Guwahati: In a bid to restore calm following a tumultuous 12-hour bandh that erupted into widespread violence, Sribhumi Police in Assam launched an extensive area domination operation across the district on Sunday.
The proactive sweeps, announced via an official X post late evening with 17 photographs showing patrolling officers, sparse vehicle movement, and partially closed shops, aim to deter further unrest and illegal activities amid lingering tensions from the renaming controversy.
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This comes just a day after chaotic protests that left at least 15 people injured, including police and journalists, and led to over 110 detentions, underscoring the district’s fragile law and order situation.
The flashpoint traces back to the Assam government’s decision on November 19, 2024, to rename Karimganj district and its headquarters to Sribhumi, invoking poet Rabindranath Tagore’s 1919 reference to the Barak Valley as the “land of Goddess Lakshmi.”
Proponents hailed it as a cultural reclamation, but opponents, including the Karimganj Zila Naam Paribartan Pratirudh Samiti, decried it as an erasure of the district’s historical and multicultural identity, rooted in its border proximity to Bangladesh and diverse demographics.
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Tensions boiled over on September 6 with a bandh called by unidentified groups, demanding reversal of the name change.
Demonstrations in Badarpur and Sribhumi town saw protesters blocking National Highway 6, staging rallies at institutions like N.C. College, and clashing with counter-groups and authorities.
Violence escalated rapidly and stone-pelting targeted police vehicles and journalists, prompting lathi charges and detentions.
Among the 110 arrested were college students, a professor, and locals for violating prohibitory orders, with reports of injuries to five policemen and sporadic attacks on public transport.
Women protesters clashed with pro-Sribhumi supporters near the head post office, forcing swift police intervention.
The bandh, though partial with low turnout in some areas, paralyzed markets and transport, highlighting deep communal divides in the Muslim-majority Barak Valley region.
Anticipating the unrest, District Magistrate Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi, IAS, invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) on September 5, imposing curbs from 5 AM to 8 PM on September 6, extendable until further orders. The order bans assemblies of five or more without permission, agitational programmes like bandhs, carrying weapons or suspicious objects, and unauthorized use of loudspeakers.
Exemptions apply to government employees, emergency services, and ambulances. Violations drew immediate action, with authorities emphasizing peaceful dissent while vowing strict enforcement against rioters.
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The September 7 operation aligns with Assam DGP Harmeet Singh’s recent directives during his September 4-5 visit, shifting focus to citizen-centric policing. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s administration, tagged in police updates, reaffirms zero-tolerance for disruptions.
Residents welcome the security boost but decry economic fallout from closures.
As Barak Valley simmers, officials urge dialogue, warning that sustained protests could invite further restrictions, testing Assam’s balancing act between heritage and harmony in a geopolitically sensitive zone.