Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: The Assam government invoked the National Security Act against Indigenous land rights activist Pranab Doley. This move came just one day after a Golaghat sessions court granted him bail. He faced charges linked to protests against a five-star Hyatt hotel project near Kaziranga National Park. Doley remains behind bars despite the court order.
The state claims intelligence reports labeled Doley a threat to public order and state security. Rights groups see a different agenda. The Campaign Against State Repression argued the government is using preventive detention to silence those fighting for land, forests, and local livelihoods. CASR called the move a clear attack on democratic dissent.
Gaurav Gogoi, president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, weighed in on Saturday, August 1. He argued that officials are abusing the law to suppress opposition rather than stopping real security threats. Gogoi pointed to previous threats by the Chief Minister against artists involved in a Zubeen Garg mural as evidence of a pattern.
Gogoi took to social media to call out the administration. "NSA is meant for grave threats to India's security, not to cage social activists," he wrote. He further warned that this reliance on security laws against activists and human rights defenders mirrors past warnings from Human Rights Watch regarding the misuse of power in the state.
CASR demanded the immediate withdrawal of the NSA charges. They claim the act allows for indefinite detention without trial, bypassing personal liberty and natural justice. The organization views this as part of a wider trend targeting students, journalists, and labor union members who resist mining and corporate land acquisition.
Comments