BJP’s 'Jati, Mati, Bheti' Rings Hollow in Margherita's Jagun Namphai Sonowal Village

Mithun Baruah

Jagun Namphai Sonowal village is located 35 kilometres away from Margherita headquarter is predominantly inhabited by indigenous people, falls Jagun gaon panchayat under the 83rd Margherita Constituency in Tinsukia district.

At Jagun Namphai Sonowal village there are 70 houses with more than 400 population living since 4 decades such Sonowal Kachari, Mech Kachari, Bodo, Rabha, Moran and Tai Ahom indigenous but unfortunately no development work took place by any one government of Assam till date.  

Life in Jagun Namphai Sonowal village has been far from easy as the village only connection to the outside world is a perilous journey across the Buridehing, Kharsang, and Namchik rivers, navigated using a single, dilapidated boat. 

The lack of proper roads, schools, medical centers, and safe drinking water has left the village isolated, with illiteracy and school dropout rates soaring as young people either migrate to other states or turn to cultivation for survival and soil erosion from the surrounding rivers has swallowed thousands of bighas of fertile agricultural land, further threatening the livelihoods of these hardworking farmers.

The residents of Jagun Namphai Sonowal village are mainly cultivators and there is no other means of income and due to lack of development activities illiteracy and school dropout rate is maximum as youths migrate to other state or engaged themselves in cultivation to earn their livelihood said one senior citizen.

In 1999, during the Asom Gana Parishad government regime flood-affected indigenous families from various parts of Assam were resettled and one bigha of land were alloted to each families in this village to live but now the villagers are now cultivating various crops at one bigha of land to earn their livelihood which is impossible said a senior citizen of this village. 

Additionally, they were verbally granted rights to cultivate land on Namphai Tapu to sustain their livelihoods, but however, as time passed, the government's promises turned into mere bubbles.

On June 16, 2023, without any prior notice, the indigenous residents were illegally evicted from Namphai Tapu as the scene was unbearable during that period and one Pradip Swargiary was brutally beaten by security personnel and till today he has not been recovered and still fighting at bed for his life said Babul Sonowal a educated and upcoming youth of Jagun Namphai Sonowal village.  

Following this incident, the people of Jagun Namphai Sonowal village met Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma multiple times and also met former Assam Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Guwahati and described the incident in detail and both of them assured that indigenous people shall be given every rights and power said Babul Sonowal. 

To resolve the issue, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assigned responsibilities to Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah, Education and Tribal Affairs Minister of Assam Dr. Ranoj Pegu, Chief Executive Member of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council Tankeswar Sonowal, and than Digboi Forest Division Divisional forest Officer T.C. Ranjit Ram.

Than Digboi Forest Division DFO T C Ranjith Ram promised to provide agricultural land to the villagers, however after two years eviction drive were carried out and the villagers have not regained their dream of agricultural land and to assert our rights, hundred times we have staged protests in the Jagun and Margherita area but unfortunately nobody listen to our pray said Babul Sonowal. 

Regularly community meeting were held in our village, the indigenous residents expressed their anger, issuing an ultimatum that if the BJP-led government both at the Union and State does not resolve the issue before the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections, they will resort to actions such as boycotting the vote said Babul Sonowal.

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