Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government does not have a problem with anyone calling themselves “indigenous” as long as they prohibit child marriage, do not engage in polygamy and encourage their children to pursue higher education.
“We don’t have an issue with anyone calling themselves as indigenous- provided they prohibit child marriage, do not engage in polygamy, encourage their children to pursue higher education, etc.- parameters which are an intrinsic part of the larger Assamese society,” Sarma said in a post on ‘X’.
“The Assamese people have a culture. Assamese people equate girls with power,” the Chief Minister was heard saying in a video that he shared with his post.
Asking the immigrant Muslim community to follow the Assamese culture in order to be treated as indigenous, Sarma said, “I have always said to the immigrant Muslim people that his government does not mind being indigenous but they should not get married twice or thrice. This is not the custom of the Assamese people.”
“Whether miyas are indigenous or not is a separate issue. What are we saying? If miyas try to become indigenous, we have no objection to that. But child marriage will have to stop, polygamy will have to stop, they will have to send girls to school. Indigenous people have a tradition. Assamese people have a tradition. Assamese people equate girls with shakti, they love girls… There is no objection to becoming indigenous but to be indigenous you can’t marry two, three people. That is not a custom of Assamese people. If they want to be indigenous, they can’t marry off girls at age 11-12. If they want to be indigenous, instead of making children study at madrassas, make them study to be doctors and engineers,” he said.
“You should not allow girls aged 11-12 to get married. You should enrol your children to be a doctor or engineer, and not into a madrasa. To be indigenous, one has to accept the culture here,” the Chief Minister added.
Citing an example, CM Sarma said, “Hindus, Muslims, Assamese Hindus, Assamese Muslims- irrespective of whether they follow Sankaradeva or not, all of them respect him.”
He claimed that Bengali-speaking Muslims have occupied land belonging to satras — monasteries that are part of Assam’s neo-Vaishnavite tradition started by the saint reformer Srimanta Sankardev — and that this is contrary to “indigenous culture.”
