GUWAHATI, March 10: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that Assamese Muslims are “politically against” Miya Muslims, and a section of the former are now in support of the BJP.
He maintained that Assamese Muslims have stated over time that their religion may be the same, but they are culturally different from the Miya Muslims.
“This time, the Assamese Muslims have made up their minds. That they are a separate community, though the religion may be the same,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an official event here, when asked if the religious minorities will support the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls.
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Differentiating between the two sections based on mother tongue and place of origin, Sarma said, “Politically, the Assamese Muslims are against the Miya Muslims. There are many who come on TV talk shows and say that the religion may be same, but their cultures are different.”
‘Miya’ is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting the term as a gesture of defiance.
Asked if the Assamese Muslims have a problem with the CM referring to the Miyas as ‘osinaki manuh’ (unknown people), Sarma maintained that “they like it”.
He claimed that the Assamese Muslims have extended their support to him by handing him money ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 11,000.
“About 50-60 per cent of Assamese Muslims were with the Congress earlier. During the Assam Agitation, many shifted their support to the Asom Gana Parishad. And now, a lot of them are with the BJP,” Sarma claimed.
The CM has been making repeated statements in recent days attacking the Miyas, saying that the people from the community will continue to face problems till he is in power.
A bunch of PILs accusing Sarma of making “hate speech” and “communal comments” against the ‘Miya’ community were filed before the Gauhati High Court, with the court issuing a notice to the CM and seeking response before the next date of hearing on April 21. (PTI)
