Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday promised to use the 1950 law more stringently to expel Bangladeshi Mias, a derogatory term for Bengali-speaking Muslims, and rid the state of them, as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party issued a 31-point manifesto for the April 9 Assembly elections.
The government has used the Assam (Expulsion of Emigrants) Act, 1950 to bypass foreign courts and “return” those it considers “foreigners” to Bangladesh since last year.
Highlighting the promises made in the manifesto, Sarma called for strict implementation of the 1950 law, which enables district authorities to deport illegal foreigners within 24 hours of their detection, the first task of the BJP if it returns to power. “We promise to expel them [Miyas] Of every inch of encroached government land in Assam.”
Sarma sharpened his rhetoric against Mias in the run-up to elections in Assam, where a perceived threat to indigenous language, culture and land from outsiders led to unrest that claimed hundreds of lives. Ethnic and linguistic tensions in Assam date back to the 19th century, when the British declared Bengali the official language in 1836. Protests against this move forced its withdrawal in 1873.
Partition in 1947 and the linguistic reorganization of states in the 1970s sparked new protests against “outsiders.” In the 1980s, a six-year agitation against Bangladeshi “infiltrators” ended with the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord, which was signed on March 24, 1971, as the deadline for citizenship. Bengali-speaking Hindus who moved to Assam from Bangladesh before December 31, 2014, can become Indian citizens under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Sarma promised a uniform civil code, but added that areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for autonomy and autonomy for scheduled tribes, would be excluded from its ambit.
In February 2024, the BJP-ruled state of Uttarakhand became the first state to pass the UCC law in the country. Gujarat followed suit this month. The creation of an all-India UCC is the third major ideological promise of the BJP. The construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status under Article 370 of the Constitution, the other two major ideological goals, have been achieved since the BJP came to power at the Center in 2014.
A controversial and polarizing issue, the UCC refers to a common set of laws relating to personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession for all citizens. Article 44 of the Constitution, one of the directive principles of state policy, upholds UCC. But religion-based civil laws have governed personal matters since independence.
Sarma promised strict legislation against “love jihad” and “land jihad”, and to break the backbone of Bangladeshi “Mias” in Assam. “Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing groups to describe an alleged Islamic plot to lure Hindu women, although it is not officially recognized by the courts and the federal government. “Land jihad” is also a supposed plot similar to land encroachment.
Sarma promised to spend $5 lakh crore to strengthen roads, railways, airports and waterways in Assam. “We will take steps to make Assam flood-free and we will spend $18,000 crores for that in the first two years of coming to power. He said: “I promise to provide 200,000 job opportunities in the next five years and create an additional million job opportunities as part of various schemes to encourage entrepreneurs, startups and rapid industrialization.”
He said that the state government would provide mustard oil, sugar and pulses at subsidized prices and would give them free to very poor families. “We promised to establish a university, a medical college, and an engineering college in all regions. We will also make education free from kindergarten to post-graduation.” [kindergarten to post-graduate]“Sarma said.
Sarma promised $25,000 one-time assistance to four million women to help them set up businesses and become Lakhpatis (at least $1 lakh in wealth). “We do not want to be a satellite state and we want to transform Assam into one of the brightest states in India. We want to contribute to achieving the goal of transforming India into a developed country by 2027,” Sarma said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was present at the launch of the statement, said Assam is one of the fastest growing economies in India. “I see a country that has transformed a lot in 10 years under BJP rule, which Congress has not been able to achieve despite being in power for six decades.”
She referred to the semiconductor factory in Jagirud and said that it had created about 27,000 jobs. “Assamese who were working outside the state and abroad are choosing to return.”
About four million families have been given grants, Sitharaman said $1,250 per month under direct benefit transfer schemes such as Orunodoi.
