Guwahati: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday invoked the Supreme Court’s 2005 judgment scrapping the IM(DT) Act to defend his comments on ‘miya’, asserting that he uses the term in place of the apex court’s own reference to “illegal immigrants” in its warning of a “silent and invidious demographic invasion” of the state.Miya is a commonly used term in the state to identify Bangladesh-origin Muslim immigrants. Following criticism from the Opposition for saying that mass objections to the inclusion of ‘miyas’ in voter lists during the ongoing special revision were meant to harass them, Sarma insisted his remarks were rooted in the court’s language, not political exaggeration.
“Those who are attacking me for my remarks on ‘miyan’—a word used in Assam in the context of Bangladeshi Muslim illegal migration — should pause and read what the Supreme Court of India itself has said about Assam. This is not my language, not my imagination, and not political exaggeration. These are the Court’s own words,” he wrote on X.Quoting directly from the 2005 ruling, Sarma posted: “The silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam may result in the loss of the geostrategically vital districts of lower Assam… The influx of illegal migrants is turning these districts into a Muslim majority region… It will then only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made… Loss of lower Assam will sever the entire land mass of the North East from the rest of India and the rich natural resources of that region will be lost to the nation.”Sarma argued that when the highest constitutional court uses words like “demographic invasion” and warns of the possible loss of territory and national unity, acknowledging that reality is neither hatred nor communalism. “It is a recognition of a grave and long-standing problem that Assam has lived with for decades,” he said. “Our effort is not against any religion or any Indian citizen. Our effort is to protect Assam’s identity, security, and future, exactly as the Supreme Court cautioned the nation to do. Ignoring that warning would be the real injustice—to Assam and to India.”Speaking to the media in Golaghat later, Sarma said migrants from Bangladesh themselves use the word ‘miya’, adding he employs it to distinguish them from indigenous Assamese Muslims. He further claimed districts where Muslim populations once stood at 10 per cent now report 60 per cent, asking, “Isn’t it true that miyas are infiltrating from Bangladesh?”Opposition parties accused BJP of weaponising Form 7 to disenfranchise minorities. Congress lodged complaints of harassment of genuine citizens, while Left parties alleged misuse of the revision exercise. The Election Commission has ordered the special revision under Supreme Court supervision to ensure an error-free roll. The draft list was published on Dec 27, claims and objections closed on Jan 22, and the final roll will be released on Feb 10.On Wednesday, Sarma said he has directed all PWD contractors to ensure at least 50 per cent of labourers in future projects are drawn from indigenous communities, stressing the need to strengthen the economic backbone of Assamese youths.“We cannot stop those who have come from Bangladesh prior to 1951 from working here. But in the last 20–30 years, miyas have been trying to enter Assam after seeing developmental works here. If we stop them, they enter from Kolkata and Bengal,” he said.He added contractors earlier brought Bangladesh-origin youths from Malda, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri as labourers. “I told them that we have youths in tea gardens, adivasi people and indigenous Assamese community. A change in mentality is needed,” he said, while reviewing the Guwahati–North Guwahati bridge, set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb 14.“All the technical work in this bridge has been done by only Assamese youths… I have already told PWD contractors that 50 per cent of the labourers should be from indigenous people from next projects,” Sarma said. He cited examples of Assamese youths working at the Jagiroad Semiconductor plant and recalled that “in Bogibeel bridge, 100 per cent workers were from the Mising community.”“Even our drivers are not Assamese people… Along with infrastructure, I have a dream to strengthen the Assamese community’s economic backbone,” Sarma said.
