At least three people died and several others were injured when a protest march turned violent in Guwahati. The protest was against the state government’s drive to clean-up the hills and wetlands. Police conducted a lathicharge and opened fire to restrict protestors. The demonstrators were demanding land rights and land pattas. Many private vehicles were damaged and some government vehicles were torched by the mob. The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leaders who organised the march wanted to submit a memorandum to the government but failed. An injured victim said that the Assam government ran like a monarchy. The violence went on for about three hours. The district administration and the police talked to KMSS Chief Akhil Gogoi. But the protestors were not appeased.
The development in Assam is part of an agitation rocking many parts of India. Skirmishes in Singur and Nandigram over land led to the ouster of the Left Front government in West Bengal. A movement against land acquisition is on in Uttar Pradesh.
Orissa is facing a serious crisis over the land issue with South Korea’s Posco planning to set up a steel plant there. Now it is Assam’s turn. What the Assam government proposes to do by evicting people from the hills and wetlands is not clear. The land is not suitable for industry. But the protest is of a kind with that in other states. People fight for their land not only because it is their source of living but also linked with their way of life. The Gogoi government is busy with a dialogue with the ULFA. Why it has stirred up trouble over eviction of people is hard to understand. It has not spelt out how these people will be rehabilitated and what compensation will be paid to them.