Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said whether a community is a minority or not, it should be assessed on the basis of the total population of the state or district. During the budget session in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Sarma said, “Whether a community is a minority or not depends on the threats to its religion, culture or educational rights. If there is no such threat, then that community can no longer be considered a minority.”
Responding to BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia’s question on whether communities are considered to be minorities in Assam, Sarma said that as per the Supreme Court’s judgment on the issue and the definitions given in Articles 25 to 30 of the Constitution, “anyone who directly One cannot say that Muslims, Buddhists or Christians are a minority, because they are a minority in a particular state.
Sarma said, “The definition of whether a community is a minority or not should be based on the prevailing reality in that particular state or district. It is a matter of concern and is currently being heard by the Supreme Court as well.”
Affidavit of the Central Government in the Supreme Court
The central government, in its affidavit to the Supreme Court, has said that six communities (Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains) have been notified as minorities at the national level. Also, those states and union territories, where the number of Hindus is less, they can be notified as a minority.
Hindus are also a minority in many districts of Assam: Sarma
Sarma said, “Bengali speakers in Barak Valley cannot be called a linguistic minority in the context of Assam. At the same time, there are linguistic minorities who speak Assamese, Rengma Naga and Manipuri. There will be Bengali-speaking linguistic minorities in some parts of the Brahmaputra Valley.” He said, “For a long time there was a feeling in India that all Muslims across the country are minorities. But now this definition has been challenged. The Supreme Court has been told by the Center that Hindus can also be a minority in a particular state depending on the circumstances. He said Hindus are a minority in Assam’s South Salmara district, while Muslims are the majority.
As per the existing guidelines, only the Center can decide which communities can be given minority status. There are many districts in Assam like Nagaon, Dhubri, which have Muslim majority population. The CM said, “There was no definition of minorities in our constitution. The term was defined only after the formation of the National Commission for Minorities. There too only religious minorities were considered and not linguistic minorities. The religious communities considered as minorities are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.
Senior advocate Nekibur Zaman said, “The matter is presently being heard by the Supreme Court and is sub-judice. For Assam when we talk of religious or linguistic minorities, we need to clarify whether Assamese speaking indigenous Muslims come under the purview of minority or not. Instead of declaring a community as a minority across India, this can be done at the state level depending on the situation. But taking it to the district level can create more problems. Instead of making cynical statements on this, I think we should wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on this issue.”