Omnibus judicial pronouncements in some cases can have unintended consequences elsewhere. Take Assam’s Karbi Anglong. In its 2022 order in a case of landgrab in Patiala, the Supreme Court directed all state governments to evolve schemes to evict unauthorised occupants of gram sabha, panchayat, poramboke and shamlat lands, and restore them to the gram sabha or panchayat for the common use of villagers. Citing that ruling, the tribal Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) last year issued eviction notices to around 10,000 people who hail from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, accusing them of illegally settling on reserved grazing lands in Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong. It opened a Pandora’s box. The dispute of land alienation of indigenous people is a sensitive issue as the Karbi regions have constitutional protection under the Sixth Schedule.
The contested occupation of Karbi land in what are called village grazing reserves and professional grazing reserves totals 7,184.70 acres. The settlers, who have been there for decades, sought the Gauhati High Court’s protection, which issued an interim stay order. Since the petitioners argued that they were not squatters, the court directed the KAAC to clarify whether the disputed lands were part of the grazing reserves. Meanwhile, demands from a section of the occupiers—some of whom even figure in the National Register of Citizens—to de-reserve their lands triggered sharp protests among Karbi students and others. A recent hunger strike by the students and their subsequent eviction to a Guwahati hospital for medical treatment amid rumours of their arrest triggered riots and arson attacks. Two locals were killed and over 60 police personnel injured, including a director general. The protesters also set the ancestral residence of BJP leader and KAAC chief executive Tuliram Ronghang on fire.
The Karbi violence is not merely a law and order issue, but indicative of unresolved issues of land rights, identity and autonomy. Land de-reservation was allowed in certain places in Assam, but cannot be pushed through in Sixth Schedule areas. However, violence has no place in a democracy. With the Assam elections around the corner, a transparent, inclusive dialogue that factors in the rights of both tribal and non-indigenous communities, while allowing the judicial process to run its course, would be the best way forward.