Infiltrators or indigenous? Amit Shah differentiates between immigrant and indigenous Muslims in Assam; Congress criticized for past governance failures
Guwahati: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said in Assam ’s Kaliabor that BJP ’s fight was against Bangladesh-origin Muslim immigrants and not against the state’s indigenous Muslims.
Addressing a rally for ally Asom Gana Parishad’s candidate, Shah for the first time in this election campaign drew a clear distinction between indigenous Assamese-speaking Muslims and immigrant Muslims, who are largely Bengali-speaking. So far, BJP’s top campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had focused on infiltration without making that distinction.
“What Congress did was let infiltrators settle in. Congress is giving this a Hindu-Muslim angle. Today I want to make it clear that BJP is against infiltrators, but no one has any opposition to the indigenous Muslims of our Assam,” Shah said.
Infiltration has remained Assam’s oldest poll issue, dominating the political discourse for over four decades. Yet the distinction drawn by Shah between indigenous Muslims and the immigrants is rarely articulated in campaign narratives.
Shah’s distinction comes against the backdrop of the Assam cabinet in 2022 recognising five Muslim groups of state — Gorias, Moriyas, Jolhas, Deshis and Syeds, who do not have any history of migration from erstwhile East Pakistan and now Bangladesh as indigenous Assamese Muslims and a sub-group of the greater native Assamese community.
Together, these five communities count about 40 lakh, which is one-third of the state’s total Muslim population.
The immigrants form the larger chunk of the Muslim population. These immigrant Muslims, originating from Mymensingh, Tangail, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla regions of Bangladesh, are commonly referred to as ‘miya’. They speak a dialect markedly distinct from standard Bengali.
In the 2011 census, the Muslim population constuituted 34% of the state’s total population.
Shah said Kaziranga has tourists from across the world, “but Congress governments handed over Kaziranga to infiltrators. BJP and Asom Gana Parishad govt freed the land of Kaziranga and protected the rhinos, which are symbols of ur Assam’s pride. It is the NDA govt that has worked to promote tourism.”
Shah alleged that Congress did “nothing” for Assam’s development during its 15-year rule in the state. Targeting Rahul Gandhi, who is visiting the poll-bound state, Shah asked: “What did the party do for Assam during its rule?”
He said former PM Manmohan Singh represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha, but neither the then central nor state govt delivered on development. “Congress gave only ₹1.28 lakh crore to Assam in 10 years. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave ₹9.78 lakh crore between 2014 and 2024,” Shah claimed.
He pointed to ₹1.35 lakh crore for infrastructure — highways, railways, waterways, airports, nine medical colleges and several engineering colleges—and highlighted Modi’s initiative to set up a ₹27,000-crore semiconductor facility at Jagiroad.
Shah said BJP had preserved Assam’s heritage by building a memorial for Assam agitation martyrs, erecting an 80-feet statue of Ahom general Lachit Barphukan, and taking his legacy nationwide. He accused Congress of failing to honour Gopinath Bordoloi and Bhupen Hazarika with the Bharat Ratna, while BJP gave classical language status to Assamese.
Addressing a rally for ally Asom Gana Parishad’s candidate, Shah for the first time in this election campaign drew a clear distinction between indigenous Assamese-speaking Muslims and immigrant Muslims, who are largely Bengali-speaking. So far, BJP’s top campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had focused on infiltration without making that distinction.
“What Congress did was let infiltrators settle in. Congress is giving this a Hindu-Muslim angle. Today I want to make it clear that BJP is against infiltrators, but no one has any opposition to the indigenous Muslims of our Assam,” Shah said.
Infiltration has remained Assam’s oldest poll issue, dominating the political discourse for over four decades. Yet the distinction drawn by Shah between indigenous Muslims and the immigrants is rarely articulated in campaign narratives.
Shah’s distinction comes against the backdrop of the Assam cabinet in 2022 recognising five Muslim groups of state — Gorias, Moriyas, Jolhas, Deshis and Syeds, who do not have any history of migration from erstwhile East Pakistan and now Bangladesh as indigenous Assamese Muslims and a sub-group of the greater native Assamese community.
Together, these five communities count about 40 lakh, which is one-third of the state’s total Muslim population.
The immigrants form the larger chunk of the Muslim population. These immigrant Muslims, originating from Mymensingh, Tangail, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla regions of Bangladesh, are commonly referred to as ‘miya’. They speak a dialect markedly distinct from standard Bengali.
In the 2011 census, the Muslim population constuituted 34% of the state’s total population.
Shah said Kaziranga has tourists from across the world, “but Congress governments handed over Kaziranga to infiltrators. BJP and Asom Gana Parishad govt freed the land of Kaziranga and protected the rhinos, which are symbols of ur Assam’s pride. It is the NDA govt that has worked to promote tourism.”
Shah alleged that Congress did “nothing” for Assam’s development during its 15-year rule in the state. Targeting Rahul Gandhi, who is visiting the poll-bound state, Shah asked: “What did the party do for Assam during its rule?”
He said former PM Manmohan Singh represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha, but neither the then central nor state govt delivered on development. “Congress gave only ₹1.28 lakh crore to Assam in 10 years. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave ₹9.78 lakh crore between 2014 and 2024,” Shah claimed.
He pointed to ₹1.35 lakh crore for infrastructure — highways, railways, waterways, airports, nine medical colleges and several engineering colleges—and highlighted Modi’s initiative to set up a ₹27,000-crore semiconductor facility at Jagiroad.
Shah said BJP had preserved Assam’s heritage by building a memorial for Assam agitation martyrs, erecting an 80-feet statue of Ahom general Lachit Barphukan, and taking his legacy nationwide. He accused Congress of failing to honour Gopinath Bordoloi and Bhupen Hazarika with the Bharat Ratna, while BJP gave classical language status to Assamese.
Next Story