Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed in the Assembly on Tuesday that the Muslim community has become the largest population in the state and they should start behaving as a majority community. Sarma also put the onus of ensuring communal harmony on the Muslim community, especially the people of Bengali speaking origin, saying that even the indigenous Muslims of Assam are afraid of losing their identity. The Chief Minister said that there was evidence in support of his claim but did not present it in the House.
Responding to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s address, Sarma said, “Minorities have become majority now. They constitute 30-35 per cent of the state’s population… with a population of one crore, they are now the largest community and it is their responsibility to ensure communal harmony.”
According to the 2011 census, Hindus constitute 61.47 percent of the total population of 3.12 crore in Assam. Muslims constitute 34.22 percent of the population and they form the majority in many districts. While Christians account for 3.74 per cent of the total number in the state, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains make up less than one per cent.
He said they should stop thinking of themselves as “outsiders” and focus on communal unity and harmony. The chief minister claimed that with Hindus being in the minority, there is a growing fear of them losing their identity and this apprehension has led to the creation of “protective gear or circles” around them. However, he did not elaborate on what “protective circle” means.
Sarma said that Muslims should understand that the progress of the state is directly linked to their activities and urged them to work towards poverty alleviation, population control etc. to reduce the problems faced by the state.
Sarma also claimed that even “indigenous Muslims” fear losing their identity, apparently drawing a demarcation between them and the Bengali-speaking, migrant Muslims.
Referring to the recently released Hindi film The Kashmir Files, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990, Sarma said that the people of Assam are scared of fate just like Kashmiri Pandits. “It is your duty (of the Muslim community) to assure us that he will not be here, please start behaving like the majority community,” he said.
Simultaneously, Sarma said that the police action against the criminals has yielded results and crime has come down in the state. He said that if the policemen work outside the limits of the law, then action has been taken against them too. Sarma said that there has been a 30 per cent reduction in the crime rate in the state.