Karbi Anglong Council to cancel licences on VGR–PGR land: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will immediately cancel the licences of all commercial establishments operating on VGR–PGR land.

He chaired a meeting with representatives of various organisations representing the Karbi community, members of Karbi civil society, and functionaries of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Dispur on Friday.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister held detailed discussions with the representatives on a range of issues, including the recent incident that occurred in the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong district. In the meeting consensus was reached on several matters, and a number of important decisions have been taken.


Briefing the media after the meeting, the Chief Minister stated that in connection with the issue of VGR and PGR land, which is presently under consideration before a Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will file an affidavit within the first week of January. Simultaneously, Karbi civil society will also present its views as a party to the case. Considering the importance of the matter, the State government will request the court for an expeditious hearing and early verdict, following which appropriate action will be taken by the Government in accordance with the court’s decision.

The Chief Minister further informed that all government offices presently located on VGR–PGR land in Kheroni will be shifted to alternative locations at the earliest. He stated that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will soon undertake fencing of the approximately eight thousand bighas of VGR–PGR land in Kheroni and carry out afforestation in the area so as to prevent any future encroachment.

Referring to the recent incident in Kheroni in which a person lost his life due to police firing, the Chief Minister said that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will provide a job to a next of kin of the deceased, while the State government will additionally provide ex-gratia compensation of Rs.10 lakh.

He also announced that the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will immediately cancel the licences of all commercial establishments operating on VGR–PGR land. Further, all government office land in Karbi Anglong district that has been encroached upon by individuals for residential purposes will be cleared of encroachments by the Autonomous Council.

The Chief Minister informed the media that a follow-up meeting on these matters will be convened after the Bhogali Bihu.

He moreover stated that several laws enacted by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council are currently under consideration by the State government and assured that steps will be taken to accord approval to these laws at the earliest.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive Member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, Tuliram Ronghang, other council officials, leaders of various organisations representing Karbi to society including the Karbi Students’ Association, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister K. K. Dwivedi, and other senior officials of the State government and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.

Mobile internet services remained suspended in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts. The Army conducted a flag march on Wednesday and Rapid Action Force was deployed.

There is no fresh incident. Several houses are torched and there is tension in the area following clashes between police and protestors on Monday.

In the Kheroni area there was vandalism as the angry protesters went on a rampage on Tuesday. There was vandalism and looting in the market area. Several people are injured including the police personnels.

The incident took place at Dongkamokam in West Karbi Anglong where people have been agitating for the last few days demanding eviction against illegal encroachment on protected government lands.

The agitators have also started an indefinite hunger strike on December 16 demanding the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) to act against the illegal encroachment immediately.

Assam DGP, Harmeet Singh on Wednesday said, “Around 60 police personnel were injured, some of them seriously injured.”

AJP reaction
Expressing deep concern over the incident in Kheroni of West Karbi Anglong, where a procession of non-indigenous people raised slogans such as “Karbi Go Back” and “Karbi Chinese Go Back,” the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) alleged that this was the direct outcome of a BJP-led conspiracy to politically annihilate indigenous communities.

The regional party asserted that such a situation had never arisen in Assam before the BJP came to power.

AJP stated that despite coming to power on slogans of protecting jati, mati, bheti (community, land, and hearth), it is under BJP rule that indigenous people have lost land, lost their homes, and are now being attacked even in their last refuge—their dignity and self-respect. The party demanded that those who raised “Karbi Go Back” slogans in Kheroni be arrested and prosecuted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

AJP General Secretary Jagadish Bhuyan said that since the BJP assumed power, the very existence of indigenous people has come under threat in every inch of Assam. He recalled that the Assam Movement took place precisely to protect indigenous existence, during which 860 people sacrificed their lives, eventually leading to the signing of the Assam Accord. The BJP had sought votes from the people of Assam by promising to implement the Accord clause by clause, especially Clause 6, to ensure linguistic, cultural, and constitutional safeguards for indigenous communities. However, Bhuyan alleged that over the past nearly ten years, the BJP has betrayed the people of Assam by failing to fulfil these commitments.

Bhuyan said that what the CM is acknowledging today was felt by the people of Assam four decades ago, which led to the Assam Movement. While BJP leaders, including the CM, repeatedly claim that they will not allow indigenous people’s existence to be threatened, in reality, under their patronage, people from North India and Bangladesh have entered Assam in large numbers. This has not only intensified the challenge to indigenous existence but has also created an environment where outsiders feel emboldened to raise “go back” slogans against indigenous communities.

Bhuyan squarely blamed the BJP, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and his government for this situation, stating that wherever indigenous people have faced threats, the BJP government has adopted anti-indigenous positions for vote-bank politics, clearly exposing the party’s anti-indigenous policy.

Bhuyan said it is widely known that during the tenure of Chief Executive Member (CEM) Tuliram Ronghang, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council has witnessed rampant corruption, irregularities, and large-scale plunder of natural resources. He alleged that this corruption has taken place with the direct patronage of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. From flying together in chartered aircraft to cutting the CM’s birthday cake, Ronghang’s presence alongside the Chief Minister has been visible everywhere, leading to widespread public resentment.

Bhuyan further pointed out that indigenous Karbi people are deeply worried about the rapid decline in their population in Karbi Anglong district. In 1951, Karbis constituted 84 percent of the population in the undivided Karbi Anglong district, but today that figure has fallen below 50 percent. Meanwhile, more than 1.5 lakh bighas of land in Karbi Anglong alone have been allotted to corporate companies. These developments, Bhuyan said, have pushed the Karbi community into an acute existential crisis.

He added that Karbi organisations have long been demanding concrete measures to safeguard their existence. The recent agitation in Kheroni, demanding eviction drives on government land, stemmed from these fears. However, instead of addressing their concerns, the BJP-controlled Autonomous Council and the state government adopted a policy of repression, leading the situation to deteriorate further.

Bhuyan strongly condemned the slogan “Karbi Chinese Go Back,” calling it a manifestation of North Indian feudal and racist mentality. He said people from the Northeast are often mocked and discriminated against in cities like Delhi using terms such as “Chinese,” “Chinki,” or “Chini.” However, seeing Karbi tribal people being abused with such slurs in their own homeland, while mobs wielded sticks and spears, was even more intolerable and dangerous. He asserted that such incidents never occurred in Assam before the BJP came to power and described them as the result of BJP-backed cultural aggression, warning that they signal a frightening future.

Stating that this entire episode reflects a calculated conspiracy by the BJP to endanger indigenous existence for vote-bank politics, Bhuyan said it also proves that even Sixth Schedule protections cannot save a community without genuine governmental intent.