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‘Acknowledging reality not hatred’: Himanta Sarma cites SC order to defend Miya Muslim remarks

Posted By: Tarun Kumar Posted On: Jan 30, 2026Share Article
Acknowledging reality not hatred
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Screenshot via CM Office Assam, @CMOfficeAssam/X

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday cited a 2005 Supreme Court order to defend his recent remarks targeting Miya Muslims in the state, saying that acknowledging the “reality” is neither hatred nor communalism but a recognition of a “grave and long-standing” problem.

The BJP leader has been repeatedly claiming over the past few days that Miya Muslims will be deleted as voters during the special revision of the electoral rolls in the state, and that it was his job to “make them suffer”.

In Assam, “Miya” is a derogatory word used to refer to undocumented immigrants and is exclusively directed at Muslims of Bengali origin. They are often accused of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.

Once a pejorative in Assam, from the common use of the honorific “Miya” among South Asian Muslims, the term has now been reappropriated by the community as a self-descriptor to refer to Muslims who migrated to Assam from Bengal during the colonial era.

In a post on social media on Thursday, Sarma said that those who were questioning him about his remarks about the community should “pause and read” what the court had said about Assam while striking down the 1983 Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunals Act in 2005.

The Act was enacted in 1983 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants, primarily from Bangladesh, residing in Assam. It established special tribunals to determine the status of “illegal” immigrants who arrived on or after March 25, 1971.

The legislation was meant to expedite the detection and deportation of “illegal” immigrants. The provisions of the Act, however, placed the burden of proof on the state and not the accused.

In 2005, the court struck down the law after hearing a petition filed by former Chief Minister and BJP leader Sarbabanda Sonowal. The petition had contended that the provisions of the 1983 law for identifying foreigners were so stringent that few persons had been declared as such and deported.

Sarma on Thursday referred to the court's warning about what it described as a “silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam”, which it said may lead to the loss of the “geostrategically vital” districts of lower Assam.

The court had observed that the “influx of illegal migrants is turning these districts into a Muslim majority region”, adding: “It will then only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made…”

It went on to caution that such a development could sever the northeastern region from the rest of India and threaten national unity and natural resources.

The chief minister said that when the highest constitutional court of the country used “words like “demographic invasion” and warned of the possible loss of territory and national unity, acknowledging that “reality” was neither hatred nor communalism or an attack on any community.

He added: “It is a recognition of a grave and long-standing problem that Assam has lived with for decades.”

Sarma claimed that the state government's actions were not against any religion or any Indian citizen.

“Our effort is to protect Assam's identity, security, and future, exactly as the Supreme Court cautioned the nation to do,” he added. “Ignoring that warning would be the real injustice – to Assam and to India.”

Sarma's remarks on Thursday came a day after he said that BJP workers had filed more than five lakh complaints against suspected foreigners during the special revision of the electoral rolls in the state.

The Election Commission is separately conducting a “special revision” of the voter list in the state, which is similar to the usual updates to the electoral roll. Assam is not among the 12 states and Union Territories where the poll panel is conducting the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls.

The state is expected to hold Assembly elections in three to four months.

Several Opposition parties have accused the BJP of conspiring to delete the names of a large number of genuine voters from the state's electoral rolls amid the special revision and filed police complaints.

On Wednesday, Sarma claimed that four lakh to five lakh Miya voters would be deleted when the special intensive revision of the voter rolls takes place in the state, and acknowledged that the BJP was attempting to prevent them from voting.

“What does ‘vote chori' [vote theft] mean to us?” the chief minister had asked reporters. “Yes, we are trying to steal some Miya votes. Ideally, they should not be allowed to vote in Assam. They should be able to vote in Bangladesh.”

Reacting to Sarma's comments, Congress leader Aman Wadud had said that Sarma had “made the Constitution absolutely ineffective” in Assam.

On January 24, the chief minister said that only Miya Muslims were being served notices under the special revision in the state.

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