Assam: It ended as suddenly as it began
The drive against forest encroachers began in Assam on May 7, 2002. It reached a flashpoint during the eviction drive in Botahguli, where one person died of bullet injuries after paramilitary forces opened fire to control a mob. It immediately became a political issue. The powerful student bodies of Assam challenged the forest department to act against illegal migrants. Assam Gana Parishad (agp), the state's main opposition party, argued for protecting the indigenous peoples' rights. Tribal bodies strongly opposed the drive, alleging that it targeted the indigenous people only. "Tribals are easy to target as they are not organised, like illegal migrants,' said Satananda Choudhury, a Silchar-based environment activist.
The displaced people organised themselves into the Greater Guwahati Evicted and Oppressed People's Forum (GGEOPF), which called for a strike that was reportedly quite successful. "In many cases, the forest department demolished houses that had electricity and telephone connections, even after the owners produced valid documents in support of legitimacy of their construction,' said Keshav Thakuria of the GGEOPF. Not all criticism wasn't political and polarised. There were those who pointed out that the government wasn't following the right procedure. Even a Congress legislator, Robin Bordoloi, now a minister, was critical of the drive: He said it should have been done after a proper demarcation of the reserved forests.
Then there were also unanswered questions about why the forest department allowed electricity connections to almost all the