Islam in Assam

When Assam came under colonial rule, the British brought with them a number of immigrant Bengali settlers (mostly Muslims). These immigrant Bengalis encouraged other Bengalis to settle in Assam for economic and social reasons.[10] The fertile land of Assam and its vast expanse was inhabited by only a moderate indigenous populace at that time( that is vast lands and forests were present but less people) which then attracted a large number of landless immigrant peasants from Bengal presidency, nearly 85% of whom were Muslims. These immigrant Bengali-speaking ethnic Bengali continued migrating into Assam and got assimilated there. The tea planters and immigrant Marwari businessmen, who needed workers, also welcomed the migrants.[11]

Early establishments of these neo-coloniser immigrant Bengalis were in the Goalpara district, mostly in the char (riverine) lands and reserved forests.[10] Most of these Muslim immigrants were known as "Miyas". Since many of them came from the Northeast part of Rangpur and very few of them came from Mymensing, they were sometimes referred to as "Bongya" or Bongali meaning Outsider.[12]

After the Government of India Act 1935, a Legislative Assembly was established in Assam in 1937. The Muslim League, led by Muhammed Saadulah, formed a minority government in the state and he again encouraged large scale immigration from then Bangladesh.[11]

The Jayantipur Bor Masjid

After the Sylhet referendum in 1947, the Muslim-majority Sylhet region went to East Pakistan while some Muslim-majority areas such as the Karimganj district went to Assam, India.[13][14]

Assam has some indigenous Muslims like Goria, Moria and Deshi but they are very few as compared to the large-scale immigrant outsider Bangladeshi people. Thus, there have been concerns that illegal immigration from neighbouring Bangladesh has contributed to a sharp rise in the Muslim population of Assam and has slowly destabilized the native inhabitants of Assam. This fear of "demographic invasion" by Bangladeshi has been a political issue in Assam since the days of the Assam Movement (1979–1985).[15] In 2001, there were 6 Muslim-majority districts in the state of Assam. By 2011, this number had increased to 9.[16] However, some have stated these numbers have declined in recent years, though there is no concrete proof.[17]

Assam Movement

The Assam Movement or the Assam Agitation (1979-1985) led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the ‘All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad’ (AAGSP) was a popular uprising to drive out the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The movement ended with the signing of the Assam Accord by leaders of AASU-AAGSP and the Government of India under PM Rajiv Gandhi. During this period of six long years of the historic movement, reportedly, 855 people (later on 860 according to AASU reports) sacrificed their lives in the hope of an “infiltration free Assam” in the 1979-1985 Assam agitation. In addition, the infamous Nellie and Khoirabari massacre also took place during this time claiming the lives of 2,191 and 100-500 respectively.

Assam Accord

The Assam Accord (1985) was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement for the indigenous ethnic groups in New Delhi on 15 August 1985. The fundamental aspect of the Assam Accord was: foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 shall continue to be detected; deleted and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners. The indigenous people of Assam (by meaning indigenous is for those who are living since ages even before colonization took place in 1826 as per UN definition of the indigenous people). Further details are available on public domain which can be referred to, for detailed information.

Post 1985, Assam witnessed a multiple change of governments; from the Indian National Congress to the Assam Gana Parishad and finally the BJP's maiden entry in 2016 with CM Sarbananda Sonowal at the helm, an erstwhile member of AASU who also signed the Assam Accord.

State-Run Islamic Schools

An Indian state ruled by Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has passed a law converting state-run Islamic schools into regular schools, saying they provided sub-standard education.

Opposition parties criticised the move and stated it reflected the government’s anti-Muslim attitude in the Hindu-majority country.

More than 700 of the schools, known as madrasas, in Assam will be shut by April, the state’s education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the local assembly. [18]

• Bengali Muslims: Most of the Muslims in Assam are known as Miya that is immigrant east Bengal origin people and their descendants, and originate from Eastern Bengal and modern-day Bangladesh. They are concentrated in the central and lower Assam districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup, Darrang, Nagaon, Bongaigaon, Barpeta and Bodoland Territorial Region. Their population is around 6.55 million if the exact populace is calculated in Assam comprising about 21% islamic share of the state population out of 34% Muslims as of 2011. The Muslims of the Barak Valley and Hojai district speak in the Sylheti language. The valley's Karimganj district was historically a part of the Sylhet region and was separated from the region during the Partition of India. The nearby Cachar and Hailakandi districts of the Barak Valley historically part of Dimasa Kingdom, though not a part of greater Sylhet, also host a large Sylheti Muslim population.
• Indigenous Assamese Muslims: The Goriya's, Mariya's, Deshi and Syed are the group of Muslims who speak Assamese as their own mother tongue and tend to identify themselves as Assamese Muslims who are living here since ages and are actually mostly local converts from the existing indigenous ethnic groups. There are also the descendants of the defeated Mughal soldiers who were captured in the Ahom-Mughal battle and with the passage of time, some have married the native Assamese girls and have adopted the Assamese language and culture. Their total population is about 4 million which comprise 12% of state population.
• Hindustani-speaking Bihari and UP Muslims: These migrant Muslims generally originate from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and speak in Urdu or Hindi. Their population is about 6 lakhs in Assam comprising 2% of state population as of 2011 and are mainly found in Brahmaputra valley.

Deshi

These are descendants from Koch-Rajbonshi, Mech, Rabha, Bodo and Indo-Aryan people who converted to Islam. They mainly speak the Goalpariya dialect. They are mainly settled in the districts of Dhuburi, Goalpara, South Salmara and Kokrajhar.

Maria

These are descended from the captured Muslim soldiers, who came with the armies of Khalji (1206) and Turbak of Gaur (1532). They are named as such because they were engaged in the bell-metal and smithy industry, the word Maria meaning one who hits metals. They are very minority in numbers and can be found in Sivsagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Golaghat, Kamrup, etc. They speak Assamese language as their own mother tongue.

Zula

They are one of the indigenous Muslims of Assam. They are mainly found in Lower Assam.

Sylhetis

These Bengali Muslims live in the Barak Valley of the Greater Sylhet region of Northeast Bengal (South Assam).

The Assamese Muslim community includes mainly Goria and Maria who use Assamese as their mother tongue.

Below is a breakdown of the Muslim population by district in the Indian state of Assam according to the 2011 Census of India: [1] Muslims are majority in eleven districts out of thirty-three in Assam. Muslims are majority in Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon, South Salmara district, Hojai, Nagaon, Darrang, Karimganj and Hailakandi. Highest concentration in Cachar, Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Chirang.

Assam will have 51.8% Muslim population by 2061 and will become muslim majority state due to the fact that Muslim minority have higher fertility rate of (3.64) in comparison to Hindus at (1.94).[28][29]