Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that the population of Muslims in Assam will be almost equal to that of the Hindus by 2041 if the current growth rate is maintained. Sarma, addressing a press conference, claimed that out of around 34 per cent Muslims as per the 2011 census, 31 per cent were those who had migrated to Assam earlier.

On being asked if Assamese indigenous people will become a minority after some years, he said, This is not my take; it is just the Census result. The Assam CM further said that as per the 2011 census, 34 per cent of the population is Muslim today. 

Out of the total Muslim population of the state, three per cent are indigenous Assamese Muslims, Sarma stated, as quoted by news agency PTI.

The CM said that empirical data and past census records show that in a few years from now, Assam's Muslim population will be close to 50 per cent.

10 lakh acres of Assam land encroached by illegal Bangladeshis, doubtful citizens: Himanta

On Monday, Himanta alleged that around 29 lakh bigahs (10 lakh acres) of land were under encroachment of illegal Bangladeshis and doubtful citizens in the state. He also claimed that his government came under international pressure to put a stop to eviction drives after the operation at Gorukhuti in Darrang district soon after assuming power in 2021, but people were not dissuaded.

The CM was speaking at a programme to mark the fourth foundation day of the Gorukhuti Multipurpose Agriculture Project. The project was set up after a massive eviction drive was carried out in 2021 to clear 77,420 bighas (25,500 acres) of land from alleged encroachers, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, in which two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in police firing.

“The successful eviction drive here emboldened us and made us take stronger steps in Borsolla, Lumding, Burhapahar, Pabha, Batadrava, Chapar and Paikan. We have cleared 1.29 lakh bighas (nearly 43,000 acres) in four years, and this land is being used for the public good now,” Sarma said.

He said plantations were being done in the cleared land and in forest areas which have been freed from encroachers, and animals such as elephants, rhinos and tigers are returning to their natural habitats.