious disinformation" after posts on social media and WhatsApp groups alleged the Naga insurgent group set fire to houses in two villages in Manipur's Kamjong district, bordering Myanmar, on Wednesday. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN (IM), signed the Naga Peace Accord with the central government in 2015 to explore a solution for the Nagas' political demand. "It is a matter of grave concern that the spate of violence in Manipur has been gradually expanding towards the eastern side of the state, bordering Myanmar. The recent act of arson committed upon the denizens of Gampal and Haijang villages under Kamjong district by some unknown miscreants is lamentable," GPRN, the Naga insurgent group's civil arm, said in a statement on Thursday. "In this connection, the wild speculations circulating in the social media, suspecting the hands of NSCN stands condemned out rightly. It is hereby clarified that Naga Army has no involvement in the unfortunate incident," it said. "All concerned are advised not to be carried away by such malicious disinformation. The conspiracy surrounding the incident shall be exposed sooner or later. We believe in the high ideals of truth, justice and peace and we shall continue to work for the welfare and security of all communities living in Nagalim without any prejudices," the Naga group said. Initially, visuals shared on social media and WhatsApp groups showed houses burning in an unidentified village, which turned out to be an old incident from Chandel district, sources said. However, another video showing a group of women and children sitting under a tent with some of them crying was confirmed as taken at Gampal village, sources said. Following the incident, Kamjong District Magistrate Rangnamei Rang Peter imposed curfew in the two villages. The houses were set on fire by unknown people while most of the villagers were out in their fields, the police said. Kuki organisations in a joint statement said "these heinous attacks have terrorised innocent Kuki civilians and once again imperilled the already fragile peace and stability in the region". The GPRN's statement asking people not to pay heed to "malicious disinformation" came a day later. While the NSCN (IM) has the Naga Peace Accord, at least two dozen Kuki, Zomi and Hmar militant groups are part of the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement signed with the Centre and the state government. The only Meitei insurgent group that signed a ceasefire is the United National Liberation Front (Pambei), or UNLF (P).
