Karbi Anglong: As the Karbi community prepares to celebrate the traditional Rongker Karkli festival 2026 with great fervour on January 5, attention in Karbi Anglong is also drawn to a significant legal development unfolding in the region. The annual Rongker festival, one of the most important cultural and religious observances of the Karbis—the predominant indigenous community of Assam’s hill districts—will be marked across Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, and other Karbi-inhabited areas of the state.
Rongker Karkli is a post-harvest thanksgiving festival dedicated to appeasing local deities for the welfare of the community. The rituals seek divine protection from natural calamities, blessings for good harvests, and overall peace and prosperity. Villages resonate with traditional chants, ceremonial offerings, indigenous dances, and community feasts, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and spiritual life of the Karbi people.
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Parallel to the festive spirit, January 5, 2026, also marks a crucial date in an ongoing legal battle concerning land rights in West Karbi Anglong. The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and the Government of Assam are scheduled to file a joint affidavit before the Gauhati High Court in connection with three pending writ petitions—WP (C)/3524/2024, WP (C)/5117/2024, and WP (C)/3718/2024.
The cases pertain to alleged encroachments on Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) lands in the Kheroni area under Donkamokam Revenue Circle. The Hon’ble High Court has earlier stayed eviction proceedings in these matters, restraining authorities from taking coercive action against settlers until further orders.
The joint affidavit is expected to clarify the legal status and boundaries of the alleged grazing reserves. The court’s eventual decision will be crucial in determining whether eviction proceedings can resume, an issue that has generated considerable debate and concern in the region. As Karbi Anglong celebrates Rongker Karkli with devotion and unity, residents simultaneously await the legal proceedings with cautious hope, seeking outcomes that ensure cultural continuity while addressing longstanding land rights concerns.
