GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday laid down sure situations for the migrant Bangladesh-origin Bengali-speaking Muslims, known as “miya”, in the event that they need to be recognised as indigenous folks of the state: “They should stop having more than two children and practising polygamy as it is not the culture of Assamese people. If they want to become indigenous, they cannot marry off their minor daughters.”
He questioned how might Bengali-speaking Muslims declare to be indigenous in the event that they encroached on ‘satras’ (Vaishnavite monasteries) land.

“Instead of sending your children to madrassas, educate them to become doctors and engineers if you want to be called indigenous,” Sarma stated, including, they need to additionally begin sending their daughters to varsities and provides them the precise over their fathers’ properties.

“These are the differences between them and the indigenous people of the state. If they can give up these practices and imbibe the culture of Assamese people, at some point of time they too can become indigenous,” Sarma stated.
Assam has the second largest inhabitants of Muslims after J&Ok. The 2011 census states that Muslims account for over 34% of Assam’s whole inhabitants. But this Muslim inhabitants within the state is of two distinct ethnicities – Bengali-speaking and Bangladesh-origin migrant Muslims and Assamese-speaking indigenous Muslims.
In 2022, the Assam cupboard recognised round 40 lakh Assamese-speaking Muslims of the state, who should not have any historical past of migration from Bangladesh, as “indigenous Assamese Muslims” and a sub-group of the higher native Assamese group, making a transparent distinction between the 2 teams of Muslims.
However, a significant chunk of the Muslim inhabitants within the state is of Bangladesh-origin migrants. The Assamese-speaking indigenous Muslims are nearly 37% of the full Muslim inhabitants whereas the migrant Bengali-speaking Muslims accounting for the remaining 63%. The cabinet-approved ‘indigenous’ Assamese Muslims comprise 5 teams – Goria, Moria, Jolah (solely those residing in tea gardens), Desi and Syed (solely the Assamese-speaking).