Authorities in India’s northeastern state of Assam have demolished hundreds of homes, mostly belonging to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Chaos unfolded in the Dahikata Reserve Forest in India’s northeastern state of Assam on Sunday as bulldozers moved in to demolish homes during a large-scale eviction drive. Families, many of them Bengali-speaking Muslims, say they are being “targeted for being Muslim” in an ongoing campaign by the state government.
The two-day operation, ordered by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, aims to reclaim more than 1,100 bighas (around 375 acres) of what authorities claim is encroached forest land. The drive began on November 9 under tight security, with more than 900 personnel — including police, commandos, and forest guards — deployed to the site.
Local residents described scenes of panic as heavy machinery tore through tin-roofed homes. Many rushed to save whatever belongings they could. One woman, holding her child beside the rubble of her demolished home, said they were being evicted “just because we are Muslims.” Another resident said their family had lived there for generations. “We were born here. Our parents and grandparents lived here. Now everything is gone. Where will we go?”
Several families, anticipating the demolition, dismantled their homes themselves before the bulldozers arrived. Many say they were given no time to prepare and that the government made no arrangements for relocation or rehabilitation, leaving hundreds — including children and the elderly — without shelter.
An elderly man who said he had lived in Dahikata since childhood told reporters that the land was their only home. “If we had other land, we wouldn’t be here,” he said. “Now we have nowhere to go.”
Political backing for evictions
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Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has defended the evictions, calling them necessary to protect forest land. In a Facebook Live session earlier this week, he claimed “certain groups are conspiring to stop eviction drives” and accused them of plotting to “turn Assam into another Nepal.”
Sarma has frequently referred to the evicted communities as “illegal Miyas” — a term widely used in Assam to describe Bengali-speaking Muslims, often in a derogatory way. On November 3, he said eviction drives would continue, declaring that “illegal Miyas will not find peace under this government.”
Rights groups and activists, however, say such statements reflect an anti-Muslim bias that has shaped state policy in Assam since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2016. Most eviction drives in recent years have displaced poor Muslim families who claim to have lived on the land for generations.
Amnesty International India has previously criticised Assam’s eviction policy, calling it “discriminatory and unlawful” and urging authorities to halt demolitions that leave families homeless.
Accusations of discrimination
The All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) has condemned the latest operation, accusing the state government of “aggressive and discriminatory actions” aimed at marginalising Muslims. AAMSU President Rezaul Karim Sarkar said the chief minister had “violated the Constitution,” adding: “How long will the government continue this oppression — snatching people’s food, clothing, and shelter? If people cannot live in peace, the ruler too will not remain at peace.”
Human rights advocates say the evictions are part of a broader pattern of state-sponsored marginalisation of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, many of whom have long faced allegations of being illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, despite having lived in India for decades.
A long history of fear
Since independence, Assam has seen deep ethnic and religious tensions over migration and land ownership. Successive governments have carried out eviction drives in the name of protecting forests or removing “illegal settlers,” but most victims have been poor Muslims living in rural areas.
For those evicted from Dahikata this week, the loss is total. A mother of three, sifting through the debris of her destroyed home, said: “We have nothing left, not even a place to sleep. We are citizens of this country, but we are being treated like criminals.”
Assam, which borders Bangladesh, has a long history of migration and demographic anxiety. The region has been central to India’s citizenship debates, including the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC), which left nearly two million people — mostly Muslims — at risk of statelessness in 2019.
Critics say the recent eviction drives are part of the same political project to push Bengali-speaking Muslims further to the margins of Indian society under the guise of protecting land or restoring forests.
