Assam activist's arrest over Kaziranga project draws international concern

By Nava Thakuria 

Unusual global concern surfaced soon after Assam Police arrested a prominent Asomiya land rights activist while he was protesting against a public-private partnership tourism venture near the world-famous Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The Assam government recently allotted around 30 bighas of land for a project comprising a five-star luxury hotel of the US-based Hyatt Group and a Tea Tribe Heritage Museum at Inglay (Inle) Pathar near the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The move sparked widespread debate followed by protest demonstrations.

Covering around 1,300 square kilometres, the Kaziranga forest reserve is home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, along with Bengal tigers, Asiatic elephants, wild buffaloes, and numerous other species. The land in question, also known as Hati Pathar (Playground of Elephants), was allotted to the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC). According to critics, it was reclassified without proper public consultation with the indigenous families who had cultivated it for generations. Opponents also claim that more than 60 bighas of agricultural and community grazing land have been reclassified in recent years.

Several international rights organisations have sought the urgent and unconditional release of indigenous land rights activist Pranab Doley, who was picked up by a Guwahati city police team from his rented accommodation in the Sundarpur locality on 12 July. He was later handed over to Bokakhat Police after a case (No. 108/2026) was registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including criminal conspiracy, intimidation, unlawful assembly, rioting, and assault on public servants. He was formally arrested the following day in Bokakhat, under Golaghat district of eastern Assam, where the administrative headquarters of the Kaziranga forest reserve is located. For years, Doley, a land rights activist and socio-political leader from Assam's indigenous Mising community, has opposed the proposed Hyatt hotel project on the fringes of Kaziranga.

A postgraduate from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Doley has argued that the project would adversely affect both the environment and the traditional rights of local communities. According to the police complaint, Doley was the mastermind behind a protest demonstration at Inglay Pathar on 29 June, during which an unruly mob allegedly arrived at the construction site with weapons, damaged property, threatened workers, and injured more than 10 police personnel.

Doley, convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee, which works on indigenous rights, environmental conservation, sustainable development, and community welfare, had contested the last two Assembly elections as an independent candidate but was unsuccessful. Following his arrest, police also arrested two of his associates, Amit Nag and Brijit Kutum, while Bhaskar Saikia and Rajib Pegu later surrendered before a local court.

Some farming families have already relinquished their claims to the land and accepted compensation offered by the authorities, but others remain unconvinced. At least 12 petitioners approached the Gauhati High Court, alleging that their lands had been taken away by revenue authorities without prior notice. In June this year, the High Court issued notices to the ATDC after petitions challenged the acquisition process. With the matter still pending before the court, the arrests of Doley and others drew strong criticism from organisations including Assam Nagarik Sanmilan, Asom Mojuri Shramik Union, Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, and the Assam unit of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha, among others.

Soon afterwards, several global rights organisations issued statements demanding the activists' release. London-based Survival International promptly responded to the arrests of those protesting against the planned Hyatt hotel near Kaziranga, claiming that the project had already led to the eviction of more than 45 Adivasi families. According to a statement by Survival International director Caroline Pearce, the project forms part of a broader plan by the Assam government to transfer large tracts of land adjacent to the park to private companies for luxury tourism ventures. Pearce argued that Doley had done nothing wrong and should be released immediately. The authorities, she said, must free all those arrested and "cease valuing conservation and tourism over the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples."

The Copenhagen-based International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs also condemned Doley's arrest, describing it as an attempt to suppress his human rights advocacy and peaceful protests against the Hyatt project in northeastern India. Calling for his immediate release, the Baguio (Philippines)-based Indigenous Peoples Rights International alleged that his arrest was part of a wider effort to criminalise indigenous human rights and land defenders.

The Indigenous Rights and Protected Areas Initiative of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, based in Arizona, USA, called on both the Government of India and the Assam government to release Doley, withdraw all charges arising from the peaceful exercise of his fundamental rights, ensure his physical and psychological safety while in custody, and provide unhindered access to legal counsel, his family, and independent medical care.

The Chiang Mai (Thailand)-based Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, together with the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders Network and the Platform for Asia Indigenous Peoples Territorial Rights, strongly condemned Doley's continued detention. Expressing solidarity with Doley, his family, colleagues, and the indigenous communities of Assam, the organisations urged India's National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, and the wider international human rights community to closely monitor the case and take appropriate action to safeguard the rights of Doley and the affected indigenous communities.

The Geneva-based United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights also expressed deep concern over the arrests of Doley and four others, observing that "such arrests and prosecutions can have a chilling effect on civic space and discourage others from speaking out against abuses." The group added: "States must ensure human rights defenders are able to exercise their right to protect, defend and promote human rights and carry out their work safely and without fear of intimidation, reprisals or criminalisation." The International Peoples' Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation also condemned the arrests and demanded their immediate release.

Earlier, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Dispur for using police to suppress democratic dissent. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that silencing dissenting voices was incompatible with the spirit of Indian democracy. Assam legislator Akhil Gogoi also denounced the government's actions against indigenous activists. He staged a protest on the premises of the Assam Legislative Assembly during its Budget Session to highlight what he described as government-led land grabbing.

However, the Assam government defended the proposed tourism project, arguing that it would benefit local communities by generating employment and boosting the regional economy. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the luxury hotel would create jobs and new opportunities for local families. He expressed disappointment that, according to him, certain motivated groups were opposing the project by invoking Kaziranga's ecological sensitivity. His views were echoed by State minister and local legislator Atul Bora, who maintained that the land belonged to the government. Stressing the need to improve tourism infrastructure as visitor numbers to Kaziranga continue to rise, Bora said the museum would celebrate the heritage of the Tea Tribe community and claimed that the initiative had received widespread public support.

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*Senior journalist based in 

Guwahati