Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that Assam would “automatically be included” in Bangladesh if the population of people of Bangladeshi origin in the state increased by another 10 per cent.
Speaking to reporters after an official programme, Sarma said he had been warning about this issue for the last five years. “In Assam, 40 per cent of the population are Bangladeshi origin people. If it increases by another 10 per cent, we will automatically be included. That is why I have been shouting about this for the last five years,” he said.
His remarks came in response to a recent statement by a leader of Bangladesh’s newly formed National Citizen Party. Party leader Hasnat Abdullah had reportedly said that Bangladesh should isolate India’s northeastern states and support separatist elements if India tried to destabilise his country. Abdullah also claimed that the northeast was geographically vulnerable because it depends on the narrow Siliguri Corridor for connection with the rest of India.
Earlier, addressing a two-day BJP state executive meeting in Guwahati, Sarma said that the population of Bangladeshi-origin Miya Muslims in Assam could touch 40 per cent by the 2027 census. He said such a situation was unprecedented. “Nowhere in the world does a state exist where the indigenous population goes below 60 per cent while the population of Bangladeshi origin Muslims keeps rising above 40 per cent,” he said.
Recalling his early political days with the All Assam Students Union, Sarma said, “When I started politics, the number of Bangladeshi origin Miya Muslims was 21 per cent. It increased to 31 per cent in the 2011 census, and now it is going to cross 40 per cent. The day is not far when future generations of Assamese people will see their population fall below 35 per cent.”
He further claimed that Bangladesh did not need to fight a war to take over the northeast. “They often say the northeast should be cut off and annexed to Bangladesh. They do not need to fight a war. Once their population crosses 50 per cent, it will automatically go to them,” Sarma said.
The chief minister also alleged that demographic changes were now visible even in districts like Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. He criticised the Congress, accusing it of encouraging infiltration for vote bank politics. “It is because of weak Congress policies that the population of Bangladeshi origin Miya Muslims rose from 31 per cent in 2011,” he said.
Sarma also reacted to a demand by a Congress spokesperson to reserve Assembly seats for Muslims. “The BJP demands reservation for Assamese people, irrespective of religion. But Congress demands reservation only for Muslims. They have not expelled that spokesperson because their entire ecosystem depends on these people,” he alleged.
Muslims make up about 34 per cent of Assam’s population of 3.12 crore. Of this, around four per cent are indigenous Assamese Muslims, while the rest are largely Bengali-speaking Muslims, often referred to as Miya Muslims.
