04, Sep 2024 | CJP Team

On August 26, an FIR has been registered against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mayur Borgohain of Charaideo district in eastern Assam for allegations of assaulting and threatening the Bengali-speaking Muslim (Miya Muslims) labourers in the state.

The FIR has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for encompassing unlawful assembly, rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, causing hurt, promoting enmity, and criminal intimidation. The workers, hailing from Barpeta district in western Assam, were employed by Borgohain for the construction of a skill development centre in Charaideo.

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One of the workers, Rajibul Hoque alleged that despite repeated reminders, Borgohain had not paid the outstanding bill of Rs 15 lakh. On the night of August 24, around 10:30 PM, a group of 14 to 15 masked men, allegedly acting on Borgohain’s orders, forced the workers to kneel and assaulted them with daggers, guns, sticks, and plastic pipes. The attackers threatened to kill the workers and demanded they leave the district without claiming their unpaid wages. Reported The Kashmiriyat.  

Saddam Ahmed who fled from Choraideo district’s Nazira town on the morning of August 25, said that “It is because we are Miya Muslims and they didn’t want to pay our wages that is why they beat us.”  Saddam along with 11 other construction workers spent a harrowing night on 24 August hiding inside a jungle near Dolbagan village in Choraideo district.

“After working the whole day in the scorching heat, we rested like any other day. At around 10:30 pm, some 14 to 15 masked men came to our room and asked us to come out. They came with daggers, swords, s, and pipes,” Saddam recounted the incident.

The workers alleged that they were asked to chant “aatasu zindabad, joi aai ahom” (hail aatasu, mother Assam) as they were being beaten. All Assam Tai Ahom Students’ Union (AATASU) is a student body of the Ahom community in Assam.

Narrating the assaults and harassment by the group of masked men, Saddam told that, “Three of them kept thrashing us with lathis. When one finished the row, then the other started beating. They also said that if you go to the police or talk to the press, they will kill us.”

Anti-Miya sentiments were escalating in Assam following the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Nagaon district’s Dhing area where one of the accused was a Miya Muslim and the identities of the other two have not been established yet, reported Maktoob media 

The victims, identified as Rajibul Hoque, Ahadul Khan, Aminul Hoque, Amirul Hoque, Surot Jamal, Asir Uddin, Saddam Hussain, Ali Hassan, and Asabul Hoque, provided a video of the assault along with their complaint. Fear of further violence, they fled the district that same night and are expected to record their statements with the police within the next three days.

This incident comes as a repercussion of the recent remarks by Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on August 21, while streaming a Facebook live video where he listed out crimes against women and some other communities since May 2024 where he accused “Miya Muslims” of being the perpetrators.

However, “Miya” is a pejorative term frequently amplified by the chief minister to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, routinely denigrated as “bahiragata” (outsiders) and “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh by many among the native population, reported Article 14.

Also, around 30 organizations issued “deadlines” to Miya Muslims to leave upper Assam within 7 days after the Dhing Rape Case.

Assamese Muslim singer arrested for protest song “Miya Bihu”

On August 31, in Assam, a 31-year-old Bengali-speaking Muslim singer, Altaf Hussain, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly inciting hatred against the state’s ethnic communities through a protest song he released last month. A local youth had filed a complaint against him at Abhayapuri police station and the case was referred to Gauripura, following which, he was apprehended.

Altaf’s lawyer Adam Ali stated that his client was booked under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 299 (deliberate attempt to insult a religion or religious feelings) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

“The complainant sought police action stating that Altaf’s song was targeted and disrespecting the Bihu song. So, he was arrested based on the complaint. We will soon file a petition seeking his bail,” Ali said.

The lyrics of the song in Bengali resembles a Bangladeshi protest song, Desh ta tomar baper naki? (Is this country owned by your father?), reported The Sentinel.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma referred to the arrest during one of his regular Facebook live sessions on Sunday stating that the song was part of an “attack” and calling it an attempt to “change Bihu into Miya Bihu”. Sarma called the song derogatory towards Assamese culture.

Through his lyrics, Hussain draws attention to the discrimination faced by “Miyas”—a term often used to refer to Bengali-speaking, Muslims in Assam. He points out that while individuals from all communities may commit crimes, it is predominantly the Miyas who are targeted, often being falsely accused of being undocumented immigrants.

Image Courtesy: KAZI SHAROWAR HUSSAIN / Article 14

Related:

I Am ‘Miya’ — Reclaiming Identity Through Protest Poetry

Hate Watch: BJP Top functionaries spew hate against ‘Miya Muslims” in Assam

Don’t need Miya Muslim vote: Himanta Biswa Sarma