The ‘proud Assamese’ from other States
While others can identify as Assamese speakers, Bengali-origin Muslims were the first
Prime Minister Modi’s controversial remarks about 'dimagi Naxal' during his Independence Day address overshadowed another significant appeal made by Assam's Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on August 15. The Chief Minister urged Assam's residents of other states to identify as 'Assamese' during the ongoing Census exercise, highlighting the importance of the exercise in shaping the country's future.
Sarma emphasized the lack of a clear definition for who constitutes 'Assamese' and appealed to those who migrated from Rajasthan or other places to list 'Assamese' as their mother tongue. The appeal comes as the self-enumeration phase of the Census ends on August 16, followed by house listing and housing Census field operations from August 17 to September 15.
The Chief Minister's appeal is driven by the declining number of individuals identifying as Assamese in successive Censuses, from 59.53% in 1971 to 48.38% in 2011, while Bengali speakers' share has risen from 19.7% in 1971 to 28.91% in 2011. Sarma's efforts to protect the indigenous Assamese people from being marginalized in the upcoming Census data echo his previous predictions of near-minority status for the Assamese after the 2027 Census.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
