Guwahati: Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi sealed the outcome of the 2006 assembly polls with just three words.
“Who is Badruddin,” retorted the Congress stalwart when buttonholed to respond to Congress’ possible alliance with Badruddin Ajmal’s AIDUF.
18 years later, as he prepares to seek another term in office, Himanta Biswa Sarma has had to look up the playbook often used by Gogoi, his mentor in Congress, to wriggle out of a tight spot.
A lot of water has flown down the Brahmaputra since his switchover from the Congress to the BJP in 2015, the rhetoric being deployed by the Assam CM, if anything, goes shriller by the day.
From evicting "illegally constructed" Madrassas and houses in government land to alleging the Bengali Muslims of carrying out "love jihad," "fertilizer jihad" and "land jihad" against the indigenous Assamese, the inflection in Sharma’s diatribe against the minority community since the outcome of 2024 Lok Sabha polls is conspicuous.
The Opposition sees an “agenda” in Sharma’s rhetoric, which they allege is an attempt by the CM to polarize the "secular" Assamese society for power.
Himanta's tirade against the Bengali Muslims grew after he replaced Sarbananda Sonowal as the CM in BJP's second straight term in Assam in May 2021. Eviction of 1,400 Bengali Muslims from government land at Gorukhuti in Darrang district and converting over 1,200 government-run Madrassas into normal schools in 2021-22 left many Muslims angry.
Narrative over CAA
Sarma, now 55, started making frequent claims about possible "demographic invasion" by the Miyas, the Bengali speaking Muslims, after the Narendra Modi government pushed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to allow the "persecuted" non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan till 2014 to give Indian citizenship. Ahead of 2021 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sarma and BJP workers made all out efforts to convince the Assamese voters that Hindu Bengali are not a "cultural threat," unlike the Bengali Muslims. BJP calls the Bengali Muslims as infiltrators. In fact, Sarma was the first prominent BJP leader who rejected the "final draft" of the NRC, which reportedly left out nearly nine lakh Hindus (out of 19.06 lakh). BJP calls the Bengali Muslims as "infiltrators" from neighbouring Bangladesh ostensibly to cash in on the long anti-foreigner sentiments among the Assamese.
The Opposition parties, however, tried to counter the narrative by dubbing CAA as a threat to the Assamese people. They said the CAA would reduce the indigenous Assamese into a minority by giving citizenship to a large number of Hindu Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. They said the CAA also violated the Assam Accord of 1985 that sought to detect all post-1971 migrants, irrespective of religion. Sarma, however, claimed that people endorsed the CAA by electing BJP again in 2021 and in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls (BJP retained its 2019 tally of nine).
Sarma, meanwhile, has continued the eviction drives, mostly targeting the Muslims and his frequent tirade against them. Sarma claimed that Miyas were carrying out "fertiliser jihad" by resorting to excessive use of fertilizers and insecticides and selling those for Assamese consumers. He also promised to bring a law to counter "land jihad" by regulating transfer of land from Hindus to Muslims. He even recently claimed that Assam would become a Muslim majority state by 2041 given the "demographic changes" taking place. "Demographic changes have happened in 23,000 polling booths, out of 28,000 booths," he said. On August 27, Sarma even said in the Assembly that he would take sides to stop the "miyas" from "taking over the entire Assam."
Arrests of more than 3,000 people in 2023, mostly Muslims, for child marriage and killing of several Mulisms accused in crimes in alleged encounters too drew a lot of anger. Sarma, however, tried to justify the drive against child marriage saying the same was done to protect the Muslim girls and check high rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality in the districts dominated by Muslims. "We stopped the Madrassas as we want the Muslim boys and girls to become doctors, engineers, professors and not maulbis," he had said after the drive was launched.
Spat with USTM university
Sarma's recent spat with USTM, a private university in neighbouring Meghalaya, owned by Mahbabul Hoque, drew a lot of attention when he alleged the varsity of carrying out "flood jihad" by cutting the hills along Guwahati-Meghalaya border, that according to him, aggravated the flash floods in Guwahati. He made the claim after Guwahati faced massive water logging on August 5 and his government faced strong criticism.
"He just needs a Muslim enemy. Besides, he also needed something so radical that people start talking about it and forget the bad press his government received over its failure to solve the Guwahati flood," said Aman Wadud, a lawyer of Gauhati High court and a member of Congress.
Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), an anti-CAA regional party, on Sunday said Sarma is now appeasing the Hindus just for votes. "While in Congress, he appeased Muslims, criticised BJP and even Narendra Modi. He even visited madrasas and donned the traditional Muslim attires. No he is trying to project himself as the protector of Hindus, but in reality, he is only interested in protecting his own power and wealth," AJP leader Jagadish Bhuyan said.
Wadud said Sarma was constantly targeting the Muslims in order to distract people from his failures as a minister and now as a CM. "His treatment towards Muslims violates the principle of justice and equality. His constant hate speech has put the security of many Muslims at a serious threat. Basically he is violating everything enshrined in our Constitution." Sarma on August 18 said he was doing all these to protect the Assamese people against the "miyas." His government, however, has taken several steps to protect the identity and culture of the Assamese Muslims, who he says are an integral part of Assamese society.
Assam under Biswa
*1,400 Bengali Muslim families evicted from government land at Gorukhuti in Darrang district. Similar evictions followed.
*Over 1,200 government-run Madrassas closed, converted into schools.
*More than 3,000 people, mainly Muslims, arrested as part of crackdown on child marriage.
*Bill passed for repealing Assam Moselem Marriage and Divorces Act 1935. Another bill passed for registration of Muslim marriages and divorces with government, to stop under-age marriage.
*Plan to prohibit transfer of land from Hindus to Muslims without the CM's nod, reguate inter-religious marriage.
*Bill passed to reserve the rights for sale and purchase of land within 5-kms radius of the ancient Vaishnavite monasteries in Barpeta and Batadrava for "original inhabitants" only.