Guwati: In the wake of NRC (National Register of Citizens), the recommendations to classify Assamese Muslims as a distinct group and a census to identify the Muslims by a state government appointed panel has created doubts whether it could be another attempt to target the community and create divisions among Muslims.
The recommendations are made with a declared intention to protect the indigenous Muslim community in the state while there is ambiguity in the term 'indigenous' in respect of a state, where the demography has been formed by waves of migration over the decades, according to a report publish in The Indian Express.
The panel was set up last July after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met with prominent Muslim figures in various fields, with whom he had a discussion over socio-economic challenges confronting the community.
The Panel proposed the classification of the indigenous Muslim community, which is categorically divided into four groups known as Goriyas and the Moriyas (from Upper Assam), the Deshis (from Lower Assam), and the Julha Muslims (from the tea gardens).
But those Muslims who speak Bengali do not fall in the indigenous category because they are believed to have migrated from the present Bangladesh.
While meeting with Muslim elites, including writers, doctors, cultural workers, lecturers, historians, and musicians, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urged that "uniqueness of the indigenous Assamese Muslims should be protected and preserved" and assured the community's welfare.
Besides the indigenous status, the panel also put forth suggestions on matters related to education, political representation, health, skill development, and women's empowerment.
While the Chief Minister is said to have categorically recognised the recommendations as implementable, some Muslim bodies, including All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) feel that it is a political rhetoric to further isolate the Bengali-speaking Muslims in the state.