Social media was awash with horrific clips of police violence during an eviction drive in Assam. One included a state-hired photographer punching a dying man. But why were policemen shooting to kill residents just to clear some government land?
The politics: Assam is ruled by a BJP government headed by Himanta Biswa Sarma—a former Congress leader who defected to the saffron party. He was rewarded with the CM gaddi after BJP retained power in the recent state elections (explained here). One of the key campaign promises: to evict “encroachers” from 77,420 bighas (around 25,587 acres) of government land and use it to benefit landless members of indigenous communities.
The project: is titled Gorukhuti—and the government has sanctioned Rs 96 million (9.60 crore) towards it. The aim is to use the reclaimed land to train unemployed youth from indigenous communities in agricultural practices.
The target: The vast majority of people who have been targeted for eviction so far are Bengali Muslims. While the government insists their identity is irrelevant, the presence of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam is a lightning rod—and the BJP has found great political success in promising to not just evict them, but also strip many of citizenship (see: National Register of Citizens). After a recent eviction drive on Monday, BJP MLA Mrinal Hazarika called the residents “illegal settlers,” adding: “Congress government in the past used to settle the immigrant Muslims in any vacant land to build vote bank. That must stop.”
Point to note: Most of the residents are not illegal immigrants but Indian citizens—whose name appears on the National Register of citizens. And they claim to have been living on this land since the 70s—and say they have valid government documents to prove their ownership of the plots.
There have been a flurry of such drives since the BJP government won the state elections in May. The latest—in the villages of Dholpur in Sipajhar—targets land along the banks of the Brahmaputra. It kicked off in high gear on Monday. The police armed with excavators and riot control vehicles kicked out 800 families—leaving 5000 people instantly homeless. A Muslim student leader said:
“Most of them had occupied the government land as they are landless and are unable to buy their own land. They were living there for several decades. After the eviction, they have no option but to live under the open sky… The situation on the ground is heart-wrenching.”
And they received no warning according to local activists: “Some got the eviction notices the night before, some on the day of the drive and some did not get any notice at all.”
Zero rehabilitation: The government has made no arrangements to re-home the residents—and offered zero assistance. They have now moved to other locations down the river—where they are living in the open. A local social worker says:
“The administration is telling them to move from there too. But where will they go?... Since last night, there has been rain and fierce winds… small children, women are huddled together in the midst of all this.”
There is also no running water, toilets or tarpaulin—despite the government’s promise to provide the same.
The government’s response: Local officials have resorted to bureaucratic responses like this:
“The committee to look into the agriculture and development project in the area was constituted in June itself. We got a request from the agriculture department to declare the area as community agricultural land, so they had lots of time.”
But Chief Minister Sarma openly celebrated the evictions, tweeting:
“I am happy and compliment district administration of Darrang and @assampolice for having cleared about 4500 bigha [around 1487 acres], by evicting 800 households, demolishing 4 illegal religious structures and a private institution at Sipajhar.”
He also shared photos of a mosque being destroyed—it was one of several torn down during the drive, along with a madrassa. In the same thread, Sarma added:
“On June 7, I had inspected riverine areas encroached by illegal settlers near Dholpur Shiva Mandir. I had assured temple mgmt [management] & local people to set up a Manikut, build a guest house & boundary wall.”
Point to note: These latest evictions are being supervised by some of the most powerful BJP leaders in the state, and being personally led by top police officials—including Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma, who is the Chief Minister’s brother.
Residents offered no resistance during drive #1, but they put up a fight during the second drive which took place on Thursday—which in turn triggered the violence.
The police version: FYI: The main source of this narrative is the CM’s brother—SP Sarma—who has been quoted most frequently in the press. He claims that 1,500-2,000 residents gathered when the eviction drive began:
“At first there was no issue, but when police started removing encroachments using JCB vehicles, the mob started pelting stones and attacking the police with machetes, spears and other things… One police officer was hit with a machete on his head and sustained serious injuries. We had to resort to firing to disperse the crowd and protect our personnel.”
Sarma says the police “did what they had to do” in “self-defence.” Another unnamed senior police official claims an ‘outside’ hand: “However, we feel some ‘outside elements’ got involved… They are the ones who gave it a violent colour. Drone images with us show this was a planned resistance and it was done tactically.”
The residents’ version: Local activists say the residents received an eviction notice at the very last minute—on Wednesday night, between 10 pm and midnight. And they were told to clear out by 6 am the next day. The next day, when the police arrived, residents and local Muslim student leaders formed a human chain to block them:
“It was a peaceful protest, and we held a discussion with the administration. We told them that the rehabilitation plans were not sufficient, the place they had directed the locals to was especially low-lying, and flood prone. We also asked for provisions for latrines. They agreed.”
And here’s where it turned ugly:
“Later, as people were trying to dismantle their homes themselves and take away parts such as tin sheds, the authorities started razing them with JCBs. All they (the locals) wanted to do was take along parts of their home so they could rebuild it.”
Casualty count: The police claim that only two residents were killed—and 11 others, including nine policemen, have been injured. And the latest estimate of the mob of residents has jumped to 4,000. But local activists insist that at least three villagers have died, and around 50 are injured—but there could be many more deaths. It is difficult to get an exact number as the area has been cordoned off by the police.
Two points to note: One, the Supreme Court has issued a directive prohibiting any evictions during the pandemic. Two, the residents have filed a case challenging the eviction in the Guwahati High Court—which is still underway.
Late evening, social media was awash with horrific clips of violence that appear to contradict the police account. EastMojo has the best compilation—which offers a clear view of the ground situation. Warning: The most appalling bit starts around the 1:30 mark—and features a photographer brutally assaulting a man who lies dying on the ground after being shot by the police.
The photographer: was later identified as Bijoy Bania, who was hired by the district administration to document the eviction drive. And he is now in custody. The state’s special Director General Police said: “The only thing I can say is that having seen the video, we will take action against him… no questions asked.” But there is no mention of the policeman who also attacked the man with a lathi—and the others who watched while Bania mauled the fatally injured man.
Also this: The CM has instituted an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the casualties—to be headed by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court.
Indian Express has the best ground reporting on the violence. Deccan Herald and Sentinel Assam have details on the first drive.
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