In Assam, Muslims constitute one of the most marginalised social groups. Besides being looked down with condescension as ‘outsiders’, they are stereotyped as “Bangladeshi”, “illegal immigrant” and even “Jihadi”. Their citizenship is persistently under attack, and they are targeted through the state power through mechanisms such as the National Register of Citizens, and issues such as eviction and “doubtful voters”. A lot of human rights violations against Assam Muslims are already in the public domain. In this article, I will specifically deal with the question of representation vis-a-vis Muslims in the state.
Muslims of Assam are a heterogeneous category, who are sub-divided into Miya Muslims, Goriya, Moria, Julha, Deshi, Bihari Muslims, Muslims of Barak Valley, etc. The ruling parties in the state have been sharpening the existing faultlines amongst Muslim groups in the state. Some Muslim groups like Goriya, Moria, Julha, Deshi, Syed, etc., are arbitrarily termed as ‘indigenous’ by the government of Assam only to exclude the Miya Muslims from the public and political spheres. Miya Muslims are arguably the most discriminated and excluded category in the state. But in this article, I will briefly discuss the total discrimination against Muslims in the state, in general, by looking at the question of representation of the community in the major public institutions, on which the government is clearly silent.
Abysmal representation
Assam has about 35% Muslim population, and the representation of this community in government offices is abysmally low. Presently, there are 16 ministers in the state government, and none of them is a Muslim. The state has 34 districts and not even a single district has a Muslim deputy commissioner (DC). In these 34 districts, not even a single superintendent of police (SP) is a Muslim. The Gauhati high court has 23 judges, including one chief justice and surprisingly none of them is a Muslim. These discriminations are not only limited to administration.
Presently, after the 2021 assembly election, the state has 31 Muslim MLAs out of 126 MLAs. The share amounts to 24.60% of the total MLAs. But a proportionate number would be 43 Muslim MLAs in the Assam state assembly. In the 2016 assembly elections, 29 Muslim MLAs were elected, which amounts to 23.02% representation. Thanks to the delimitation of the constituencies in the state, at least none Muslim MLA seats will be further lost in the next assembly election. The state presently has two Muslim MPs out of 14 MPs, meaning only 14.29% Muslim representation among the MPs. Not to mention, the number of MPs, which will be representative of the Muslim population in the state, is five.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here .