Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s communal, hate-filled comments targeting a particular community are in direct contravention of the solemn oath he took affirming allegiance to the Constitution of India and pledging to ensure the wellbeing of all citizens of his state. His assertion that he will takes sides and will not allow Miya Muslims, a derogatory term referring to Bangladeshi immigrants, take over Assam goes against all the tenets of a secular state. Since his induction in the BJP, Sarma has been attacking the Muslim community and has so far got away with it. This narrative apparently suited the BJP leadership as it had reaped rich electoral dividends in the north-eastern states. Sarma was the driving force behind the BJP’s rise in the region but his methods are far from palatable and the saffron party suffered a setback in the 2024 election. The rape of a minor allegedly by a Bengali Muslim has inflamed passions in the state but instead of cooling tempers, Sarma with his poison-filled diatribe against Miya Muslims has only exacerbated the situation.
The recent decision to do away with the two-hour break for Friday prayers in the state Assembly is ostensibly a move to increase productivity but the intention is clear – to target Muslims. The community has been blatantly othered in Assam be it the ban on polygamy, child marriage or the new marriage registration law for Muslims. Sarma’s aim seems to be to make the community fall in line and accept second class status along the lines of Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews. It is in total violation of constitutional provisions to practice one’s religion freely. But what is most unfortunate is that the Centre has not stepped in to rein in this blatant partisanship by the Assam chief minister. It is in complete contravention to the ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ pitch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now that two allies of the BJP, JD-U and LJP, have raised questions against the move to do away with the Friday break in the Assembly, there is hope that the saffron party will place some cubs on Sarma’s naked communalism and tutor him on his ‘Raj Dharma’.
