Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley was arrested in India after protesting a planned luxury Hyatt hotel near Kaziranga National Park.
Prominent Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley was taken into police custody in Assam, India, after leading local protests against plans to build a five star Hyatt luxury hotel near Kaziranga National Park.
Dozens of police officers surrounded the building where Doley was staying in mid-July 2026 and arrested him without producing a formal arrest warrant.
Two other community campaigners were also taken into custody, while two more surrendered to local court officials as authorities launched sweeping legal actions against figures opposing the multi million dollar government backed tourism project.
The controversial dispute centers on ancestral land located right on the edge of Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its rare one horned rhinoceros population.
Local government officials in Assam signed agreements to hand over large pieces of forest land to private companies to construct high-end luxury resorts.
However, rights groups state that the construction of the five-star Hyatt hotel has already led to the forced eviction of over forty five Indigenous Adivasi families from their homes, while threatening the farming livelihoods of hundreds more local villagers.
The arrest was caught on video cameras, capturing the moment Doley questioned the legal basis of his detention as officers led him away.
Challenging the sudden actions of the police at the scene, Pranab Doley stated, “What kind of democracy is this if we are not allowed to raise the voice of the people? The police who came to arrest me didn’t produce any arrest warrant.”
The main reason for Doley’s long standing campaign is to protect Indigenous land rights and stop what local communities call land theft disguised as environmental conservation.
Human rights groups point out that local forest guards have used violent tactics and strict access rules to push native inhabitants off their ancestral territories.
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Instead of letting native villagers live peacefully beside wildlife, the government is handing over that same forest land to wealthy private hotel developers.
International human rights group Survival International issued an urgent statement demanding the immediate release of Doley and his fellow campaigners.
Expressing deep concern over the crackdown, Survival International Director Caroline Pearce stated, “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’.”
In plain terms, a local community leader was arrested because he spoke up to protect his people’s homes from being torn down for a luxury hotel.
Now, international human rights groups are demanding his freedom while calling on the government to stop taking native land away from poor villagers.
