A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Assam as authorities intensify eviction drives, leaving thousands of families, predominantly Bengali-origin Muslims, homeless. The latest major action on Saturday saw 1,080 families displaced from 140 hectares in the Paikan Reserve Forest in Goalpara district. This follows closely on the heels of a similar large-scale eviction in Dhubri district, where nearly 1,400 Bengali-origin Muslim families were uprooted from over 450 hectares.
Officials maintain that the cleared land in Paikan falls squarely within the designated reserve forest under the Krishnai Range. However, the evicted residents fiercely dispute these claims. Many assert their families have been living on these lands for generations, long before the area was officially declared a reserve forest in 1982, a process that began with a proposal in 1959. “We don’t have land anywhere else,” lamented Mizanur Rahman, a 28-year-old from Bidyapara revenue village, who lost his home in the recent drive, underscoring the desperate plight of those affected.
The Saturday eviction in Paikan is not an isolated incident. It closely follows the demolition of homes belonging to 690 families in Hasilabeel, a wetland near Goalpara town, on June 16. These actions are part of a broader, more aggressive campaign. According to a report by Scroll, at least five eviction drives across four Assam districts in the past month alone have collectively displaced nearly 3,500 families.
This escalating crisis is compounded by a long-standing environmental challenge. For the past four decades, the relentless erosion caused by the Brahmaputra River has tragically washed away 472 villages in Goalpara district, rendering countless thousands homeless and landless. This natural disaster has forced many to seek refuge wherever they could find it.
As Jiten Das, president of the district lawyers’ association, and Wazed Ali, its secretary, explained, “Many of these people, having found no alternative for their survival, took shelter in the Paikan Reserve Forest land, erecting a shed over their head.” These individuals, already victims of nature’s fury, are now being uprooted once more, facing an uncertain future with nowhere left to go. The ongoing evictions highlight a complex interplay of land rights, environmental displacement, and community vulnerability in Assam.
