Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday warned that Assam could face attempts to be merged with Bangladesh if people of Bangladeshi origin
cross the 50% population mark in the state. Speaking at the BJP's state executive meeting at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra, Himanta said, "While people of Bangladeshi origin have crossed 40% and are still increasing, a reality which we can see with our eyes today. If their population crosses 50%, then in such a situation, there might be an attempt to make Assam a part of Bangladesh." Referring to the killing of Dipu Das in Bangladesh, Sarma said that the incident should serve as a warning, adding that Assamese people can imagine what the situation could be like in the next 20 years. “When Dipu Das can be burnt alive in Bangladesh, the Assamese people can well imagine what the situation will be after 20 years." he said. “If there is a war between India and Bangladesh, who will these settlers support? Where does their loyalty lie?” Sarma asked. Alleging that decades of what he called “appeasement politics” by the Congress had led to the emergence of a “new civilisation” numbering around 1.5 crore people in Assam, Sarma described the upcoming Assembly elections as a “civilisational battle” to protect ‘Swadesh’ (nation) and ‘Swajati’ (community), as well as the identity, land, and culture of the Assamese people. With BJP working president Nitin Nabin present, Sarma said the party was the “last light of hope” to prevent Assam from being, in his words, “pushed into an abyss of darkness” due to alleged infiltration from Bangladesh. Calling the issue “not merely political but civilisational,” Sarma said demographic changes posed a threat to Assamese identity. He cited incidents in Dhubri and other parts of lower Assam, and referred to cases he described as Hindu girls being targetted under what he termed “Love Jihad.” Referring to census data, Sarma said the indigenous population of Assam had declined to about 60% and could decrease further. He noted that Muslims constituted 34% of the state’s population in 2011, claiming that Muslims of Bangladeshi origin accounted for 31%, while indigenous Muslims made up around 3%. He added that this figure could rise to nearly 40% by 2027, which he said raised concerns about Assam’s changing demographic profile. “During my lifetime, I have seen the population of the infiltrators rise from 21% to nearly 40% and my children will find during their lifetime that the population of the Assamese community has come down to 30%,” he added. Rejecting the portrayal of Assam as the land of ‘Sankar-Azan’ - a reference to Vaishnav saint Sankardeva and Sufi saint Azan Fakir, Sarma said the state should instead be seen as the land of ‘Sankar-Madhav,’ invoking Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva. “Assam was, is, and will always remain the land of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev & Mahapurush Madhabdev. We will never allow misleading narratives, false equivalences or comparisons of our Mahapurush with Ajan Fakir to weaken our cultural identity and civilisational ethos,” he said. Invoking Ahom general Lachit Borphukan, the CM said, “Lachit defeated the Mughals even while sick. Similarly, we will overcome the forces he said are threatening our identity, land, and culture.” “We have PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah with us. We will fight relentlessly to protect our ‘jati, mati and bheti’(identity, land and homeland) and we will win,” Sarma added.
