New Delhi (Agency): In a dramatic act of defiance, women in Guwahati, Assam’s largest city, staged a semi-nude protest against an anti-encroachment eviction drive in the Silsako Beel area. This occurred as excavators were used to demolish several houses to clear the alleged encroached wetland area.
As the police and civil administration arrived at the site to carry out the eviction, local residents began to protest. Initially chanting slogans against the government, two women disrobed themselves as part of the protest. Policewomen quickly covered them and removed them from the scene, along with several other protestors.
A couple whose house was demolished stated that they had purchased the land for Rs 4 lakh in 2007 from a local committee. The committee had assured them that no eviction would occur in the area. “The government has thrown us out so that they can sell this land to the rich for crores of rupees. Where will we go now? Our lives are over,” the couple lamented.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded by saying the eviction was carried out following consultations with local residents. He added that compensation would be provided to those eligible. “We will build flats for the landless evicted people,” Sarma informed reporters.
However, opposition parties criticized the government’s action. Assam Jatiya Parishad chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi claimed women’s safety is at risk under BJP rule. “For the first time, women had to strip and protest in our state,” he said.
Rudrangkur Hazarika, President of the youth wing of the state’s Aam Aadmi Party, argued that the women were left with no other way to draw attention to their grievances. “The government has turned a deaf ear to their problems,” he pointed out.
Assam Trinamool Congress spokesperson Dilip Sarma also condemned the incident. “The BJP had talked about protecting the land of the indigenous people. And now, Assamese women are being forced to disrobe and protest against the government,” he said.
The Silsako Beel area has been subject to eviction drives earlier this year as well, as part of the government’s plan to make the entire water body free from encroachment. In 2008, the area was declared a protected water body, prohibiting any construction or settlement over its 1,800 bighas (over 595 acres).
An official from the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority mentioned that less than 300 bighas of the lake remained free from encroachment. This is believed to be a significant reason for water logging issues in the eastern part of the city.
The affected individuals are mostly from Assamese communities like Bodo, Mising, Karbi, Ahom, and Bishnupriya Manipuri.
The incident has spurred a new wave of public debate on land rights, government evictions, and the limits of protest. As the dust settles, many are left questioning the methods used by both the government and the protestors, as well as contemplating the social and ethical implications of the event.