On 30 July, Pranab Doley was set to leave prison as his father and lawyer arrived to escort him home. Yet, the Assam government refused to release him under the National Security Act, citing a catalogue of alleged offences that stretches back eight years.
The roots of the conflict lie in a June protest against a proposed luxury hotel that would occupy 10 acres of grassland adjacent to Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Doley, 40, has led activism for land rights, evictions and conservation in the region for years, earning him a reputation among local farming families.
While the government promises the resort will bring investment, jobs and wealthier tourists, dozens of families say they are being displaced from land cultivated for generations. The district administration claims the land is government-owned, but says it has already provided financial assistance and land to those who qualify for the projects and will train them for jobs.
In the days before his release, footage from the protest showed Doley speaking to officials and seeking dialogue, not inciting violence, according to a judge who later upheld the bail order for him and four others. The judge noted that law‑enforcement had been injured but concluded that the dispute stems from the impact of the development on the local community, emphasising that public order is best achieved by listening rather than silencing it.
The hotel project, started in 2023 in partnership with the Saraf Group and backed by Hyatt, aims to split the world’s biggest population of one‑horned rhinos. Doley’s activism extends beyond his protest, having campaigned against alleged extrajudicial killings of suspected poachers inside Kaziranga and now fighting the hotel’s construction that threatens the park’s ecological balance.
