Kalita group blocks NH at Goalpara's Agia over Assam land Bill

Members of the Kalita community blocked the national highway at Agia in Assam's Goalpara district on Monday, protesting against provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Amendment Bill, 2026, India Today NE and Hindusthan Samachar reported.

The protest, organised by the Kalita Jatiya Sanmilan, halted traffic for about an hour, holding up commuters and goods vehicles on the stretch.

What the protesters want

The Sanmilan put forward three main demands:

• Indigenous status: the Kalita community should be included in the list of indigenous ethnic communities under the Bill.
• No three-generation rule: the requirement for Kalita families to produce three generations of documentary records, with January 1, 2006 as the reference date for deciding who counts as an original inhabitant, should be withdrawn.
• Land rights in protected areas: Kalita families should be able to hold land in tribal belts and blocks, Sixth Schedule areas and autonomous regions.

Not the first protest

Monday's blockade follows similar protests elsewhere in the state. On September 25, three Kalita organisations held a protest meeting and partial highway blockade near the Madanpur toll gate in Nalbari, The Assam Tribune reported at the time. Those groups had also demanded inclusion among the indigenous communities named in the legislation and objected to the three-generation proof requirement, arguing that Kalitas have lived in Assam for generations. They had warned that the agitation could spread across Assam if the government did not respond.

The "original inhabitant" debate

The state's land law changes have drawn criticism from several sides since the Assembly took up land reform legislation this year. One flashpoint is the definition of "original inhabitant", which is tied to families having lived in an area for three generations before January 2006.

Some groups, like the Kalita organisations, say the rule puts an unfair documentary burden on long-settled Assamese communities that are not named as indigenous in the law. Others, including Supreme Court advocate Upamanyu Hazarika, have argued the opposite concern: that the definition could allow later migrants to qualify and dilute the 1971 cut-off used in the NRC process.

The Kalitas are an Assamese community spread across the Brahmaputra valley, and its organisations have become increasingly vocal on the issue of land rights.

What next

There was no immediate response from the state government to Monday's demands. The Sanmilan's protest adds to pressure on the government to clarify how communities that are not listed in the Bill will be treated when land rights are decided.