Guwahati’s legal fraternity on Tuesday staged a day-long hunger strike inside the historic Lawyers Association of Guwahati (LAG) premises, opposing the proposed demolition of the 170-year-old building that has stood since 1855.
Members of the association observed the hunger strike from 9 am to 4 pm, calling the move to demolish the structure arbitrary and taken without consultation with key stakeholders of the city’s legal ecosystem.
Lawyers described the decision as unilateral and warned that erasing the LAG building would mean wiping out a vital part of Guwahati’s institutional memory. The structure, they said, is not merely an office space but a living symbol of the city’s judicial heritage.
Speaking on behalf of the association, LAG General Secretary Apurba Sharma said the protest was a direct response to what lawyers believe is a deliberate sidelining of the legal community. He linked the urgency of the agitation to the upcoming foundation stone-laying ceremony of the proposed High Court building at Rangmahal in North Guwahati on January 11.
“We will not be part of such a conspiracy. Instead, we will intensify our protest,” Sharma said, making it clear that the association does not oppose development but strongly objects to decisions taken without dialogue or transparency.
Protesters also raised concerns that no advocates, bar associations, or allied legal stakeholders were consulted before the demolition plan was finalised. According to them, any redevelopment plan involving such a historically significant building must involve public discussion and heritage impact assessment.
The hunger strike marks a significant escalation in resistance, signalling that Guwahati’s lawyers are prepared to sustain and expand their agitation if the authorities do not reconsider the decision.
As the city debates development versus preservation, the fate of one of Guwahati’s oldest legal landmarks now stands at the centre of a growing civic and institutional confrontation.
