Assam evictions: Thousands displaced amid questions over proof and rehabilitation

Guwahati: Thousands of families in Assam have been displaced over the past five years as the state carried out repeated eviction drives to clear encroachment from forest, government and grazing land. While the government says the operations are legally mandated, questions remain over documentation, selective enforcement and rehabilitation.

Between May 2021 and 2026, at least 33 documented eviction operations displaced 20,387 families and over one lakh people, according to a March 2026 investigation by The New Humanitarian. Other estimates suggest more than 22,000 structures were demolished during the period.

The drives have continued into 2026. On October 17 and 18, over 1,100 families were reportedly evicted from reserved forest land in Nagaon, Hojai and Golaghat. Earlier operations affected families in Lakhimpur, Goalpara, Dhubri, Golaghat and Sonitpur.

The evictions have also led to deaths. Two villagers were killed in police firing during the 2021 Darrang eviction drive, while two protesters died in police firing near Guwahati in September 2024. In Goalpara, 19-year-old Sakuar Ali was shot dead in July 2025 after police opened fire on evicted residents and protesters. Police said personnel were attacked, but the family has sought an FIR, and the conflicting accounts have renewed demands for an independent inquiry.

The Assam government maintains that the operations target illegal occupation of forest and public land. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also linked the issue to illegal immigration and the protection of indigenous land rights.

Critics, however, say encroachment and citizenship are separate legal questions. Many displaced families reportedly hold land documents, ration cards and voter IDs, and say they settled decades ago after losing their homes to riverbank erosion. Rights groups argue that labelling them “Bangladeshis” without a determination by Foreigners Tribunals deepens communal polarisation.

Questions have also been raised over the use of cleared land. Reports have linked evictions in Dhubri to an Adani Power project, while activists have pointed to large land allocations for corporate projects, including those linked to Tata, Patanjali, JK Lakshmi Cement and Reliance. It remains unclear whether the allocated plots are the same land cleared during the drives.

Muslim families are reported to form the majority of those evicted in several areas, but the government has not released religion-disaggregated data, making allegations of selective enforcement difficult to verify.

The Supreme Court has recognised the right to shelter and livelihood under Article 21, and its 2024 bulldozer judgment requires notice and hearing before demolition. Yet reports consistently point to inadequate rehabilitation, with many families receiving no alternative land or being resettled on erosion-prone riverbanks.

The state says it is protecting public land, but the scale of displacement and the lack of rehabilitation continue to raise questions about whether the evictions are only an administrative exercise or part of a wider political and social contest.