“Our Land Is Our Spirit”: Assam’s UTOA Calls for Justice at Global Land Forum

The United Tribal Organization of Assam (UTOA) proudly represented India at the Global Land Forum 2025, held from June 13 to 21 in Bogotá, Colombia, marking the 30th anniversary of this landmark international gathering. Organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC) and co-hosted by CINEP (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular), the Forum brought together more than 800 participants from across the globe with support from the European Union and the Government of Colombia.

Speaking to Pratidin Time, Markush Basumatary, President of UTOA, stated,

“UTOA was the lone Indigenous Peoples’ Organization from India at this global platform, joining Indigenous leaders, land defenders, and civil society organizations in a collective call for people-centered land governance.”

Spotlight on Assam’s Indigenous Land Struggles

At the Forum, UTOA delivered a strong presentation on the Bodo people's decades-long movement for a separate state, which began in 1967. While the Bodo community has since been granted an Autonomous Council, UTOA highlighted that this fell short of their rightful demand for full statehood under the Indian Constitution.

“This struggle stands as a key example of how legal recognition of Indigenous autonomy often remains diluted and poorly implemented in practice,” UTOA stated during the panel sessions.

UTOA also raised the issue of ongoing illegal encroachment in Assam’s Tribal Belts and Blocks, lands constitutionally reserved for Indigenous communities. Through Public Interest Litigation No. 78/2012 filed in the Gauhati High Court, UTOA has demanded the eviction of non-tribal encroachers, yet enforcement of favorable court orders remains lacking.

Exposing Corporate Land Grabs in Assam

One of the key issues brought to the global stage by UTOA was the recent attempt to allot over 3,000 bighas of protected tribal land in Basbari (Kokrajhar District) and Karbi Anglong District to major Indian corporations. These alleged violations of tribal land rights and existing land laws were condemned as acts of corporate land grabbing, posing a serious threat to Indigenous sovereignty.

“Our land is not just soil—it is our spirit, identity, and history,” said Markush Basumatary. “At this Forum, we reminded the world that Indigenous communities in India continue to resist dispossession and defend their rights through legal and democratic means.”

Strengthening Global Indigenous Solidarity

UTOA also took part in the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, working with Indigenous representatives from Latin America, Africa, and Asia to advance shared agendas around:

• Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

• Climate resilience

• Ancestral land rights

• Community-led governance

The Forum included high-level engagements, such as a Ministerial Panel on Land Governance in Latin America, and featured senior UN officials, showcasing strong international support for land justice and Indigenous rights.

Bogotá Declaration: A Collective Pledge for Land Justice

The Global Land Forum 2025 concluded with the adoption of the Bogotá Declaration, a landmark resolution affirming global commitment to:

• Equitable land governance

• Protection of land defenders

• Upholding Indigenous rights

• Combatting corporate and state encroachments

With growing threats to land defenders around the world, this declaration marked a unified global stance against dispossession and displacement of Indigenous peoples.

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