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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Missed demographic invasion in lower and middle Assam, won't let it repeat in upper Assam: Himanta's rationale for mass evictions
As eviction drives intensify in Assam, the state government on Tuesday said it has conducted evictions on 160 sq km of land affecting around 50,000 people in the last four years, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma saying that one of the aims is to stem 'demographic invasion' by 'people of one religion.' In the past month, the Assam government has conducted five major evictions across four districts in which at least 3,300 families have been removed from forest land, grazing land and government revenue land. On Wednesday, Sarma referred to 'land jihad' and said that 'an effort has started to change the demography of Upper Assam.' He said that ever since his government came to power in 2021, it has conducted evictions to clear over 1.19 lakh bighas of land. The highest area is of forest land at 84,743 bighas, VGR/PGR (grazing land) accounts for over 36,000 bighas, 'khas' or general government land is 26,713 bighas, and land belonging to religious institutions is 4,449 bighas. Saying that around 50,000 people have been evicted, Himanta added that district administrations have been tasked with striking off the affected individuals' names from the voter list of the place from which they were evicted. The aim, he said, is to 'protect Assamese constituencies.' 'They have their name in the (voter list of their) original village. You cannot have names in two places. Once they are evicted and the houses are gone, the DCs have to remove the names from the voter lists. Our job is to protect the Assamese constituency or the local indigenous constituency… Almost 50,000 people have been evicted so far, but their names will be there somewhere in the voter list in Assam. Their names will not be cut from the Assam voter list provided they are Indian or proper citizens, but the duplication will be cut off,' he said. He referred to an eviction drive held earlier this month in Lakhimpur district – an Upper Assam home to several tribal and ethnic Assamese communities like Mising, Deori and Tai Ahom – in which around 220 families were evicted. He claimed that of those, 64 were found to have migrated from Barpeta, 36 from Nagaon, and the rest from Goalpara, Cachar and South Salmara-Manckachar. 'A conspiracy had started to change the jonogathoni (demography) in Lakhimpur district, which we were able to stop… In the next 20 years, if Assamese people don't obstruct it, there will be encroachment wherever there is forest, and there will be no forest cover, and there will be demographic change. People from South Salmara can go to Bengal instead, where there is better income, and it is just 30-50 km away. But they are going 400 km away to Lakhimpur,' he said. 'After demographic invasion in Lower Assam and Middle Assam, today we are seeing the beginning of demographic invasion in Upper Assam. If we could have seen the demographic invasion of Lower Assam and Middle Assam in the beginning, we probably could have stopped it. But it has become irreversible. Today, a new move has started with Upper Assam. They will go to one constituency, and then to another constituency, and after 20 years, you will see that in every assembly constituency they have a voting of 40,000-45,000. Once they become a political force, the local leadership does not allow any eviction. And consequently, Assamese people lose their identity. We are doing whatever we can to prevent this,' he said.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Assam CM Hemanta Biswa Sarma vows to end 'invasion' by 'one religion'
File photo: Assam CM Hemanta Biswa Sarma (ANI) GUWAHATI: Assam has reclaimed from illegal Muslim settlers 160sq km of forest and other government-owned land, constituting an area larger than size of Chandigarh and almost 75 per cent of Guwahati, in four years of steadfastly "resisting" what CM Himanta Biswa Sarma described on Tuesday as an "invasion". Sarma said BJP government evicting illegal settlers from 1.19 lakh bighas since May 2021 was as much about protecting state's demography as about reclaiming land integral to survival of indigenous tribes and other communities. "All these people who have encroached upon our land are from one religion. Our effort has been to save jati-mati-bheti (identity, land and homesteads)," Sarma said. "There is still a long way to go, as more than 63 lakh bighas are still under encroachment. " The CM's remarks coincided with CPM organising a protest in lower Assam's Goalpara, one of the districts where evictions have taken place. CPM accused BJP government of "working in interest of corporates" & "against citizens". A delegation from Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani faction) visited Goalpara to help set up shelters for those evicted. In Hahilabil and Ashudubi of Goalpara's Paikan, around 4,000 houses belonging to Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant families were demolished. "Whatever happened in Goalpara was painful. People of our country are being evicted. The government first needs to arrange shelter for them, then other decisions may be taken," Jamiat general secretary Maulana Hakim Uddin Qasimi said. Sarma said state had ordered officials to take steps to remove names of all evicted settlers from electoral rolls.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Himanta accuses TMC of shielding Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators
