India Hate Lab, a Washington-based advocacy and research group, has released a damning new report under its Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) initiative, highlighting what it describes as a “sharp and deeply concerning” surge in hate speech, harassment, and violence targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam.
The data brief directly implicates Assam Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing him of playing a central role in legitimising and enabling the escalating campaign. Of particular concern is a May announcement by Sarma to grant arms licenses to “indigenous” residents in “vulnerable and remote” border areas—specifically naming five districts with large Muslim populations. He cited the need to counter “unlawful threats from hostile quarters.”
Between July 9 and July 30, India Hate Lab documented 18 rallies and protests across 14 districts, many led or supported by BJP leaders and affiliates. These gatherings featured inflammatory rhetoric, celebration of violent evictions, and calls for further demolitions of properties belonging to alleged “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.” Protesters were seen carrying symbolic bulldozers, glorifying the state’s demolition campaigns as patriotic acts.
The report also recorded nine incidents of targeted violence and harassment within just 11 days, including physical assaults and forced evictions.
In Chapaidang, Muslim laborers were attacked and their homes vandalized after being accused of sheltering evicted families. In Kaliabor, members of the Assamese nationalist group Bir Lachit Sena reportedly blocked Muslim families from moving in with relatives. In Mariani, the same group carried out door-to-door ID checks on Bengali-speaking Muslims, demanding police submission of documents within two days.
In Golaghat district, the Hindu nationalist group Sachetan Yuva Mancha allegedly forced a landlord to evict Muslim tenants, claiming the move aligned with CM Sarma’s stated policies.
India Hate Lab also reported five large-scale eviction drives over the past month, displacing thousands of Bengali-origin Muslim families.
On July 8, over 1,600 families were evicted in Dhubri to facilitate the Adani Group’s thermal power project. In Goalpara, more than 1,000 homes and a mosque were demolished on July 12. Police opened fire on July 17 during protests against the evictions, killing one and injuring several. On July 26, a mosque and several structures were razed in Dima Hasao under the pretext of clearing forest land. Most recently, on July 29 in Uriamghat, over 250 homes were demolished—residents allege Muslims were exclusively targeted.
India Hate Lab has urged the Assam government to immediately halt the eviction drives targeting Bengali-origin Muslims, ensure legal due process, and provide proper rehabilitation for displaced families.
The group has also called for accountability measures against state officials and political figures promoting communal hatred, and for increased protection of minority communities from vigilante groups like Bir Lachit Sena and Sachetan Yuva Mancha.
The findings raise serious concerns about state complicity in communal violence and the growing atmosphere of hostility against Assam’s Bengali-speaking Muslim minority.
