Barpeta, Assam: In his speech on the 79th Independence Day, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that “ochinaki manuh” (‘unknown people’ or ‘unknown community’) are a growing concern in Assam’s socio-political and economic sphere.

He claimed that these unfamiliar people have been involved in several kinds of “jihad”, including love jihad and land jihad. Allegedly referring to the Bengali-speaking Miya Muslims, Sarma also said that his government has recovered 1.2 lakh bighas of land from this “unknown community” and will continue to fight for Assamese people.

“To stop them, we have declared war on their aggression. I promise that we will evict the unknown people from every piece of grazing land, the tribal belt and government land,” he said.

In his speech, Sarma even remarked that the gig economy, comprising people like Ola and Uber drivers, as well as courtrooms and universities are full of these “unknown people”.

During the recent wave of eviction drives, Sarma in several statements circulated widely on his social media accounts had claimed that the government was evicting “illegal Bangladeshis”.

Sarma’s ‘unknown community’ remark has sparked outrage and drawn strong condemnation from opposition parties, lawyers, drivers’ unions and student groups.

Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, senior advocate at the Gauhati high court and vice president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, strongly condemned Sarma’s remarks.

Choudhury argued that the chief minister’s approach risks creating discrimination among communities in Assam on the basis of religion, language, culture and traditions. Terming it a serious threat to societal harmony and the democratic fabric of the country, he urged the judiciary to intervene and take necessary measures to curb such ‘unconstitutional activities’ and preserve peace in the state.

Following the CM’s remarks, the Ola–Uber driver community launched a strike on August 16.

Speaking to The Wire, Ismail Ali, chief advisor of the All Assam Cab Operators’ Association, said, “Nearly 8,000 cab drivers are working under our organisation. These drivers received their licences only after submitting valid documents, proving their skills and undergoing verification by the transport department.”

“If they are ‘unfamiliar/unknown,’ then how did the government allow them to operate legally in the state?” Ali asked.

“Most of these drivers are educated yet unemployed. Since the government failed to provide jobs, they had to take heavy loans to buy vehicles and make a livelihood.”

During his speech, the chief minister warned, “Within 15 years, 80% of the ministers in the state cabinet will be ‘unknown’, and after two decades, even this Independence Day flag will be hoisted by an unknown chief minister.”

MLA Ashraful Hussain of the All India United Democratic Front told The Wire, “Again, this is another new term coined by the chief minister. This is part of his usual fashion of targeting Muslims in Assam.

“He seems unaware of Assam’s geographic history, where many Muslim families have been living in the North Lakhimpur area since before Independence,” referring to a region predominantly comprising tribal and ‘mainstream’ Assamese people and where Miya Muslims are being projected as outsiders.

Hussain further added, “Despite taking an oath under the constitution, he continues to use such communal rhetoric only to secure his political ground in Upper Assam ahead of the assembly election.”

A research scholar at Gauhati University who did not wish to be named told The Wire, “The chief minister has crossed all limits by insulting the minority Muslims, who are made of Assam’s soil, air and water – by branding them as ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ and ‘doubtful citizens’ and now as an ‘unknown community’.”

She added, “The public universities are not his private properties. Like other students, we also got admissions on the basis of our merit. So, by unconstitutionally targeting the students of a certain community, the chief minister has attacked our democracy, education system and judiciary.”

Bogus voters

While criticising Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi’s opposition to the special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar's voter rolls, chief minister Sarma said that an SIR would also help remove “bogus voters” in Assam's char (riverine) areas.

He told the media that the areas have recorded 100% polling in the past as the names of dead people remain on the rolls here and even as many women have moved out after marriage.

Sarma has also claimed that people from the Miya Muslim community enroll their names in electoral rolls in multiple locations.

He claimed that half of Assam's total land is occupied by Miya Muslims in the char areas.

“They have vast swathes of land in Assam’s sandbars and other riverine areas where nobody else goes to live. In fact, half of Assam’s lands are with them in the riverine areas. But if they want to go to places like Sivasagar, Jorhat or Golaghat, where will the Assamese live?” Sarma asked.

His statements have raised intense concern among Miya Muslims, especially migrant workers from the char areas. Also, several unconfirmed news reports in local outlets on plans for an SIR in Assam have sparked fears among the community that they could potentially lose their citizenship.

The char-chaporis of Assam

Government data shows that, spread over the entire course of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries from Tinsukia to Dhubri, the char-chapori areas (river islands and embankments) cover 3,600 sq km, or 4.6% of Assam’s geographical area.

