Protest over non-eviction of settlers from Professional Grazing Reserve (PGR) and Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) land in Karbi Anglong escalating into violent clashes between a section of Karbi people and a section of non-indigenous people is reflective of complexities of land settlement in Sixth Schedule areas. Land alienation of indigenous people is a sensitive issue, but legal complexities cannot be wished away. A section of protestors setting ablaze the residence of the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), Tuliram Ronghang, at Dongkamukam on Monday, and a mob torching shops and houses at Kheroni market on Tuesday, even after the deployment of police and paramilitary forces, and troops resorting to firing and lathi charge to disperse the violent mob, speak volumes about the delicate and worsening law-and-order situation. Simmering tension gripping the troubled West Karbi Anglong district even after the imposition of prohibitory orders against the assembly of more than five people has sounded the alarm bell for the administration to beef up security measures. The trouble began on Monday soon after rumours spread about the arrest of a group of protestors who were on an indefinite hunger strike to press for the eviction of "illegal settlers" from PGR/VGR land. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rushed to clarify that the protestors on hunger strike were not arrested but shifted to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital due to health complications. Both Chief Minister Sarma and the KAAC CEM Ronghang clarified that immediate eviction from PGR/VGR land as demanded by agitating groups is not possible due to an interim stay on the matter by the Gauhati High Court. Both the leaders, however, maintained that the issue can be resolved through discussion, which is a pragmatic approach to address the issue and prevent a flare-up. Violence has no place in democratic India, and all pending issues must be resolved through dialogue and discussion in a peaceful atmosphere. Efforts to find a peaceful solution need to be inclusive so that all affected sides are given a patient hearing by the state government and KAAC authorities. Karbi Anglong has left behind bitter memories of ethnic conflict, armed conflict, the killing of innocent civilians, and insurgent violence, paving the way for fast-track development. Allowing any situation to escalate and return to violence will only drag the development-deficit autonomous council areas further backward. Protection of PGR/VGR land is critical to protection of the interest of Karbi people. The KAAC had issued an eviction order in February 2024 for the eviction of "unauthorised occupants" from PGR/VGR land in areas under the Council. The autonomous council cited the direction issued by the Supreme Court to all states to take necessary steps for eviction of illegal/unauthorised occupants of Gram Sabha/Gram Panchayat land and the land that must be kept for the common use of villagers in its order, which was subsequently challenged in Gauhati High Court, leading to an interim stay on execution of the eviction order. The KAAC is empowered by the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution to make laws in respect of allotment, occupation, use of land, management of forests (other than reserve forests), use of any canal or watercourse for agriculture, regulation of the practice of 'Jhum' or other forms of shifting cultivation, establishment of village or town committees or councils and their powers, village or town administration, public health and sanitation and inheritance of property. The petitioners challenging the KAAC eviction order claimed before the Gauhati High Court that the lands in respect to which the order had been passed are not PGR/VGR lands, and as such, the said order cannot be made applicable to the lands where they are presently in occupation. The court, while directing an interim stay of the eviction order, directed KAAC to file an affidavit stating as to whether the lands where the petitioners are in occupation have been declared to be PGR/VGR lands. The onus now lies on KAAC to inform the court about the status of land in question in terms of formal notification on PGR/VGR land for expeditious legal settlement of the issue. The allegation of unauthorised occupation of PGR/VGR land also exposes a critical gap in land revenue administration in Sixth Schedule areas. The KAAC will be under pressure to explain how "illegal occupants" could "encroach" on notified PGR/VGR land in Sixth Schedule areas. The legal complexities in Karbi Anglong over PGR/VGR land protection from encroachment have sounded the caution against encroachment of PGR/VGR land in the other two Sixth Schedule council areas - Bodoland Territorial Region and Dima Hasao district - through critical gaps in revenue administration and legal loopholes in the land and revenue laws pertaining to PGR/VGR land in council areas. These issues are complex and require legal acumen to remove ambiguities. Restoration of peace and normalcy must be the top priority, as dialogue initiated to end the conflict runs the risk of being derailed without both.