Assam gives a big nod to oil mining, and a giant finger to the Gibbon Sanctuary.
Nine years ago, when I first stepped into the Gibbon Sanctuary, I truly understood what the Assamese word ‘haabi’ meant. For me, the word ‘forest’ conjures images straight out of a fairytale, and ‘jungle’ carries an air of adventure. But ‘haabi’ is a word that's hard to explain to anyone who didn’t grow up steeped in Assamese folklore.
A ‘haabi’ isn’t a place to wander carelessly—it belongs to the shadows, and you should feel a formidable sense of unease if you find yourself in its depths.
The moment I entered the haabi, the sharp noon sun vanished, and I was enveloped in a twilight-like darkness. That’s how dense it was.
*Haabi - Forest or Jungle, in Assamese.The forest wasted no time in reminding me who truly owned this land. After just 20 minutes of trudging along a leech-ridden, muddy path, the forest guard motioned for me to be silent and pointed ahead.
I could hear distant screams—faint at first, but quickly growing louder, scarier, and more chilling as they echoed through the trees. Soon, a large group of Hoolock Gibbons appeared, swinging toward us with incredible speed like true acrobats of the forest.
They paused briefly above us, as if allowing me a moment to take in their collective quiet, before gathering their young and vanishing into the trees, HOO-HOO-ing extremely loudly as they went.
This was the single most extraordinary audio-visual show I’ve ever experienced.
And now:
“Citing national interest, the Assam wildlife department has recommended to the Centre that forest clearance be granted to a Cairn Oil and Gas proposal for oil and gas exploration in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Hollongapar Gibbon wildlife sanctuary, home to the endangered Hoolock Gibbon and wild elephants, official records show.”
The Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat, shelters India’s only ape species, the Western Hoolock Gibbon, along with a diverse and thriving ecosystem.
It seems, letting forests be forests is neither profitable, nor enough, for our ‘national interest.’
Surrounded by tea gardens and hamlets, the sanctuary exists in a small pocket, tiny but mighty in biodiversity. Renowned Slow Loris expert Dr Nabajit Das said to India Today NE -
"In such a confined space, any disturbance will harm the entire ecosystem."
The project is riddled with conditions aimed at reducing environmental impact—cutting fewer trees, preventing pollution, and controlling oil leaks.
But these are just band-aids on a gaping wound.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, argue that this decision exposes the government’s double standards. While they preach wildlife protection, they simultaneously hand over these sacred lands to mining companies, displacing indigenous communities and ignoring the sanctity of these irreplaceable ecosystems. (Source: India Today NE)
Instead of choking our carbon sinks, maybe, just maybe, our country could invest in innovation and alternative energy solutions. There is no shortage of scientists and talent in this country. THAT, we know. Or maybe they are saving the bright ideas for when pigs fly.
Optimism has it’s place, but some issues demand our righteous anger.
I hope you will take my words, make them your own, and broadcast it to the world. Our forests deserve our outrage and voice.