1 2 Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday accused Trinamool of portraying his govt's firm stance against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims as anti-Bengali. He claimed TMC 's alleged attempt was nothing but a desperate ploy to shield Muslim infiltrators from the neighbouring country. In a post on his X handle, Sarma said, "Assam has been waging a relentless war against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims for several decades. The recent attempt by the @AITCofficial to distort my media remarks and portray our stand as anti-Bengali is nothing but a desperate ploy to shield Muslim infiltrators from Bangladesh — whose very presence threatens to alter the demographic fabric of our nation." "Let it be made absolutely clear: in Assam, every Indian citizen — including Bengali-speaking people — fully understands our position and supports our uncompromising stand against illegal Muslim immigration from Bangladesh," he added. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata TMC slammed Sarma for his remark that "writing Bengali as mother tongue in the Census documents will quantify the number of foreigners in Assam". In a post on X, the party said that Bengali was the seventh-most spoken language in the world and added, "… under BJP' rule, Bengali-speaking Indians are subjected to racial profiling, targeted harassment and systematic persecution." The party further said Sarma disgraced the CM's office by branding Bengalis as "illegal Bangladeshis". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "He must apologise immediately." In response to Sarma, TMC spokesperson, Debangshu Bhattacharya posted on X saying, " Read between the lines, people. This is @himantabiswa's last-ditch attempt to veil his XENOPHOBIA and LINGUISTIC CHAUVINISM behind communal smokescreens. You claim your Govt only targets "illegal Bangladeshi Muslims". But in the final NRC list, out of the 19.6 lakh people excluded, 12 lakh were Bengali Hindus. Was their faith the problem too? Or was it their language? You say your crusade isn't against Bengalis. Then how do you explain the fact that all but four of the 30 people who died in Assam's detention centres were Bengali-speaking?Your track record shows only one unifying marker of persecution: Bengali. This isn't about illegal immigration. This is about your PATHOLOGICAL HATRED for a language, a people, and a culture." Meanwhile, Assam BJP claimed over 10 districts in the state had become Muslim-majority and the changing demography was a major cause for concern. Districts such as Dhubri have more than 90% population belonging to a particular community, the party said. "It is not only a demographic change but also a serious threat to indigenous people of the state," a party source claimed.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
As Assam CM defends eviction drives, Opposition sniffs ploy to clear space for corporate houses
Jiten Gohain is the head of one of 218 families evicted during a drive the authorities in Assam's Lakhimpur district carried out on July 3 to reclaim 78 acres of Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land across four locations. On July 8, the district's Sub-Divisional Land Advisory Committee approved the allotment of 1.5 kathas (4,320 sq. ft) of land each to 21 families evicted, in one of the fastest such exercises. Among them were 12 belonging to the Ahom community, which is seeking Scheduled Tribe status, to which Mr. Gohain belongs. District Commissioner Pronab Jit Kakoty said the eviction drive was conducted following 'due process'. He said the affected families, which failed to produce land ownership documents, were served notices on June 29. 'I had a larger plot from where we were evicted, but the government has at least provided some space,' Mr. Gohain said. Abul Hasan Sheikh, one of some 200-odd Bengali-speaking Muslim families evicted from Lakhimpur, is not sure if the government would be equally 'generous' to provide him an alternative plot. He is originally a resident of western Assam's South Salmara-Mankachar district along the border with Bangladesh. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma named him and at least a dozen others from faraway districts – most of them Muslim-majority – to underline the alleged 'agenda of demographic invasion by strategically occupying lands in areas dominated by indigenous communities'. 'An analysis has revealed that the families evicted from Lakhimpur included 76 from Barpeta, 63 from Nagaon, seven from Goalpara, and two from South Salmara-Mankachar. Why should someone from South Salmara go to Lakhimpur instead of going to West Bengal, about 50 km away?' Mr. Sarma told reporters on Tuesday. 'Voter list deletions' The Chief Minister said more than 50,000 people have been evicted from 'protected areas, wetlands, VGR and PGR (Professional Grazing Land), government khas (land owned by the government that has not been settled) and wasteland, and those belonging to satras (Vaishnav monasteries) and namghars (prayer halls)' over the past few weeks. According to the State's Revenue and Disaster Management Department, the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation of 1986, the Land Policy of 1989, and a 2011 Supreme Court judgment mandate protection of government and village common lands. It also cites the violation of the Assam Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act of 2010 as a punishable offence. After the BJP came to power in Assam in May 2016, the first eviction drive was carried out in three fringe villages of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Two persons, including a minor girl, were killed during the eviction based on a Gauhati High Court order in September 2016. 'Most of those evicted are listed as voters in places from where they came. We have asked the authorities from where they were evicted to delete their names from the electoral rolls to eliminate duplicate names,' Mr. Sarma said. Citing the case of the 12 Ahom families, the All Assam Minority Students' Union has demanded rehabilitation for the evicted Muslim families. It claimed many people had lands they were evicted from before these were declared as reserve forests. The Opposition parties have criticised the eviction drive for disproportionately targeting the minority communities. 'The Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission should take note of the eviction during the court holidays in Assam to target poor Muslims. The government must first provide adequate rehabilitation and only then undertake eviction,' All India United Democratic Front MLA Rafiqul Islam said. 