Assam Activist's Detention Sparks Widespread Condemnation
Rights groups condemn the detention of Assam-based environmental and Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley under the National Security Act, calling it a clear attempt to punish and vilify activists for exercising their constitutional right to protest.
Over 60 civil rights groups have condemned the detention of Assam-based environmental and Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley under the National Security Act, calling it a clear attempt to punish and vilify activists for exercising their constitutional right to protest.
Doley led protests against a five-star luxury resort proposed to be built within the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site housing the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceros.
The luxury hotel is being developed by a Hyatt-linked company, Juniper Hotels, on land leased to them by the Assam Tourism Development Corporation. The Hyatt Group has since distanced itself from the project. Indigenous tea tribes facing eviction have petitioned the Gauhati High Court alleging the land for the project was forcibly acquired from them.
Rights groups have called the detention a way to "continue his unjust incarceration." They have demanded an independent investigation into police excesses against protesters, the release of all activists associated with land struggles in Assam, and a full, transparent disclosure of land allotments and tourism projects proposed in the National Park.
The detention of Doley under the National Security Act (NSA) on July 30, one day after securing bail from a sessions court, has sparked widespread condemnation. The NSA provides for preventive detention to maintain public order.
| **Detention Details** | **Value** | | --- | --- | | Date of detention | July 30 | | Reason for detention | Violation of the National Security Act (NSA) | | Length of detention allowed | Up to 12 months |
Doley was arrested on July 12 for "masterminding" a demonstration against the project on June 28, and was accused of attacking police personnel. A sessions court granted him bail on July 29, finding no evidence of violence against police, and on the contrary observing that the notice for his arrest was served belatedly.
The NSA notice claims that Doley violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) by engaging in "suspicious foreign transactions." Several environmental NGOs have faced FCRA cancellation or suspension for opposing development projects in recent years.
Senior Congress leader and former union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has stated that "the use of the NSA against Doley is part of a growing pattern of BJP governments weaponising extraordinary laws to silence dissent." Similar attempts have been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, where the NSA was invoked against labour activists protesting against exploitative working conditions in Noida.
Rights groups have emphasized that "Governments cannot be permitted to convert dissent and disagreement over development policy into questions of national security. Adivasi and Indigenous communities asserting their rights over land and for protection of the environment and natural resources, are not enemies of the nation."
The statement by rights groups also says, "In matters where ecological preservation intersects with indigenous survival, the standard apparatus of criminal law cannot be used to suppress local anxieties. True public order is achieved not by silencing the affected, but by listening to them.
