Guwahati, 07 August (HS): BJP Assam Chief Spokesperson Kishore Upadhyay has called for a statewide movement to expel illegal Bangladeshi-origin Bengali Muslims from Assam, claiming they pose a grave threat to the state’s cultural, religious, and demographic identity. Addressing the media on Thursday, Upadhyay asserted that such a movement must not remain confined to Upper Assam but must expand across the entire state.

Upadhyay alleged that during the Congress regime, illegal Bengali-origin Muslims have extensively encroached upon Assamese language, culture, history, religious institutions, educational spaces, and public land, fundamentally altering the region’s societal structure. He claimed they have occupied approximately 63,58,779 bighas of PGR, VGR, forest land, water bodies, and satra land.

Citing Barpeta district as an example, he said 19,993 bighas of land—including wetlands and reclaimed land—have been encroached. He provided detailed figures from various revenue circles, including Barpeta (2,908 bighas), Sorbhog (3,883 bighas), Chenga (570 bighas), Barnagar (2,649 bighas), Kalagachia (983 bighas), and Baghbor (7,590 bighas). Similar large-scale encroachments have taken place in other districts as well, he said.

Upadhyay further claimed that 15,580 bighas of satra land have been taken over under what he described as “religious aggression”, alleging that many satradhikars have faced violence including murder, assault, robbery, and rape, forcing them into silence and fear.

He argued that the sharp rise in the Muslim population—from 12% in 1947 to 37–38% today—was not a natural phenomenon but a result of an orchestrated demographic conspiracy. Referring to the 2011 Census, he noted that several districts, once Hindu-majority, have now turned Muslim-majority, including South Salmara (95.2%), Dhubri (83.67%), Barpeta (70.74%), and Nagaon (55.36%), among others. He termed this demographic shift a serious concern for Assam’s political, cultural, and economic interests.

In conclusion, Upadhyay appealed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and party units across Assam to take urgent steps to launch a statewide campaign for eviction of what he described as “Bangladesh-origin infiltrators”, ensuring future generations inherit a secure and sovereign Assam.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash