Assam: Protest in Bokakhat seeks release of activist held under NSA

A protest was held in Bokakhat town in Assam's Golaghat district on Saturday, September 5, 2026, with citizens demanding the release of land rights activist Pranab Doley. The 40-year-old was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on July 30, over two weeks after his initial arrest. His detention is linked to his opposition to the government's alleged plan to evict indigenous farmers near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to make way for a luxury hotel and other projects.

Protesters reported that local authorities locked the auditorium of a tribal rest house where their meeting was scheduled, despite administrative clearance having been granted and rent paid. The meeting was subsequently moved to an adjacent site, a development that added to local resentment.

Congress leaders, including former MLA Debabrata Saikia and former Rajya Sabha member Ripun Bora, participated in the protest and supported the demand for Mr. Doley's release. Mr. Saikia criticised the state government's approach, stating that defending ancestral land and standing up for workers' rights cannot be considered treason. He noted that Mr. Doley had previously secured bail in an earlier case before the NSA was invoked on what he termed unfounded charges of anti-national activity. He also accused the administration of undermining fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.

Mr. Saikia drew a parallel with the displacement of indigenous people at Mikir Bamuni Grant in Nagaon district for a solar project, suggesting a similar pattern is emerging in Kaziranga's Englepathar area to facilitate a hotel within the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the one-horned rhino habitat. He further alleged that the government was bypassing compensation mandates under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013, by offering inadequate payouts from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Mr. Bora criticised the BJP-led government for what he described as a persistent design to transfer indigenous landholdings to capitalists from outside Assam.