As SC hearing nears, Adivasis recall evictions that led to Forest Act

Activists and forest dwellers fear a repeat of the evictions in 2002 if the court revives its February 13, 2019, order

On the morning of June 10, 2002, more than 1,000 paramilitary personnel, police and forest officials descended upon Wan nu Phukripara, a forest hamlet in eastern Assam’s Sonitpur district. The officials and hired workers burnt down houses, cut down orchards, and took away cash, ornaments and utensils. Those who tried to resist were beaten up. “I was horrified,” recalled Peta Basu Mantary, a villager, at a national-level public hearing organised by land rights activists in New Delhi a year later. “I have dared to come here though it is risky for my life.”

The horrific scene was repeated across