UN experts demand release of Indigenous activists arrested for protesting proposed luxury hotel next to Kaziranga National Park in India
Following protests against the proposed luxury tourism project, police arrested five Indigenous activists.
The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in north-east India covers an area of 1,300 square kilometres. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to the endangered Bengal tiger, elephants, wild buffaloes, and the one-horned Rhino.
In August 2023, Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a Memorandum of Understanding with a company linked to the US-based Hyatt Group for a five-star luxury hotel to be built in Inglay Pathar, close to the central area of Kaziranga National Park.
In August 2024, the Assam government signed another MoU for a five-star hotel, this time with Amalgamated Plantations and Indian Hotel Co, both of which are linked to the Tata Group.
On 29 June 2026, protests took place against the planned construction of the hotel in Inglay Pathar. On 12 July 2026, Indigenous human rights defender Pranab Doley was arrested along Rajib Pegu, Brijit Kutum, Amit Nag, and Bhaskar Saikia in connection with the protests.
“What kind of democracy is this if we are not allowed to raise the voice of the people?” Doley asked, as he was being arrested. “The police who came to arrest me didn’t produce any arrest warrant.”
Doley is the convenor of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee, which says in a statement:
“[We] deny these targeted and egregious charges imposed on Pranab Doley and other activists and demand their immediate release.
“We strongly condemn the unlawful treatment meted out to Pranab Doley and other activists. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the three activists, and that the Assam government stops the harassment of indigenous activists, who have been defending the rights of the affected Adivasi communities.”
UN experts urge release of Indigenous human rights defenders
Last week, three UN special rapporteurs and the UN’s working group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, urged the release of Indigenous human rights defenders.
They write that,
“We are deeply concerned by reports that Indigenous human rights defenders have been deprived of their liberty in connection with their peaceful advocacy on behalf of Indigenous communities’ lands and rights. Such arrests and prosecutions can have a chilling effect on civic space and discourage others from speaking out against abuses.”
A press release on the website of the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commission states that,
The experts called for the immediate release of the detained defenders if their detention is linked solely to the peaceful exercise of their rights, urged authorities to ensure any criminal proceedings fully comply with international human rights standards, and called on authorities to suspend any land acquisition or development until affected Indigenous communities have been meaningfully consulted and their free, prior and informed consent has been obtained.
The UN experts have also written to the Indian government to express their concerns. The statement was issued by the following:
members of the UN working group on business and human rights;
Albert K. Barume, special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples;
Gina Romero, special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and
Andrea Bolaños Vargas, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
More condemnation of the arrests
In addition, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), together with the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) Network, and the Platform for Asia Indigenous Peoples Territorial Rights (PAIPT), have also strongly condemned the arrest and continued detention of Pranab Doley.
The three organisations call on the government of India and the government of Assam to:
Immediately and unconditionally release Pranab Doley and withdraw all charges arising from the legitimate exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
Guarantee his physical and psychological integrity, ensure unrestricted access to legal counsel and family members, and uphold all procedural safeguards throughout any legal proceedings.
End the criminalization, intimidation, surveillance, and harassment of Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders, environmental defenders, and community leaders peacefully exercising their legitimate rights.
Respect and protect the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples and Adivasi communities over their lands, territories, and resources in accordance with international human rights standards.
Ensure that all development initiatives affecting Indigenous Peoples territories fully respect the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and are carried out through transparent, inclusive, and rights-based decision-making processes.
Address land disputes through meaningful dialogue, independent judicial processes, and respect for the customary tenure systems and traditional governance institutions of Indigenous Peoples.
The Indigenous Rights and Protected Areas Initiative of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona’s James E Rogers College of Law has strongly condemned the arrest of Pranab Doley.
A statement by the Initiative lists the charges against Doley: criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, obstruction and assault of public servants, criminal trespass, intimidation, and other offences. The Initiative calls for Doley’s immediate release, access to legal counsel, family members and medical care, and guarantee that any legal proceedings comply with due process.
And the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) has also condemned the targeting of Pranab Doley. Doley had also opposed a proposed solar park citing various irregularities in conducting assessments carried out by Asian Development Bank consultants and government officials. In May 2025, the ADB cancelled the US$434.25 million loan:
IWGIA states that Mr Pranab Doley has been targeted for withdrawal of the Asian Development Bank’ $434.25 million loan to a proposed 1000 MW Solar Park in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council in Assam in May 2025.
Kaziranga and fortress conservation
Kaziranga has long had a brutal approach to conservation. A 2017 BBC documentary revealed that park rangers had killed 106 people in the park over the past 20 years. half of those people were killed in the previous five years.
The park had been accused of having a shoot to kill anti-poaching policy. In the documentary, Justin Rowlatt, the BBC’s South Asia correspondent, says,
“This is the story they don’t tell you on the glossy wildlife documentaries, and one the tourists never hear. The story of how in the name of protecting animals, the park authorities stand accused of making victims of people.”
The National Tiger Conservation Authority’s response to the documentary was to ban the BBC and Rowlatt from filming in any tiger reserves in India for five years.
In April 2016, Lewis Evans, then-campaigner at Survival International, wrote in The Ecologist that, “Under this policy, anyone park guards suspect of poaching can be immediately shot: no trial, no jury, no judge or laws or charges.”
The impact of the hotels
Inglay Pathar (or Inle Pathar), where the Hyatt hotel is planned, is grazing land and agricultural land, which also serves as an important passage for animals. It has been used by Indigenous farmers for generations. In 2024, Doley told Mongabay that,
“As Inle Pothar and the adjoining tea gardens lie on the foothills of Karbi Hills, animals use this area during floods, while scouting for natural highlands. Once this area gets blocked, they will enter villages, and this will aggravate human-animal conflict.”
The area of land is also known as Hati Pothar or “playground of elephants”.
The proposed Hyatt hotel has resulted in the eviction of more than 45 Indigenous families. It will affect the livelihoods of hundreds more.
In a press release following Doley’s arrest, Survival International’s Director Caroline Pearce said,
“Mr Doley has done nothing wrong and should be released immediately. On the contrary: he is the one standing up against the land theft, eviction and abuse imposed on Indigenous people in India in the name of “conservation”. These arrests are just one more example of this repression. The authorities must release Mr Doley and the others who have been arrested, and cease valuing conservation and tourism over the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples.”