’Won’t let Miya Muslims take over Assam,’ says BJP CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assembly

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday, August 27, that he will keep taking sides and won't let 'Miya' Muslims take over the state. The term 'Miya' refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often alleged to be ‘illegal immigrants.’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was speaking in the assembly on adjournment motions brought by the opposition parties to discuss the law and order situation in the state in the backdrop of the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Nagaon.

Sarma claimed that the the crime rate in Assam has not increased if the population growth is taken into account. 

The Opposition in the House accused him of taking sides to which he responded saying, “I will take sides. What can you do about it? Why will people from Lower Assam go to Upper Assam? So that Miya Muslims can take over Assam? We won't let it happen,” Sarma said, according to PTI report. 

Sarma's remarks come two days after Opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi claimed that the BJP is trying to recreate the 2002 Gujarat episodes in Assam. Gogoi claimed on Sunday amid reports that some organisations have allegedly been threatening Miya Muslims from Upper Assam to leave the administrative division.

“To win elections, they [BJP] desire to create a situation of instability and conflict in Assam,” said Gogoi, an independent MLA from the Sivasagar constituency, on Sunday.

“We are well aware of those in Assam who are following the diktats of the BJP agenda,” Gogoi was quoted as saying in a report by Scroll.in

A section of the community was threatened after the alleged gang rape 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 opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) also wrote to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya seeking action against unknown organisations and fundamentalist groups issuing threats to the section of the Muslim community, demanding that they leave Upper Assam.

Not the first time

Biswa has been issuing statements against Miya Muslims earlier, too. Last year, he said the BJP does not need the votes of ‘Miya’ people of ‘char’ (riverine sandbar) areas for the next 10 years.

"BJP will do public welfare, and they will support us, but they don't need to vote for us. There is no harm in supporting us. Let them shout 'zindabad' for Himanta Biswa Sarma, Narendra Modi and BJP," Sarma was quoted saying by news agency PTI in October 2023.

(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)