Overview

• On July 12, Assam’s fifth forest eviction drive in Goalpara district cleared 1,038 bighas of Paikan Reserve Forest land, uprooting 1,080 families.
• Eviction operations since mid-June have displaced over 3,300 families, predominantly Bengali-origin Muslim households, across multiple districts.
• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a probe into cross-district encroachment motives and pledged rehabilitation for bona fide Indian applicants.
• The Assam Forest Department defends the campaign as essential for ecological restoration and compliance with Supreme Court and High Court orders.
• Protests by AAMSU and criticism from AIUDF and Congress decry the evictions as inhumane and call for immediate relief and policy review.