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The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Assam CM sniffs conspiracy behind landless people moving to areas dominated by ‘Hindus or Assamese Muslims'
Amid criticisms of targeted eviction from government lands, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sniffed a conspiracy behind people with their roots in present-day Bangladesh travelling miles to settle in areas dominated by 'Hindus or Assamese Muslims'. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Assam has been carrying out a series of eviction drives since June. Some 3,500 families, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, have been evicted from reserve forests and wetlands so far. They are said to have encroached upon government-owned lands after being displaced by riverbank erosion across the State. 'Why are they moving to places 200-300 km from their native places to where Hindus or Assamese Muslims live? Our people are suffering from insecurity as a result. This is an issue beyond eviction; there is a hidden conspiracy to make us a minority,' the Chief Minister said after an eviction drive in the Goalpara district on Saturday (July 12, 2025). Asserting that the demographic balance in Assam was being threatened due to such migration of people, he said the phenomenon needs to be investigated to find out whether it is poverty-driven or a conspiracy with political leaders behind it. 'During an eviction in Lakhimpur (northeastern Assam), we found that the encroachers were from South Salmara (western Assam) and Sribhumi (southern Assam). If I am landless, will I not look for land in my district?' Mr. Sarma said. Citing the example of the Sarupathar constituency in eastern Assam's Golaghat district, he claimed that people from Dhing and Rupohi in central Assam's Nagaon district settled there in large numbers to change the demographic pattern. Last week, the State government carried out two major eviction drives in the Dhubri and Goalpara districts to clear more than 4,500 bighas (1,485 acres) of encroached land, including reserve forests. More than 2.64 lakh acres of government land were under encroachment across the State, Mr. Sarma said. 'We don't like carrying out eviction drives and pushing people out. But the Supreme Court and the (Gauhati) High Court have given strict orders that forest land, VGR (Village Grazing Reserve), and PGR (Professional Grazing Reserve) land should not be encroached upon,' he told journalists in Darrang district. The eviction drives would continue until government lands were freed from encroachers, he said. Data tabled by Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary in the Assembly in March showed people of the State had been encroaching upon more than 2.5 lakh hectares of forest land, followed by encroachment by neighbouring States on 83,000 hectares, and by tea gardens on over 1,000 hectares. Cry of discrimination Opposition parties, including the Congress, said migrant Muslims were being targeted primarily to create space for power and industrial projects by corporate bigwigs close to the BJP's central leadership. They also alleged a design to polarise the State ahead of the Assembly election, to be held by May 2025. Criticising the eviction drives, the Congress promised compensation for all Indian citizens whose houses had been bulldozed, if it came to power in Assam. The Jamaat Ulama Council slammed the 'discriminatory' eviction drives, which it said affected the Muslims disproportionately. It called for an immediate halt to such 'unjust' measures. On Saturday (July 13, 2025), the All Assam Minority Students' Union organised Statewide protests condemning the 'inhuman' eviction drives that it said displaced thousands of poor and marginalised families across the State. The union also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through district officials, seeking his intervention to stop the 'anti-people' actions.
India Gazette
05-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Politically frustrated Congress resorting to nonsensical rhetoric: Assam BJP
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 5 (ANI): The Indian National Congress has become 'disoriented' and 'frustrated' by the 'strong' and 'determined' steps taken by the BJP-led government under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the NDA alliance to establish a 'peaceful and prosperous' Assam, a press release said. In a press release issued from the headquarters of the BJP State Committee, it has been stated that the government has taken firm measures to evict illegal encroachers from Satra institutions such as Bardowa, Barpeta, Behali, Elengi, which carry the heritage of Assam's national life, and to preserve and develop them into enriched institutions. 'The government has also worked to evict illegal encroachers from Assam's scenic national parks and forests such as Kaziranga, Orang, and Lumding, to conserve these areas and develop them as tourist destinations. Similarly, measures have been taken to evict illegal occupants from government lands, tribal belts and blocks, and VGR (Village Grazing Reserve) lands to preserve them for future generations. By creating special reservation provisions for Assam's indigenous communities, the government has provided merit-based appointments to over one lakh youth, opening new horizons for the younger generation of Assam. Further recruitment initiatives are already underway. Through the delimitation process, the political future of Assam has been secured,' Assam State BJP said in the press release. It also stated that, the government has brought transformative development to the state's infrastructure-- improving connectivity, healthcare, safe drinking water, housing construction, electrification, etc.--with the goal of establishing Assam as a 'powerful' state within the nation. 