A Socialist Party (India) delegation of 8 members visited four districts of Assam – Goalpara, Dhubri, Lakhimpur and Nalbari during 2-4 September, 2025 to meet families who have faced eviction from their homes and land. While the government says it wants to make Hasila Bill in Goalpara dist., erstwhile revenue village a reserved forest area it has not paid any compensation to the people dislocated from here nor has it taken any responsibility for resettlement or rehabilitation. 

Families of three villages of  Bilasipara falling in Dhubri district evicted to make way for a proposed thermal power plant to be set up by Adani have received Rs. 50,000 compensation but this amount is inadequate compared to the loss suffered by displaced families. In Phukanarhat Uttar Telahi GP of Lakhimpur dist. families have either faced demotion of their houses or have been evicted from their agricultural lands or both. All this land belongs to the category of ‘grazing land’. These families have been charged with illegally occupying the government land. 

In Village Bakhrikuchi, Circle Barkhetri of Dist. Nalbari families have been evicted on the same charge of illegally occupying Gram Sabha land. Wherever people have been completely evicted, as in Goalpara and Nalbari districts, they are resettled on private lands with government providing no relief or rehabilitation. Private individuals and organisations have come forward to help. Government is discouraging anybody giving shelter to evicted families or providing them any relief material.

Government has not even cared that schools, anganwadis, health centre, Jal Jeevan Mission water supply systems, Prime Minister Awas Yojana houses, built with crores of rupees from public fund too were demolished mercilessly along with evictions of people. How was this infrastructure created if people we re living illegally here?

All these families evicted possess proper documents like Adhar cards, Voters’ Identity cards, ration cards, PAN cards and even NRC proof to show that they are citizens of this country, yet government has left them stranded. 

In Assam there are two kinds of Muslims. The ones who can speak fluent Assamese are called indigenous and they have been absorbed in the Assamese society. However, the ones who cannot speak fluent Assamese and whose mother tongue in Bengali are called as Miya Muslims and are looked at with suspicion as having come from across the Bangladesh border at some point in time.

The public sentiment in Assam is such that even the secular Assamese want the 1985 accord with Rajiv Gandhi government implemented which says that anybody who has come from Bangladesh after 25 March, 1971 must go back, whether Muslim or Hindu.

However, a pattern has emerged that mostly Muslim families with Bengali as their mother tongue, also called Miya Muslims, are being targeted as their citizenship is being put under question even after all of them have made it to the NRC. Their eviction from their homes and lands is a violation of their fundamental rights. It is quite clear that these demolitions are taking place as a political exercise for polarization of the society before the next Assembly elections. When the government has already conducted NRC what is the need to again target Bengali speaking Muslim families?

Socialist Party (India) demands that the government of Assam rehabilitate all families who have lost their homes and lands or both due to eviction. Government of Assam should respect the rights of people who have made it to NRC conducted by it as legitimate citizens of this country and no effort should be made to remove them from the voters’ list, as was reported in Dhubri district.

The delegation included Sandeep Pandey, Syed Tahseen Ahmad, Sarbjit Kaushal, Niya Tapo, Rajni Rani, Shahid Kamal, Syed Abubakr and Biju Borbaruah.

Sandeep Pandey, Secretary General, Socialist Party (India), socialistpartyindia@gmail.com, Ph: 0522 2355978, 3564437

Syed Tahseen Ahmad, Chairperson, Parliamentary Board, Socialist Party (India), 9654079528

Shahid Saleem, Vice President and Incharge, Minority Affairs and Human Rights, SP(I), 9622002001

Shyam Gambhir, Vice President, SP(I), 9818123939

Manjoo Mohan, Secretary General, SP(I), 9971526169

Abhay Sinha, President, SP(I), Delhi, 9555035003

Faisal Khan, Convenor, Hindu Muslim Ekta Samiti, SP(I), 920505497