Emphasising that indigenous people in Assam will become a minority if the population growth figures are not reversed, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has urged youths to marry soon and give birth to children. He made the appeal while distributing appointment letters to over four thousand successful candidates under the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) for grade 4 govt jobs in Guwahati on Friday.
The event took place at the newly inaugurated Jyoti-Bishnu Auditorium in Khanapara, Guwahati, with 5,000 seats. With the distribution of 4,374 appointment letters, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has now given government jobs to over 1.5 lakh youths, against the poll promise of 1 lakh.
While congratulating the new recruits on securing stable government jobs through a merit-based process without paying any bribe, CM Sarma expressed deep concern over the declining number of Assamese people due to late marriages and fewer children. He also pointed out regional disparities in the numbers, noting that in upper Assam areas like Dibrugarh and Sivasagar, families often have very few children, while in (Muslim-dominated) lower Assam districts such as Dhubri and Goalpara, some families have 7-8 children.
He said, “By marrying late, the number of Assamese people is decreasing. If you go to Assamese villages nowadays, you hardly see children. On the other hand, there are some people who have eight or nine children at home. That is another matter. But by marrying late, we will decrease in numbers. We will disappear from the world.”
Addressing the young appointees directly, the Chief Minister advised those who are yet to marry not to delay their marriage beyond one year after joining their jobs. He said, ‘those who are unmarried, marry within a year, and send me the wedding invitation card’. For those already married but postponing parenthood due to job insecurities, he urged them to have children immediately, at least one, and preferably two or three, as now they have secure govt jobs.
“Those who have got jobs should not delay marriage beyond a year… Our Assamese people delay marriage till thirty years, and by the time children grow up, it’s time for retirement,” Sarma said. He further warned that continued delays could lead to the Assamese community becoming a minority or even disappearing in the coming 20-50 years.
The Chief Minister emphasised the need for a balanced population growth among the indigenous Assamese people. He also appealed for limiting larger families in certain areas to 2-3 children to avoid poverty and imbalance.
Himanta Biswa Sarma also urged the new govt employees to use their first salaries to give some gifts to their parents. He also urged to make some donations to their local namghar/temple every year.
Notably, after distributing 4,374 appointment letters for Grade IV state govt jobs, the CM today distributed 6,347 appointment letters for Grade III jobs under ADRE. This event was held at Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati.