'The government has granted land rights to the indigenous people of Assam and provided land allotment (myadi patta) to over 10 lakh people. Medical colleges have been established in nearly every district of Assam, making it a leading state in the country in the field of healthcare. Furthermore, by curbing child marriage, Assam has achieved the lowest maternal and infant mortality rate in India. This wave of all-round development has drawn people from every section of society toward the Bharatiya Janata Party, and as a result, the Congress has now resorted to nonsensical rhetoric. Disoriented and politically frustrated, the Congress party--driven by the mirage of power--now wishes to disrupt the peaceful and prosperous environment in Assam and create chaos,' the release stated. The State BJP also said that the Congress party is now relentlessly criticising and personally attacking the BJP and its governance, 'both rightly and wrongly'. BJP workers hold records of the assets of top Congress leaders like Prithani, Jain, Barua, and others. BJP also has detailed accounts of which Congress leaders own which hotels, businesses, resorts, and their locations, the release added. 'The public memory of Assam still vividly holds the account books of corruption statistics associated with Congress leaders,' said the press release. The State BJP warned that if the details of the corruption and 'unchecked' wealth of the current Congress leadership are revealed, it will lead to their 'complete political collapse', it said. (ANI)
Hans India
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Assam: Eviction drive conducted in Nalbari, 82 bighas cleared
Guwahati: The Assam government on Monday carried out a large-scale eviction drive to clear 82 bighas of occupied Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land in Bakrikuchi village under Nalbari district's Borkhetry revenue circle. The operation began at dawn with a heavy security deployment, including 500 police personnel, to prevent unrest. No clashes were reported during the demolition of unauthorised structures, officials claimed. District Commissioner Nibedan Das Patowary stated that over 70 per cent of the 300 affected families had voluntarily vacated before the drive, following a June 3 eviction notice. The Gauhati High Court had earlier mandated the clearance of all encroached VGR lands, designated for cattle grazing, across Assam. "Residents cooperated, and the process remained peaceful," said IGP Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who supervised the operation. Twelve bulldozers razed structures on the 82 bighas where houses stood, while the remaining 370 bighas, used for fisheries and agriculture, are under scrutiny for further action. Displaced families, now camped along the village approach road, demanded rehabilitation. The area also houses schools, mosques, and Anganwadi centres. This marks Assam's second major eviction this month after the June 15-16 drive in Goalpara's Hasilabeel, where 667 families were evicted. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his zero-tolerance policy on encroachments has been successful in deterring fresh occupations. "Evictions will continue. Our biggest achievement is that people now think twice before occupying government land," Sarma said. Over the past four years, the state administration has conducted anti-encroachment operations in every district.
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Assam Cattle Preservation Act to be strictly implemented: Himanta
Guwahati, The Assam Cattle Preservation Act will be strictly enforced in all districts of the state to prevent availability and consumption of beef within a five km radius of religious places of worship, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday. ''The availability and consumption of beef during the recent Eid festival despite the ban within a 5 km radius of temples and other places of worship is a very serious matter. In this regard, we will take strict action under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021'', Sarma said at a press conference here. After the Eid Uz Zuha festival this year, it has been seen that in some areas of sensitive districts like Dhubri, Goalpara and Hojai, several attempts have been made to create disturbances by throwing body parts, particularly skulls near temples and prayer halls, he said. Sarma said that it has been observed that these have occurred near localities where beef consumption during Eid is common and all are within the restricted area of 5 km radius of places of religious worship. ''This has been in clear violation of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act which clearly states that beef consumption or its sale and distribution is banned within a radius of 5 km of religious places of worship. The concerned district administrations did not enforce this provision strictly leading to this situation'', he said. If people had been made aware of the 5 km restrictions, these incidents could have been avoided, he added. ''I have directed all district commissioners to strictly implement the Act and ensure that slaughter, sale or consumption of beef is banned within the restricted area'', he said. In places like Lakhimpur and Lakhipur in Goalpara district, it has been seen that these incidents have occurred in areas classified as tribal belts and blocks of Village Grazing Reserve and Professional Grazing Reserve where in many cases, people have occupied the land illegally, Sarma said. ''Even the leader of the opposition had said in the assembly that immigrants who came after a certain year cannot legally occupy or claim the land as their own. I have directed district commissioners and additional district commissioners to conduct a survey in these areas to identify those people whose families have not lived in Assam for at least three generations and prepare a list of all those people living in tribal belt, block or in VGR/PGR, particularly in the sensitive areas which will help us to take necessary legal action'', he said. On Wednesday, seven persons were arrested following the alleged recovery of three cow skulls, approximately 30 metres from a 'Namghar' , in Lakhimpur district. Recently, shoot-at-sight orders at night were issued in Dhubri where a day after the Bakrid, a cow's head was found in front of the Hanuman Temple and again the next day, another skull was found again there along with incidents of stone pelting reported. On June 8, Sarma had said that a number of cattle were allegedly slaughtered illegally at several places during the Bakrid festival and parts of the meat were thrown at multiple locations across Assam. Police have so far arrested over 60 people with over 50 in Dhubri alone in connection with illegal slaughter of cows with the intention of creating communal disturbances in the state.
