Assam witnessed an unprecedented social media protest in the mid-2020 for the protection of the Dehing Patkai rainforest located in the eastern part of the state. This green movement was centred on the issue of legitimising illegal coal mining in the rainforest by the National Board for Wildlife during the nationwide lockdown. Tracing the journey of the national park, the present article argues that the controversy reflects the contradiction between the metropolitan and indigenous version of ecological nationalism. The latter, though instrumental for mass mobilisation in environmental movements, does not occupy adequate space in the electoral politics.
