Guwahati, Feb 7 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that all ‘Miya-Muslims’ are not “unknown” people, as those who came before 1951 are indigenous ones.
He maintained that there is no “communal or religious” angle to it, indicating towards his tirade against Miyas as the state prepares for Assembly polls due in the next few months.
“All Miya-Muslims are not ‘osinaki’ (unknown) people. There are those who came before 1951 and they are indigenous. The AASU and Justice (Retd) Biplab Sharma Committee have also accepted it,” Sarma said, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a government programme here.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) had spearheaded the six-year-long anti-infiltration agitation, which had culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord in August 1985.
The Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee was formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2019 for the implementation of the Assam Accord’s Clause 6, which deals with Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
Sarma maintained that opposition to Miyas is “not a communal thing and is not related to religion”.
“I speak within the ambit of law,” he said, in an apparent reference to his recent comments against the Bengali-speaking Muslims and how they will have to face “trouble” till he remains in power.
‘Miya’ is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.
The chief minister further maintained that 95 per cent of the new recruits in the state police force and 92 per cent in Grade 3 and 4 government jobs are “our children”.
“No unknown person has been recruited,” he asserted.
“During the last five years, our administration has worked for the people in an unprecedented manner. No government has been able to work with such courage. This is the first government which is not afraid of anything,” Sarma added. PTI SSG SSG RG
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