Char areas are not inhabited solely by the Miya community; they are also home to the Mising, Nepali and several other communities. Majuli, one of the largest river islands in the world and considered the cultural capital of Assam, is predominantly inhabited by the Mising and Vaishnavite communities.

Riverbank erosion in these chars has been a serious issue for over several decades. Since 1950, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have eroded more than 4,270 sq km of land – 7.40% of Assam’s total area. Even Majuli, once spanning 1,250 sq km, had shrunk to 483 sq km by 2014.

Research says extensive loss of land is closely interlinked with migration. The state government's data shows that between 2014 and 2024, only 17,390 persons were officially recorded as displaced by floods and erosion. In contrast, figures presented by the Ministry of Water Resources in the Lok Sabha in July 2019 revealed that 86,536 people in Assam had been rendered landless by erosion between 2014 and 2019 alone.

Why char-chapori residents don’t miss elections

Activists and researchers argue that high participation in elections reflects the Miya Muslims’ determination to safeguard their rights through voting, as they have long faced suspicion and scrutiny over their citizenship.

Abdul Kalam Azad, a professor at O. P. Jindal Global University, explained that politicians have created a climate of fear. Many Miya people believe that if they don’t vote, their names might be struck off the electoral roll or marked as ‘D’ (doubtful) voters.

Azad told The Wire: “The community has a long tradition of active participation in collective spaces – whether in elections, cultural events, village meetings or festivities like boat races, pala gaan, dhuwa gaan and sufi melas.

“Despite repeated marginalisation, they continue to believe in democracy and the possibility of change through the ballot.”

Many Miya Muslim migrant workers from Assam’s char areas claim that they return home during elections out of fear that irregularities in their voting record could lead to their names being deleted from voter lists or even result in cases being filed against them by the Border Police.

Alam Khan (70) and his family from Bheragaon in Barpeta district spent over 20 years in Lucknow, where he moved in 1984 to work as a ragpicker. Despite living there for decades, he never enrolled his name in the local electoral rolls. “In every election, we used to come back and cast our vote here. Three of my sons and their families still live in Lucknow, and they also return to vote in this place during elections.”

Alam added, “But my wife was marked as a D-voter because her name appeared in the voter list with minor errors. The officials made the mistake while writing her name.”

A report published by the National Law School of India University and the Queen Mary University of London revealed that many D-voters and Declared Foreigners are uneducated women from remote char villages. It notes that even minor spelling errors in names in electoral rolls and other documents have led to people being declared “illegal foreigners” and, in some cases, detained in detention camps or deported to Bangladesh.

Ramjan Ali (32) from Kadang in Barpeta district has been working as a migrant labourer for nearly ten years. His family has faced erosion twice and now lives on rented land just on the bank of the Beki river.

“I returned home from Upper Assam during the panchayat election [in May]. I cannot miss the elections. Otherwise they may remove my names from the voter lists.”

Earlier, he worked at construction sites in Upper Assam, but after repeated instances of hostility towards Miya workers by nationalist groups, he decided to move to south India for work.

“I did not go back there again and have come to Chennai instead. Working here is safer than other places. We do not face any problems from the locals or the police,” Ramjan said.

“Even with voter IDs and Aadhaar cards, they still do not believe you are an Indian citizen,” said Ashraful Islam (22), one of nine Miya Muslims from Assam who were detained by the Gurugram police on July 19 on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants.

Islam, the son of a constable in the Assam Industrial Security Force, had travelled to work in the city on July 11 after completing his college exams.

“I repeatedly told the police that my father also works in the police. But they did not release me. Instead they threatened to push us off to Bangladesh,” he said. The Gurugram police's actions are part of a broader crackdown on Bengali-speaking Muslims in the National Capital Region – as well as elsewhere in India – suspected of being undocumented Bangladeshis.

Islam's remarks of fearing being ‘pushed off’ refer to the Assam government's recent ‘pushback’ policy of forcing suspected undocumented Bangladeshis – some of whom have reportedly turned out to be Indian citizens – into the no man's land between India and Bangladesh apparently without due process.

Muslim-majority districts in Assam are often noted for their high voter turnout. According to Election Commission data, the Dhubri parliamentary constituency recorded a polling percentage of 91.31 in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Raijor Dal leader and rights activist Ashraful Islam tells The Wire, “Miya Muslims believe that participating in elections is their constitutional right and duty as responsible citizens of India.”

Kazi Sharowar Hussain (Kazi Neel) is a filmmaker, journalist and poet from Barpeta, Assam. He currently heads Itamugur Community media, a media platform that amplifies the voices of marginalised communities.

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