HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Nov 3: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday continued his attacks on Miya Muslims asserting that the eviction will continue against the Bengali origin minority community till he is ruling the state.
Talking to reporters, Sarma said, “The illegal Miya Muslims can not save themselves till I am the Chief Minister of Assam. Today, eviction notices were served to Miya Muslims in Behali and the crackdown will continue in the state. They will not be spared even if they go to the cremation site of Zubeen Garg to pay homage. This situation can only be changed when I will not be the Chief Minister of Assam.”
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The Chief Minister asserted that the illegal Miya Muslims will remain in tension in Assam in the coming days as the actions against them will continue to happen.
Sarma recently also said that he will “take sides” and will not allow “Miya” Muslims — a colloquial term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims of Bangladeshi origin in Assam — to “take over” the state.
He made the remarks while answering on law and order issues, and specifically invoked what he described as a migrant influx from Lower Assam into Upper Assam.
Sarma’s language was uploaded with sharp rhetoric: “Why will people from Lower Assam go to Upper Assam? So that Miya Muslims can take over Assam? We will not let it happen,” he told the Assembly. When opposition lawmakers criticised him, he replied tersely: “I will take sides. What can you do?”
Beyond these remarks, the Chief Minister also drew a line between what he termed “indigenous Assamese Muslims” and the Bengali-origin community.
He laid down conditions under which the Bengali-speaking community could be accepted as “indigenous” in Assam: giving up polygamy, child marriage, encouraging girls’ education, avoiding madrassas in favour of professional education, and respecting local land and cultural institutions such as the satras.
The CM also made it clear that some new bills including banning of polygamy will be introduced in the upcoming assembly session in the state.
