"Indigenous" Muslims: Why Assam Opposition Sees BJP Ploy In Status For 5 Groups
NDTV
Political watchers say BJP -- ruling party in state and Centre -- is wooing Assamese-speaking Muslims, sensing a vote-bank in a complex cultural mix.
A ploy to divide and divert - That's how the two main opposition parties in Assam, the Congress and AIUDF, view a recent move by the state's BJP government to give "indigenous status" to five Muslim communities. It is not yet clear what this status means legally; though, citing a need for development, there's been talk of counting all indigenous people in the state.
The Muslim communities declared indigenous by the Himanta Biswa Sarma government are the Goria, Moria, Jolah (only those living on tea gardens), Desi, and Syed (only Assamese-speaking). These communities - called 'Khilonjia' in Assamese to denote they are "natives of the state" - form a small chunk of the state's population, but language identity has a role to play.
While Muslims are over 35 per cent of Assam's 3.12 crore population as per the latest census (2011), this figure can roughly be bifurcated - 31 per cent Bengali-speaking, 4 per cent Assamese-speaking. The BJP's political rhetoric in Assam is mainly against Bengali-speaking Muslims, often branded illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Political watchers say the BJP -- ruling party at the Centre too -- wants to woo Assamese-speaking Muslims, sensing a vote-bank amid a complex cultural mix.
