The Assam government has launched a demolition drive in several Muslim-majority areas in the Goalpara district. The drive has razed down dozens of houses on alleged privately owned land, which has been claimed to be agricultural land. The families alleged that they possess valid land documents.
The demolition was conducted in Magurmari and several other areas of Goalpara district, with around 70 to 75 houses being demolished during the operations, the locals and community representatives say. With several families being displaced overnight. The operation was conducted in the presence of police personnel.
The move garnered criticism, with the executive president of the Northeast Minority Students alleging that Muslims in Goalpara had repeatedly faced demolition drives over the years.
“Those whose houses were demolished were living on their own land and had the necessary land documents. The land was not government property. Their only issue was that the land was categorized as agricultural land,” Islam said.
Urging the government to compensate the affected families. However, he also acknowledged that some people have earlier lived on government land after they lost their homes to floods and erosion.
Meanwhile, Ashiq Rabbani, president of the Muslim Students’ Union of Assam (MUSA), also criticized the demolition and said that action disproportionately affected Muslims.
“Building a house on one’s own agricultural land should not be treated as a crime,” Rabbani said.
Earlier this summer of 2025, Assam has seen an aggressive, widely reported wave of eviction operations that has cleared tens of thousands of bighas of land, demolished thousands of homes and shops, and left scores of families, many from erosion-prone and Muslim minority communities, suddenly homeless or displaced. The eviction operation, aimed at clearing alleged encroachments on Paikan Reserve Forest land, reportedly went ahead in violation of an interim order issued by the Gauhati High Court on July 11, 2025.
