Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sparked a row by saying that his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), does not need the votes of the ‘Miya’ community for the next 10 years. The ‘Miya’ community refers to the Muslims of Bengali origin, who are often seen as illegal immigrants and outsiders by the indigenous Assamese people.
Sarma made the controversial remark while addressing a public rally in Barpeta district on Sunday. He said that the BJP does not want the votes of those who practice regressive customs like child marriage and polygamy, and who do not respect the Assamese culture and identity. He said that the ‘Miya’ community should reform themselves and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his development agenda.
“If you want to vote for us, then you have to leave behind your bad practices. You have to respect our culture, our language, our traditions. You have to adopt family planning and education. You have to stop child marriage and polygamy. Only then we will accept you as our brothers and sisters. Otherwise, we don’t need your votes for the next 10 years,” Sarma said.
Sarma’s statement came in response to a proposal by Congress MLA Sherman Ali to set up a museum reflecting the culture and heritage of the people living in char-chaporis, which are the riverine islands of the Brahmaputra inhabited by the ‘Miya’ community. Sarma had earlier rejected the proposal, saying that there is no separate identity and culture in char-chaporis, and that most of the people there had migrated from Bangladesh. He had also said that he would not allow any distortion of Assamese culture in Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra, which is a cultural complex in Guwahati named after the 15th-century saint and reformer.
Sarma’s comments have drawn sharp criticism from the opposition parties and civil society groups, who have accused him of trying to polarise the state along communal lines ahead of the assembly elections next year. The opposition has also questioned his authority to decide who is an Assamese and who is not.
The Congress party has said that Sarma’s remarks are an insult to the ‘Miya’ community, who are an integral part of Assam’s society and history. The party has also reminded Sarma that he himself was a part of the Congress until 2015, when he switched sides to join the BJP.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which is a regional party representing the interests of the ‘Miya’ community, has said that Sarma’s statement is unconstitutional and divisive. The party has also challenged Sarma to prove his claim that most of the people in char-chaporis are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The ‘Miya’ community comprises descendants of Muslim migrants from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to Assam. They came to be referred to as ‘Miyas’, often in a derogatory manner.
The community migrated in several waves — starting with the British annexation of Assam in 1826, and continuing into Partition and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War — and have resulted in changes in demographic composition of the region. Years of discontent among the indigenous people led to the six-year-long (1979-85) anti-foreigner Assam Agitation to weed out the “illegal immigrant”, who are perceived as trying to take over jobs, language and culture of the indigenous population.
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