Stranded in the middle of Morihuti, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, in the stretch of char called Dholpur 2 in Assam, Joigun Bewa (80) cooks rice and taro leaves for lunch. When approached, she utters three words, “Amar kichu nai (I don’t have anything left).”
Bewa and her family were one of more than 2,000 which were evicted in September 2021. The massive drive involved the police and administration to remove people from an area called Dholpur 1 for the Gorukhuti agricultural developmental project. Most of the evictees belong to the Muslim community. The families were accused of being illegal immigrants and encroachers despite having due citizenship documents.
The most aggressive evictions occurred on September 20 and 23, with houses of people being demolished and burnt, personal belongings destroyed by the police and even loss of lives. Horrific visuals showed police opening fire at protestors. Even though the drive came under massive criticism, the government did not back down.
The eviction removed people from the land they had been tilling for years. They would be moved to Dholpur 2 and 3 – with Morihuti being the wattle in between.
The minutes of a meeting held on January 31, 2022 issued by the office of the circle officer (Dalgaon Revenue Circle) stated that those families who were evicted on September 20 and 23, 2021 and those who were yet to be evicted from the area under the Gorukhuti project were to be relocated to Dalgaon LAC.
Labelling all 2,051 families as encroachers of government-owned land, 633 families were to be shifted to Dalgaon in the first phase, followed by the rest – with one bigha of land provided to each family.
Between February and March, more than 50 tractors provided by the administration transported the belongings of 530 families to Shyampur in Dalgaon of Darrang district, about 55 km from Dholpur 1. These families had land that fell within the boundaries of the project but were not evicted in September.
When asked why people who were evicted were not relocated first, Vivek Shyam, the additional deputy commission (ADC) commented, “We wanted to shift all the people but the relocation had to be stopped because of bad weather.” He adds, “I don’t think shifting will be possible now, since the river has swollen up and tractors won’t go through.”
More than 100 families who were to be relocated under the first phase still await the process.
Joigun Bewa. Photo: Bondita Baruah
Relocation or disguised eviction?
After the eviction, the displaced persons were eager to start a new life away from the threatening boundaries of the Gorukhuti project. In the meantime, they were moved to seven ‘camps’ in Shyampur. “We were pressured to vacate by the officials and the police,” says Hasan Ali (50) who used to be a farmer but works as a daily wage labourer in Shyampur to earn his bread.
As the months rolled by, the enthusiasm has come to a standstill. “We have just been shifted here but not settled,” says Rahman Ali, who also used to be a farmer. “The land is not in our names. We sit here all day doing nothing.” The evicted families are anxious about the next step ahead and their future in the long run.
Sabina Khatun (18), who was shifted to Shyampur Camp no 1 with her husband and one-year-old son, feels helpless. “We have so many difficulties. My child drinks this murky water from the tubewell. We are surviving on the little savings we had.”
Also Read: ‘Pre-Historic’ Temple for Which Muslim Families Were Evicted Built in 80s: Report
Latent hostility
Despite belonging to the same community, there is a sense of resentment that the locals of Dalgaon feel towards the displaced people in the camp. The locals are vexed that land that they have been cultivating on was seized by the government. Standing crops, mostly corn, were damaged as they were about to be harvested.
Dismissing their concerns, Vivek Shyam retorts, “We have only seized government land, not from people who are farming on one or two bighas.”
The locals were reluctant to speak about the matter. Those who spoke did so discreetly, saying since the displaced people also belong to the same community, they have to stay together.
In between the relocation and the seizure of land, the lives of the locals in Shyampur have also come to a standstill – just like the displaced people. They are wary to begin cultivating again, fearing that the crops could be damaged again. “If the government demarcates the boundaries of the land left for me, I could begin again,” says Rashida Khatun (50), who stays with her youngest son and has 3 bighas of land.
Cultivated crops in Dalgaon could not be harvested. Photo: Bondita Baruah
No relocation activities since March
After March, no relocation activities have been carried out. Bad weather has been blamed by the district administration and the two organisations – All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and Asom Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad (ASSP) – who have been thoroughly involved in the process. Between Dholpur 2 and 3, people in desolation await their relocation in the middle of the river. As they live in constant dread of the approaching floods, Md Ali Khalifa, the ASSP president, says they are riverine people and have always been there. Since tractors cannot cross the river to shift them “they have to adjust… there are no other means”.
But neither the district administration nor representatives of the organisations could provide a satisfactory answer to why the evicted people were not relocated first. Their only reply was that that all the families would be relocated in a ‘phased’ manner. “All 2,051 families are victims,” says Rezaul Karim Sarkar, AAMSU president, “we demand that the government keeps the promises made so that the people get their due rights.”
Low marshy land in the backyard of the relocated site in Shyampur. Photo: Bondita Baruah
Barred roads
Meanwhile, the district administration has barred people from traversing project land. “The roads are closed for us,” says Ramzan Ali (50). He adds, “The authorities collected a fine of Rs 1,000 when two boatsmen took went near Gorukhuti. They were warned that they would be beaten if they sail in those waters again.”
Since roads are closed, the evicted people are left without options but to take the longer routes. Arifa Khatun (17), a student of Gorukhuti HS School says she never manages to reach in time for the first class. “Sometimes the project people harass and tease us while coming back from school,” the young girl states meekly.
Md Syed Ali (32) hardly sees people from Dholpur 2 and 3 crossing the ghat nowadays. He belongs to a family of boatmen and the legacy has been passed on from his grandfather – who used to ferry passengers through the same Khuarghat. “The officers give assurance but they haven’t opened the ghat yet. Only the school going kids cross the ghat. That does not even add to my petrol cost,” says Ali.
Migration, broken dreams
The eviction, road blockade, loss of cultivable land and the absence of alternative means to earn their livelihood have forced most people to work as labourers in the nearby fields. Others have migrated to Guwahati or farther away. “I had to send my youngest son Nasiruddin to Tamil Nadu to work there,” says Gul Banu (48). “He was good at football but I could not pay for his fees,” she weeps.
Gul Banu sent her son to Tamil Nadu for work. Photo: Bondita Baruah
Md Rahimudddin (55), who owns a small tea stall, says his son could not appear for his BA exam because he could not pay the fees.
Md Rahimuddin in his tea stall in Dholpur. Photo: Bondita Baruah
Khalilur Rahman (28) points to the long stretch of green land that was evicted in the name of the Gorukhuti project but now remains fallow. “We used to cultivate our crops here,” he says.
The circle officers of both Sipajhar and Dalgaon circles affirm that after verification of documents the people will be shifted and allotted land in due course of time. “The relocated people will be compensated as per the Land Policy, 2019,” says Kamal Jeet Sarma, the Sipajhar circle officer.
With explanations from government officials about the various processes involving relocation, the apparent picture is that the main target was to vacate the people from the Gorukhuti project. With one section of the people stationed in shelters since September 2021 and another shifted to Dalgaon in February 2022, the government’s agenda of clearing the Gorukhuti project area seems to be a success.
But the administration seems to have forgotten that monsoon is due at any time. The people in Dholpur 2 and 3 have a dreadful apprehension that the rising waters of Morihuti will wash away their shanties and add to their woes.
They were first labelled encroachers in the land they had been farming on for decades and were internally displaced. Their psychological strength has been tried in every way possible. With monsoon set to arrive in the coming months, they now hope to save their lives once again.
Bondita Baruah is a freelance writer and translator and is presently pursuing her PhD in English from North Eastern Hill University.