A panel constituted by the Assam government recently recommended that a notification be passed to recognise Assamese Muslims as an indigenous Assamese speaking group in the state.
The panel, which has several sub committees, also recommended that a separate Directorate/Authority be set up for Assamese Muslims so that the Directorate could provide the necessary documentation to the people of the Assamese Muslim community to reflect their distinct identity and it may be in the form of an identity card or a certificate.
The recommendations have again fuelled questions about the objective of the exercise and whether it will benefit the community or create further divide in the region, which has witnessed waves of migration over the years.
What has the panel recommended?
A panel was formed by the BJP-led Assam government last July after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met with representatives of the Assamese Muslim community from various fields.
The panel, which was divided into seven sub-committees, submitted the report last week after months of deliberations.
The panel has recommended that the five sub-groups of Assamese Muslims – Syed, Goriya, Moria, Deshi and Julha – should be clearly mentioned and recognized in the government notification.
It also suggested increased political participation and representation of the Assamese Muslim communities in Parliament and Assam Legislative Assembly.
“A provision similar to the Article 333 of the Indian Constitution may be enacted to provide a representation of Assamese Muslims in Parliament and Assam Legislative Assembly, an Upper House (Legislative Council) may be created in Assam as per Article 169 of the Indian Constitution and once the Legislative Council is formed, the specific number of seats may be reserved for the Assamese Muslim community in this council,” the Sub-Committees set up by the state government recommended.
“Enforcement of the population policy, measures to preserve, develop and promote historical sites and monuments associated with the Assamese Muslim community. Assistance for preservation and promotion of traditional dress and cuisine, the establishment of a school of Islamic learning, preservation of language and dialect-Deshis have their own language and the Moriyas too have a distinct dialect (duan), Assam government may pass a notification which entities the Julhas to receive all the benefits meant for the tea tribes of Assam, a compendium on Dargahs of Assam may be published, establishment of higher education institutes in the areas inhabited by Indigenous Assamese Muslims, introducing Chairs in the name of Azan Pir in Guwahati/Dibrugarh University, establishment of a University in lower Assam at Dhubri and setting up research centers in Guwahati, Tezpur and Dibrugarh University to undertake research works on the educational-cultural-social aspects of the community,” the panel suggested.
Comments for and against the panel’s recommendations
According to a report by Deccan Herald, there are 1.8 crore Muslims in Assam and only 42 lakh belong to the indigenous Assamese communities such as Goria, Moria, Ujani, Deshi, Julha and Poimal.
The government’s move is also being seen as a way to end their “identity crisis” as Assamese Muslims are often confused with Bengali-speaking Muslim due to similar names.
According to an Indian Express report, BJP member Syed Muminul Aowal who heads the Janagosthiya Samannay Parishad (JSPA), an umbrella body of more than 30 “indigenous” organisations, said Assamese Muslims are a minority and they barely have any political representation.
“A step like this will help indigenous Assamese Muslims benefit not just from Clause 6 but other schemes too,” said Aowal.
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord grants “constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards” to the “Assamese people”.
On the other hand, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) legislator Aminul Islam considers the panel’s recommendations as part of a “political rhetoric” to “isolate Bengali Muslims further”.
“They want to bring yet another division among Muslims, that is why they are doing this. Till now, we do not have a base year to define who is an Assamese. More than that, there are many marriages between Assamese and Bengali Muslims. How does one identify such families?” he asked, as reported by the Indian Express.
The government had first proposed a census for Assamese Muslims in February 2020, however, there was no development on that front.
In April 2021, Aowal’s JSPA launched a website to conduct an independent census of Assamese Muslims “modelled on the lines of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)”. But the exercise did not take off, the Indian Express reported.
With inputs from agencies
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April 28, 2022 at 03:16PM
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