Hawaipur continues to be a legally valid PGR: IPP
GUWAHATI: The Indigenous People’s Party (IPP) Thursday strongly asserted that Hawaipur continues to be a legally valid Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR), countering claims that the land has lost its protected status due to the absence of an original colonial-era notification document.
The clarification came after the Gauhati High Court sought the original copy of the 1933 notification declaring Hawaipur a PGR, which the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) reportedly failed to produce. The issue has gained urgency following violent clashes linked to alleged encroachment at the grazing reserve in the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong district, where two people were killed, and over 30 were injured in December 2025.
In a detailed statement shared on social media, IPP president Rajen Timung warned against what he described as “dangerous misinformation” surrounding the legal status of Hawaipur.
“Some people are being misled into believing that Hawaipur is not a Professional Grazing Reserve simply because an original printed copy of the 1933 notification or a separate boundary map is not found today in the KAAC office,” Timung said. “This understanding is legally wrong, historically incorrect, and dangerous for indigenous land protection.”
Timung stressed that the legal existence of a reserve does not hinge on the availability of a single document. “Law does not depend on one piece of paper. A land does not stop being a PGR just because an old gazette copy is missing, records were scattered during administrative changes, or offices failed to preserve colonial-era documents,” he said.
According to Timung, Hawaipur was declared a Professional Grazing Reserve by the Assam government through Notification No. 2021-R dated July 8, 1933, which applied to the then Mikir Hills region. “This was a gazette notification, not a private document,” he noted, adding that its existence is corroborated by multiple subsequent government records, which are legally admissible.
He further claimed that the reserve was formally demarcated on the ground in 1946. “Demarcation involves boundary identification using natural features like rivers and hill ridges, along with official field verification. Once demarcation is done, the reserve becomes operational on the ground, not just on paper,” Timung said, dismissing claims that the boundaries were never fixed.
The IPP president also cited a 1951 notification issued by the Tribal Areas Department, which reaffirmed earlier grazing reserves in the region, including those in the Mikir Hills. “This clearly proves that Hawaipur PGR already existed and that the government accepted its continued legal status after Independence,” he said.
Timung pointed out that under the Council Grazing Act, 1954, all existing Professional Grazing Reserves automatically continued unless specifically de-notified. “No PGR can be abolished without a formal de-notification, and no such order exists for Hawaipur,” he asserted, adding that encroachment does not confer ownership rights.
To bolster his argument, Timung referred to official records such as the Census of India 1961, which listed Hawaipur as a Professional Grazing Reserve in the District Census Handbook of United Mikir and North Cachar Hills. He also cited the Assam Gazetteer (1979), which recorded Hawaipur as a PGR with a total area of 19,088 bighas. “Courts across India rely on Gazetteers as authoritative historical and administrative evidence,” he said.
Addressing doubts over boundary maps, Timung explained that many British-era and early post-Independence reserves were defined through textual boundary descriptions rather than modern maps. “Hawaipur’s boundaries are clearly described—Mikir Hills to the north and west, the Kopili River to the south, and the Kopili River with adjoining forest areas to the east. Such textual boundaries are fully valid in law,” he said.
Invoking provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Timung said documents like census records, gazetteers, and official notifications are public documents and legally admissible evidence. “Claiming that ‘no evidence exists’ is legally incorrect and deeply misleading,” he added.
Appealing to indigenous communities, Timung urged people not to be swayed by what he termed deliberate confusion. “Hawaipur PGR was gazetted in 1933, demarcated in 1946, reaffirmed in 1951, protected under the Council Grazing Act, 1954, recorded in the Census of 1961, and confirmed in the Assam Gazetteer of 1979,” he said.
“Hawaipur Professional Grazing Reserve is legally a PGR, historically a PGR, and officially recorded as a PGR,” Timung concluded. “There is no legal doubt—only administrative confusion and misinformation.”
https://indigenousherald.com/
The clarification came after the Gauhati High Court sought the original copy of the 1933 notification declaring Hawaipur a PGR, which the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) reportedly failed to produce. The issue has gained urgency following violent clashes linked to alleged encroachment at the grazing reserve in the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong district, where two people were killed, and over 30 were injured in December 2025.
In a detailed statement shared on social media, IPP president Rajen Timung warned against what he described as “dangerous misinformation” surrounding the legal status of Hawaipur.
“Some people are being misled into believing that Hawaipur is not a Professional Grazing Reserve simply because an original printed copy of the 1933 notification or a separate boundary map is not found today in the KAAC office,” Timung said. “This understanding is legally wrong, historically incorrect, and dangerous for indigenous land protection.”
Timung stressed that the legal existence of a reserve does not hinge on the availability of a single document. “Law does not depend on one piece of paper. A land does not stop being a PGR just because an old gazette copy is missing, records were scattered during administrative changes, or offices failed to preserve colonial-era documents,” he said.
According to Timung, Hawaipur was declared a Professional Grazing Reserve by the Assam government through Notification No. 2021-R dated July 8, 1933, which applied to the then Mikir Hills region. “This was a gazette notification, not a private document,” he noted, adding that its existence is corroborated by multiple subsequent government records, which are legally admissible.
He further claimed that the reserve was formally demarcated on the ground in 1946. “Demarcation involves boundary identification using natural features like rivers and hill ridges, along with official field verification. Once demarcation is done, the reserve becomes operational on the ground, not just on paper,” Timung said, dismissing claims that the boundaries were never fixed.
The IPP president also cited a 1951 notification issued by the Tribal Areas Department, which reaffirmed earlier grazing reserves in the region, including those in the Mikir Hills. “This clearly proves that Hawaipur PGR already existed and that the government accepted its continued legal status after Independence,” he said.
Timung pointed out that under the Council Grazing Act, 1954, all existing Professional Grazing Reserves automatically continued unless specifically de-notified. “No PGR can be abolished without a formal de-notification, and no such order exists for Hawaipur,” he asserted, adding that encroachment does not confer ownership rights.
To bolster his argument, Timung referred to official records such as the Census of India 1961, which listed Hawaipur as a Professional Grazing Reserve in the District Census Handbook of United Mikir and North Cachar Hills. He also cited the Assam Gazetteer (1979), which recorded Hawaipur as a PGR with a total area of 19,088 bighas. “Courts across India rely on Gazetteers as authoritative historical and administrative evidence,” he said.
Addressing doubts over boundary maps, Timung explained that many British-era and early post-Independence reserves were defined through textual boundary descriptions rather than modern maps. “Hawaipur’s boundaries are clearly described—Mikir Hills to the north and west, the Kopili River to the south, and the Kopili River with adjoining forest areas to the east. Such textual boundaries are fully valid in law,” he said.
Invoking provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Timung said documents like census records, gazetteers, and official notifications are public documents and legally admissible evidence. “Claiming that ‘no evidence exists’ is legally incorrect and deeply misleading,” he added.
Appealing to indigenous communities, Timung urged people not to be swayed by what he termed deliberate confusion. “Hawaipur PGR was gazetted in 1933, demarcated in 1946, reaffirmed in 1951, protected under the Council Grazing Act, 1954, recorded in the Census of 1961, and confirmed in the Assam Gazetteer of 1979,” he said.
“Hawaipur Professional Grazing Reserve is legally a PGR, historically a PGR, and officially recorded as a PGR,” Timung concluded. “There is no legal doubt—only administrative confusion and misinformation.”
https://indigenousherald.com/