Assam land eviction: 1500 Muslim homes targeted, Temple spared, allege Morigaon residents

In Assam’s Morigaon district, around 1,500 families who had settled “illegally” on forest and railway land have begun clearing the area following a government order. Issued on June 12, the order demanded that residents vacate the land within ten days. 

District Commissioner Devashish Sarma said that most families complied with the notice. “A notice was served on June 12 asking them to clear the land within ten days, and most of them have complied,” Sarma said. The families, comprising approximately 10,000 people, had been living in Silbhanga village in Jagiroad.

However, the eviction has sparked allegations of bias. Residents claimed that Bengal-origin Muslim families were singled out, with almost all razed houses belonging to Muslim families. Monuwara Begum, a 45-year-old physically challenged woman, expressed her distress, asking, “Why does the Assam government deprive and abuse us? Is it because we are Muslims?”

In stark contrast, a Kali temple and adjoining houses remained untouched. “They flattened the decades-old madrassa and broke the masjid wall but did not touch the Kali Mandir and the ashram,” said Abul Kashem, whose house was among those demolished.

Residents also alleged that the demolition continued despite a stay order issued by the Gauhati High Court on the morning of the drive. Notices were reportedly pasted on Muslim homes but not on Hindu residences. District officials cited plans for “developmental activities” as the reason for the eviction.

Sarma addressed the media, saying that the administration’s efforts to ensure a peaceful clearance without force or demolition of structures. “We held talks with the people, and they have agreed to do so with nearly 80 percent of them already shifting their belongings from the encroached land,” Sarma said.

Despite these assurances, many Hindu, Nepali, and Tiwa families’ homes were not demolished, even those near Muslim houses. A few Hindu families voluntarily dismantled their homes near the paper mill, but no Hindu homes were razed within the settlement.

This eviction has drawn criticism from opposition leaders. Congress parliamentarian Pradyut Bordoloi accused the BJP of targeting Muslims in retaliation for not voting for them in the recent Lok Sabha elections. However, BJP state unit head Bhabesh Kaita denied the allegations, stating, “Unauthorised encroachers ought to be evicted, and there is no connection with voting.”