Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday 28th March 2022 that Hindus are hopelessly in low numbers across several Assamese districts, and they should be declared a minority. Himanta Biswa Sarma also reiterated the observations he mentioned in the state assembly saying that the Muslim community is in majority in the state and cannot be deemed a minority in the state anymore. As Hindus have remained less than even 5,000 in some districts, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Hindus can be declared a minority.
According to reports, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “When Hindu is not a majority in the state you can declare them as a minority. But I would like to request that when the Hindu community is not a majority in the district, in that district, Hindus should also be declared a minority.”
He further said, “There are many districts in Assam where Hindus are hopelessly in minority. Some of them even have less than 5,000 Hindus. The Muslim community is the majority and is the largest community in Assam. This is not just my opinion. It is the statistics. Statistically, Muslims are the largest community in Assam.”
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma demanded a review of the new National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. He said, “We had said earlier also that the old NRC should be reviewed and done afresh. Our discussion with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) is going on. We want the NRC to be done again in the state.”
Earlier on 15th March 2022, while speaking during a debate on the Governor’s address in the budget session of the Assam assembly, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Muslims are not the minority but have become the largest community in the state. The CM had also said that with 35% of the population, it is their responsibility to ensure communal harmony and allay the fears of minority communities like Brahmins and Tribal communities in the state.
In his detailed address, Himanta Biswa Sarma had said, “Today people from Muslim community are leaders in opposition, MLAs and have equal opportunity and wield power. So it is their duty to ensure that rights of tribal people are protected and their lands are not encroached upon.”
Quoting the percentage of the population, Himanta Biswa Sarma had said in his speech in the assembly, “Power comes with responsibility, and as Muslims constitute 35 percent of the Assam’s population, with roughly one crore populace, Muslims should realize that the state’s progress is inextricably related to their actions, and they should try to reduce the state’s difficulties by focusing on poverty alleviation, population control, and other issues. They should stop thinking of themselves as outsiders and concentrate on communal integration and harmony.”