Guwahati, Feb 3: Ahead of Assam polls which are two months away, Assam cabinet minister and BJP’s go-to man for northeast Himanta Biswa Sarma today directly urged for partial-political isolation of sorts of the Bengali speaking Muslims of Assam, he claimed that BJP would not give party tickets to people from the Miya Muslim community of Assam, a word often seen derogatory and used to refer to the descendants of Bengali speaking Muslims of Assam who are often branded as Bangladeshis infiltrators.
Muslims in Assam has different division based on social and linguistic background — those who are descendants of Bengali speaking Muslims are called ‘miyas’ but not hold in high esteem in the overall Muslims society, though their population is highest among all Muslims groups. The indigenous Assamese speaking Muslims are collectively known as Khilongiyas (Indigenous) – their subdivision – Goriya’s, Mariya’s, Deshi, Zulas and Syed.
Sarma went a step ahead and urged the main opposition party, congress also not to give tickets to people from the community terming them communal, he added that BJP is not talking about any religious polarization but cultural polarization and they are not against all Muslims.
“In Assam, Muslims are divided into two streams, one who are indigenous and the other who have come from Bangladesh at different point of time. They have started to identify themselves as Miyas. They are very communal and very fundamentalist, they have started to identify themselves with various activities to distort Assamese culture and language so I don’t want to be MLA with their votes, and morally I cannot stand in Assembly if they voted for us. If identities as Miya Muslims don’t vote for us, if you identify as Assamese Muslims please vote for us” Himanta told reporters in Guwahati.
In Assam there are about 35 percent Muslim voters, of these the Bengali-speaking Muslims (known as Miyas) form the lion share. They are a ‘deciding factor’ in above 30 seats in the 126 member assembly. The BJP has launched its mission 100 plus, the party is targeting to win more than 100 seat. The observers believe, that bengali Muslims who have been often branded as ‘Bangladeshis’ in Assam, might come in the way of BJP’s mission.
“We will give party tickets from Muslims community, but not give tickets to those who identify themselves as Miya Muslim in the context of Assam…Miya is very revered in rest of the country, but in Assam, the word Miya has been used to challenge our identity, our culture by a particular micro section of Muslims, neither we are going to give them a ticket, with folded hand request to them not to vote for us even by mistake, but those Muslims who identify India and Assam as motherland, they will vote for us, I am also requesting congress not to allow the ‘miyas’ to flourish” Himanta added.
Congress has formed a grand alliance with Badaruddin Ajmal led by AIUDF which is seen as a party that has huge support among Bengali-speaking Muslims of Assam. The Left parties and a regional political outfit – Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) are also part of it.