'The BJP government has been projecting the evicted people as Bangladeshi. The government provided a compensation package of ₹14.72 crore to 332 families evicted from Kaziranga. People evicted [in 2021] for the Gorukhuti project [Darrang district] were compensated and given land in the Dalgaon area. Why is the government doing so if these people are Bangladeshi?' Congress leader and advocate Aman Wadud said. Others pointed out that the Dhubri district administration has asked 1,400 families displaced from Chapar town, reportedly to make space for a thermal power plant by the Adani Group, to relocate to a sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra river. 'Politics of polarisation' 'The eviction is being carried out for two reasons. Firstly, they want to clear land for corporate houses. Secondly, evicting minorities paves the way for the politics of polarisation... so that the Hindu voters back the BJP, especially in eastern Assam, where it is facing challenges,' Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi said. Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the chief of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), said eviction drives are a form of the tried-and-tested ploy of weaponising the 'Bangladeshi issue' before the poll. The Assembly poll in Assam is due by May 2026. 'The Chief Minister claims he is doing everything for the indigenous people. In reality, more tribal families have been evicted than the Muslims. In Karbi Anglong, 20,000 Adivasi, Karbi, and Naga families have been evicted to hand over 18,000 bighas of land to the Reliance Group,' the AJP leader claimed. In Assam, one bigha is equivalent to 14,400 sq. ft. He also cited 9,000 bighas of land 'to be handed over to the Adani Group' in Dima Hasao district, 45 bighas 'taken away' from the Adivasis for a hotel project near Kaziranga, and 75 bighas for a Patanjali project in the Golaghat district. 'It is evident why the government is on a land acquisition spree. Of the 49,000 bighas cleared, only 6,000 bighas were under the occupation of the religious minorities,' the AJP leader said.
Canada News.Net
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
"Seeing beginning of democratic invasion in Upper Assam": CM Sarma warns of planned encroachments
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 15 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday alleged that the state's indigenous population is facing a 'demographic invasion' by people belonging to a particular religion who are now trying to alter the demographic composition of Upper Assam. Addressing a press conference at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati, CM Sarma said that the state government has cleared over 1.19 lakh bighas of land from encroachers in the last four and a half years. 'Assam has faced an existential threat due to rampant illegal infiltration and a planned encroachment to alter the demography of districts. We stand firm to protect the interests of Assam. In Assam, the state government has cleared nearly 40,000 acres of land from encroachers, equivalent to approximately 160 square kilometres. If you compare the landmass, this is equivalent to or more than Chandigarh,' the Chief Minister said. He added, 'We have evicted people from forest land, grazing reserve, tribal belt and blocks, government lands together. It is not that those whom we have evicted are landless; they have land in a specific area, and they go to a new area to capture the land of the forest and to change the demography of the constituency.' He warned that the pattern of demographic shifts witnessed earlier in Lower and Middle Assam is now emerging in Upper Assam. 'After demographic invasion in Lower Assam and Middle Assam, today we are seeing the beginning of democratic invasion in Upper Assam. If we could see the beginning of demographic invasion in Lower Assam and Middle Assam, we could probably stop it. However, we didn't realise at the beginning that it would become irreversible. Today, the new move has started in Upper Assam. It started in Kaziranga, and we stopped. Today, they have gone to another constituency, and they will continue to do so. After 20 years, you will see that in every constituency, there is a voting of 40,000-45,000. Once they become a political force, the local leaders will not allow any eviction, and consequently, the Assamese people will lose their identity,' CM Sarma said. He further alleged that the demographic shifts are part of a calculated plan, citing data from recent eviction drives. The Chief Minister said, 'When we conducted an eviction drive in Lakhimpur district, we found that 74 families came from Barpeta district to Lakhimpur, seven families came from Goalpara district, two families from South Salmara Mankachar district and many other families came from Nagaon district, and they encroached on the lands in Lakhimpur. It was a conspiracy to change the demography in Lakhimpur.' The CM also shared year-wise data on land reclaimed from encroachers, stating that in 2021-22 the state government had freed 2604.12 hectares of land from encroachers, in 2022-23 it was 4397.50 hectares, 3401.92 hectares of land in 2023-24, 961.548 hectares of land in 2024-25 and in this year till July 12 a total of 638.427 hectares of land have been freed from encroachers. 'Forest destruction is one issue, another issue is that some people moved to other places and tried to change the demography. A process has started to change the demography in Upper Assam. If we do not stop it now, in the next 20 years, forest lands will be destroyed and demographics will be changed. If you look at the voter list in Lakhimpur, you will see how demographic changes happened in the past 15 years,' CM Sarma said. The Chief Minister also said the government is taking steps to utilise cleared lands for productive purposes to prevent future encroachments. 'We are not just freeing up lands from encroachers but also preventing further encroachment through utilising them for productive purposes. In Lakhimpur, we have planted Som saplings in the evicted land, which will support Muga silkworm rearing and the economic growth of indigenous people,' he added. (ANI)
