GUWAHATI — The number being shared as 11,000 in one drive is not accurate for October. The verified count for this month's operation is just over 1,100 families over two days in forest areas.
Day 1, Oct 17: 547 families — 336 in Nagaon, 152 in Hojai, 59 in Golaghat — under heavy security.
Day 2, Oct 18: More than 600 families in Lutumari Longjap Reserve Forest in Nagaon district alone — Lutumari area — 300 hectares inside reserve forest.
Most affected are Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The administration says encroachments on reserved forest land, following court orders. Gauhati High Court in June directed them to vacate within 30 days, ruling public interest in protecting forests outweighed private claims, and ordered power cut after deadline.
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Residents dispute encroacher tag. Abdul Noor, 44, whose house was demolished, told Scroll: "We were settled by the government in 1974. We are originally from nearby Juria town but were settled as our forefathers were landless. Altogether, 300 landless families were given four bighas each". Others say elders worked as labourers for Forest Department under colonial-era taungya system of forest management and should not be classified as ordinary encroachers.
The drive also reportedly saw more than 10 mosques pulled down, including places over 50 years old.
Where does 11,000 or 19,000 come from? Scroll, compiling government and district-level data, reported approximately 19,000 families, most of them Muslim, had been evicted from government land during BJP's decade in power. This is cumulative figure covering multiple drives, not October alone.
Separate data compiled from Assam's Revenue and Disaster Management Department indicates roughly 19,000 families have been evicted over past decade, Bengali-speaking Muslim households forming overwhelming majority. Another report citing NCP convener Nahid Islam claims at least 33 drives between 2021-2026 displaced more than 22,000 families.
Assam government disputes claims operation targeted particular religious community. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has framed drives as reclaiming 1.29 lakh bighas of forest and government land from illegal encroachers, including suspected foreign nationals, and has linked to action against child marriage and illegal entry — nine foreign nationals handed to BSF in same week.
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Rights concerns raised: No rehabilitation announced, families left with belongings before excavators, no untoward incidents reported. NCP and IAMC have called it systematic persecution, while state says law must protect forests.
How many more? In Hojai, 152 households demolished in Jamuna-Maudanga Reserve after earlier phase; final 59 families at No.2 Negheribil in Golaghat removed following court ruling. Officials indicated operation may continue. Greater Lutumari area clearance last November affected about 1,700 families.
The legal question now is not just encroachment, but whether 1974 government settlement under taungya creates tenurial rights.
*Tags:* #Assam #EvictionDrive #Nagaon #Hojai #Golaghat #BengaliMuslims #ForestLand #HimantaBiswaSarma #GauhatiHighCourt #Taungya