Assam: 110 held after stone pelting during protest against district name change

SIlchar: sir thomas more than 110 individuals, including a college prof, students, and mutual residents, were detained in Assam’s Sribhumi (formerly Karimganj) dominion during a resist against the renaming of the district, police said on Saturday.The Assam government, in a cabinet decision in November last year, changed the name of Karimganj to Sribhumi, citing a 1919 visit by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.After the renaming, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Over a 100 years ago, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had described modern-day Karimganj District in Assam as ‘Sribhumi’—the land of Maa Lakshmi. Today the Assam Cabinet has fulfilled this long-standing demand of our people.”However, many locals disagreed with the decision and staged protests. The CM’s recent visit to Sribhumi, where he criticised the opposition, sparked fresh anger and led to a 12-hour bandh called by several organisations.While some groups supported the bandh, others opposed it, leading to tensions. Anticipating unrest, the district administration imposed restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).The bandh began on Saturday morning, with both supporting and opposing groups taking to the streets across Sribhumi town and other areas.“In Sribhumi town, bandh supporters clashed with opponents, and when some protesters attacked the police, the situation escalated,” said Partha Pratim Das, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Sribhumi. “People, including minors, began pelting stones at police personnel. To control the situation, our officials resorted to lathi-charge. Some of our personnel sustained injuries in the stone pelting.”In Badarpur town, students and teachers of a government college allegedly attacked police officials. Several of them were placed under preventive detention.The SSP confirmed that similar incidents were reported in other areas of the district but were quickly brought under control with the deployment of additional forces. “They were detained for violating restrictions under Section 163 of BNSS. We will decide on further action later,” he added.The renaming of Karimganj—part of undivided Sylhet before the 1947 Partition—has received mixed reactions since the announcement. While many locals welcomed the new name, others criticised it, citing historical evidence and demanding further changes, including renaming Badarpur Railway Station in Sribhumi to Siddheshwar Railway Station.