Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he would not allow Miya Muslims to “take over the state” and asked why members of the community needed to move to Upper Assam.
The term “Miya Muslims” refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often falsely accused of being “illegal immigrants”. The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and is home to several ethnic communities.
The chief minister’s remarks came after fundamentalist organisations allegedly threatened Miya Muslims in Upper Assam to leave the administrative division. The threats were issued following the alleged gangrape of a 14-year-old girl in the Dhing area of Assam’s Nagaon district on August 22.
A 24-year-old, identified as Tafazul Islam, was among three persons accused in the gangrape case.
“The Leader of Opposition [Debabrata Saikia] and Jania MLA [Rafiqul Islam] has said a big thing today, knowingly or unknowingly,” Sarma said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
“[They said] people will go from Lower Assam to Upper Assam. Why will [they go]?...This means you [Miya Muslims] want to take over the entire state?” he alleged. “We will also not allow...We will not allow Assam to make Miyaland.”
Sarma was responding to adjournment motions moved by the Congress, the All India United Democratic Front, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and independent MLA Akhil Gogoi on the law and order situation in the state in view of increasing crimes, including against women.
The chief minister claimed that the crime rate had not increased if population growth was taken into account, PTI reported.
Responding to the Opposition’s claims that he was being partisan, Sarma said that he would take sides. “What can you do about it?”
He added: “If they [those living in Upper Assam] want, they [Miya Muslims] may go…If you go to Upper Assam against the wishes of those living there, there will be no security.”
Amid the ruckus, Opposition members and those in the treasury benches stormed into the well of the House, after which Speaker Biswajit Daimary adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes.
Following the gangrape of the 14-year-old, the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union announced a movement in the Sivasagar district seeking to drive out Bengali-origin Muslims. The district is a part of Upper Assam.
Areas like Nazira in the district also reported incidents of members of the students’ union visiting houses to determine if Muslims with “doubtful citizenship” lived there. Tinsukia district also reported similar incidents.
“We have already sent a seven-day ultimatum to Muslims of migrant origin to vacate their rented houses and leave Sibsagar at the earliest,” members of the All Tai Ahom Students Union said.
Videos shared on Facebook also showed members of the students’ union threatening Muslim workers to leave the district. They can be heard shouting: “Miya jaati go back” (Miya community go back) and “Have the hangdang [sword] but not wielding. But when I do, would not spare anyone.”.
The current developments also follow the death of the man accused in the gangrape case in Dhing while in police custody. In the early hours of Saturday, Islam was taken to the scene of the incident near a pond when he attempted to escape by “jumping” into a pond, the police claimed.
“After he was interrogated, he was taken to the crime scene,” Nagaon Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka said. “It is there that he tried to escape and jumped into a lake.”
A day after the alleged gangrape, Sarma said that after the Lok Sabha elections, in which the ruling BJP fell short of majority in the Lower House, a section of society felt emboldened to commit crimes. Sarma did not clarify which community he was referring to.
Indigenous communities live in constant fear in regions where they have become a numeric minority, Sarma claimed. “We should identify the real perpetrators behind these heinous crimes and not be stuck in blaming communities within the Hindu society,” the chief minister said.
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