GUWAHATI,Shalim M Hussain(thecitizen): In 2012 when I was studying at the University of Delhi, I attended a conference on the future of the Kaziranga National Park held at one of our auditoriums. The chief guest, then a prominent regional politician and now a union minister made a rather problematic submission. The one-horned rhino of the Kaziranga National Park was threatened by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, he said. He took care to refrain from explicitly mentioning the religious identity of the poachers but it became apparent that he was blaming Assamese Muslims of Bengal origin for maiming, killing and dehorning the magnificent animal […]

New Delhi, YASMIN SAIKIA(outlookindia): The Muslims of Assam is not a historical but political category of “immigrants”, so Prannoy Roy of NDTV pronounced on April 8, 2016. How could such a reputed journalist be so terribly misinformed about the history of Assam? File Photo – Sandipan Chatterjee Assam’s Muslim population is 1/3 of the 30 million people, which is the second-largest Muslim population in term of percentage, following Kashmir. The Muslims of Assam are a composite community constituted by at least four different groups — Muslim-Axamia (also called Goriya, Tholua or Khilonjia), Bengali speaking or Bhotia, up-country or Juluha (from […]

Kolkata,M REYAZ(dailyo): At a panel discussion on Assam’s Char (river islands) inhabitants last month at the Jamia Millia Islamia, professor Sanjoy Hazarika, director of the Centre of Northeast Studies and Policy Research, made an interesting observation. He noted that till date, we have not arrived at a consensus on how to refer to the Muslims of Assam, particularly those who trace their origin to erstwhile East Bengal, or present day Bangladesh. Most attendees, including academicians, journalists and research scholars, nodded in agreement. From constant suspicion of being “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” to being referred to by crass terms like “Miya Manus”, […]

Kolkata,M. Reyaz, (TwoCircles):  Over the years the meta narrative in the country about origins of Muslims in Assam is filled with unidirectional flow of information that want us to believe that Muslims – or at least Bengali speaking Muslims – are all of ‘foreign’ origin, having come from Bangladesh. Many such people (election Commissioner H. S. Brahma) emphasised on the fact that it’s not Hindu-Muslim issue but of Indian vs foreigners. It’s a different matter that people – and ideology that championed such causes – are the same group of people who would not hesitate to label all Indian Muslims […]

Guwahati,Shazida Khatun: Assam is one of the most beautiful states of our country with blue hills, green valleys and the majestic river Brahmaputra. It stands virtually unrivaled in respect of the variety of her natural resources and the diversity of the population. 1.Who are Miya Muslim:- Muslims of Assam,especially Bengali Muslims have been largely engaged in the agriculture growth of Assam from the very beginning and are still contributing to the largest quantity of agriculture products such as rice,wheat and tea. Muslim settlement in Assam can be traced as far back as 1206 A.D when the Turks were defeated in […]