‘Jihad To Finish Off Assamese People’: CM Himanta Alleges Congress Link To Demographic Change By ‘One Religion’
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday intensified his claims of a demographic shift in the state, asserting that indigenous communities are under pressure due to what he described as a strategic encroachment by people “of one religion”. Addressing the media in Guwahati, the Chief Minister alleged that these settlers are attempting to alter the demographic profile of different regions with the intention of gaining political influence.
According to Himanta, the state government has cleared more than 1.19 lakh bighas of encroached land since May 2021 through a series of eviction drives, news agency PTI reported. While he did not directly identify the community he was referring to, it is noted that many of those evicted have been Bengali-speaking Muslims.
“Evictions reveal strategic land grab”: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Speaking at a press briefing, the Chief Minister claimed that most of the individuals evicted from forest and government land already possess land in their native districts, but relocate to distant areas of Assam with an alleged motive. “Forest destruction is one of the issues. These people migrate to change the demography of that place,” Himanta stated, as quoted by PTI.
He further added that the migrants subsequently enrol themselves as voters in their new locations. “And once they grow in numbers to thousands, they become a sizable vote bank, and the political leaders do not act against their initial encroachment of forest or government land,” he claimed.
“All these people are of one religion,” he said, refraining from naming the community.
“This is not just land jihad”: Himanta Sarma alleges Congress link to encroachment
In a sharply-worded remark, the Assam Chief Minister said, “This is not just a land jihad, but a jihad to finish off the Assamese people… After demographic invasion in lower and middle Assam, it is now happening in upper Assam.”
Himanta alleged that this wave of encroachment has enjoyed political protection from the Congress party. He said there has been a noticeable spike in the party’s vote share in certain areas, which he linked to demographic changes.
“We see that in a place, votes secured by the Congress go up suddenly. If we calculate this increase in numbers, it will be the same as the demographic change that has taken place there,” Himanta alleged, as per PTI.
Himanta stated that district commissioners are responsible for striking off the names of such encroachers from local electoral rolls once they are evicted, as their names already appear in the voter lists of their home districts.
When asked whether a special revision of the electoral roll could help identify unauthorised settlers, Himanta said it would not be effective in this case. He also dismissed the possibility of using the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying that the current version—yet to be officially notified—may contain names of foreigners due to weak verification mechanisms in certain regions.
“The answer to checking this attempt at demographic change is an uncompromising government and leadership who will work to evict them,” Himanta asserted.
According to figures shared by the Chief Minister, a total of 1,19,548 bighas—approximately 160 square kilometres—of land has been cleared of encroachment since the beginning of his government’s tenure. This includes 84,743 bighas of forest land and 26,713 bighas of ‘khas’ or general government land, among others.
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