Karbi Anglong on the Brink: Land, Identity, and the Deepening Fault Lines in Assam’s Tribal Heartland

Karbi Anglong Unrest: How the Sixth Schedule‘s Promise of Tribal Autonomy Collides with Ground Realities

ARABINDA RABHA

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The imposition of a mobile internet blackout across Assam’s Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts on December 23, 2025, highlighted the severity of a crisis that has plunged one of the state’s most sensitive Sixth Schedule areas into turmoil. A prolonged protest over alleged land encroachments erupted into deadly violence, resulting in two fatalities, injuries to over 50 people-including the Assam DGP, an IGP, and dozens of police personnel-and widespread arson that devastated markets and properties.

The focal point was Kheroni, a key trading centre in West Karbi Anglong, where demands for the eviction of non-tribal settlers from protected Village Grazing Reserves (VGRs) and Professional Grazing Reserves (PGRs) turned chaotic.

On December 22, violence ignited after authorities relocated nine hunger strikers-fasting since December 6-for medical care in Guwahati. Rumours of arrests spread rapidly, prompting mobs to blockade roads, vandalise properties, and torch the ancestral home of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang in Dongkamukam.

The next day, despite interventions by state Education Minister Ranoj Pegu-who convinced protesters to end their hunger strike with promises of dialogue-fresh clashes erupted in Kheroni market. Crowds targeted non-tribal-owned shops and vehicles, leading to the tragic deaths of a Karbi protester (variously reported as Athik Timung or Tinkhu Timung) from injuries in clashes and a differently-abled non-tribal individual (Suresh Dey or Suraj Dey) charred inside a burning building. Security forces faced attacks with stones, crude bombs, bows, and arrows, sustaining heavy casualties.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the deaths “deeply painful,” pledging additional forces and close monitoring. The internet suspension under the Indian Telegraph Act aimed to halt misinformation, while prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita restricted gatherings.

Roots of the Crisis: Land Alienation and the Limits of Autonomy

The unrest stems from profound fears of tribal land loss in a region protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which empowers the KAAC with legislative, executive, and judicial authority over land, forests, and customary practices to shield indigenous communities from external pressures.

VGRs and PGRs, vital for traditional grazing and livelihoods, have become contentious symbols. Karbi groups accuse non-tribal migrants-primarily from Bihar and Nepali communities-of illegal occupation, claiming demographic shifts have reduced Karbis to around 35% in certain areas, echoing marginalisation concerns in nearby tribal belts.

In February 2024, the KAAC issued eviction notices affecting thousands of families in locations like Hawaipur and Phuloni. However, settlers obtained stays from the Gauhati High Court, creating a legal impasse that tribal activists decry as undermining Sixth Schedule protections. Non-tribals, many long-term residents, fear sudden displacement without alternatives.

A Recurring Cycle of Tension

Karbi Anglong’s history is marked by ethnic strife, insurgency, and protests since the 1990s, linked to autonomy aspirations and resource disputes. Peace accords have addressed armed movements, but land grievances linger due to enforcement gaps and jurisdictional overlaps between the state and council. The current flare-up mirrors 2024 protests against efforts to regularise settlements on reserved lands, intensified by perceived delays in development for hill communities.

Tribal leaders view the struggle as existential: Minister Pegu acknowledged during talks that it concerns “the existence of the Karbi community,” pledging discussions on broader identity and rights issues. Non-tribal residents, including counter-protesters from Hindi-speaking groups, voice fears of violence and eviction, seeking security assurances.

With tripartite talks-chaired by Chief Minister Sarma involving the state, KAAC, and protesters-scheduled for December 26, 2025, there is hope for de-escalation. Markets have partially reopened under enhanced security, including army flag marches.

However, observers caution that measures like blackouts and curfews provide only short-term relief. Long-term stability requires digitised land surveys, swift court resolutions, rehabilitation frameworks, and inclusive growth to mend tribal-non-tribal rifts.

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Karbi Anglong Unrest: How the Sixth Schedule’s Promise of Tribal Autonomy Collides with Ground Realities

The violent clashes in Assam’s Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts in December 2025-marked by two deaths, injuries to dozens, arson, and an internet blackout-have once again spotlighted the tensions inherent in India’s tribal governance framework. At the heart of this crisis lies the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, a mechanism designed to safeguard indigenous rights but often strained by demographic shifts, legal ambiguities, and administrative overlaps.

The Sixth Schedule: A Constitutional Shield for Tribal Areas

Enacted to protect tribal communities in the Northeast from cultural erosion and land alienation, the Sixth Schedule (under Articles 244(2) and 275(1)) establishes Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in designated tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. These councils function as mini-legislatures, granting tribes substantial control over local affairs.

There are currently 10 such councils, including the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and its counterpart in West Karbi Anglong (formed after bifurcation).

Key powers of ADCs include:

• Legislative: Making laws on land allotment, forests, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance, marriage, and social customs.
• Judicial: Setting up village courts for tribal disputes.
• Executive: Managing schools, markets, roads, and regulating non-tribal trading.
• Financial: Collecting land revenue and certain taxes; sharing royalties from resources.

Laws passed by councils require the Governor’s assent, and Parliament/state laws do not automatically apply unless extended.

Where the Framework Falters in Karbi Anglong

In theory, the Sixth Schedule empowers councils like the KAAC to protect tribal lands, including Village Grazing Reserves (VGRs) and Professional Grazing Reserves (PGRs)-areas reserved for community livelihoods. The council can issue eviction notices against alleged encroachments.

In practice, however, overlapping jurisdictions create paralysis. When the KAAC targeted settlements on these reserves in 2024, affected non-tribal families (often long-term residents) approached the Gauhati High Court, obtaining stays. The state government cites these sub judice matters as reason for inaction, leaving tribal groups feeling betrayed by the very protections meant to empower them.

Demographic changes exacerbate this: Migration has altered ethnic balances, with Karbis fearing loss of majority in their own autonomous region. Such anxieties have fuelled cycles of unrest since the 1990s, despite peace accords. The December 2025 violence-triggered by rumours during a hunger strike over evictions-exposed these fault lines. Protesters demanded enforcement of Sixth Schedule safeguards, while non-tribals faced insecurity. The state’s response (curfews, internet suspension, additional forces) restored fragile calm but sidestepped root causes.

The Sixth Schedule remains a progressive tool for tribal self-rule, far more robust than the advisory Fifth Schedule in other states. Yet in Karbi Anglong, it highlights persistent issues: financial dependence on the state, judicial delays, and the difficulty of balancing indigenous rights with inclusive governance in multi-ethnic areas.

As tripartite talks loom, lasting peace will require strengthening the Schedule’s implementation-through digitised land records, faster resolutions, and equitable development-rather than relying on emergency measures. Karbi Anglong’s crisis is a reminder that constitutional autonomy, without effective enforcement, risks becoming a source of conflict rather than resolution.

As of Christmas Eve 2025, Karbi Anglong teeters on a familiar precipice. The December events underscore the precarious equilibrium in India’s autonomous tribal zones, where unresolved historical injustices over land continue to fuel identity-based conflicts, testing the efficacy of constitutional safeguards designed to preserve indigenous heritage.

24-12-2025

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