Assam will be a Muslim-majority state by 2041 and nobody can do anything about it, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday asserting that there is statistical data to support his statement.
"These are not my facts. This is taken from the Indian census. This is a statistic that may seem rhetoric coming from Himanta Biswa Sarma," he said while addressing the media today.
Sarma pointed out that Assam's population in 2010-11 consisted of 36 per cent Muslims. "What will be their percentage rise between 2011 and 2021 and between 2021 and 2031? This is a statistical sampling and the data can be Googled by anyone," he told reporters.
The controversial statements from the Assam Chief Minister come in the wake of the state cabinet deciding to place The Assam Repealing Bill, 2024 in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the legislative assembly to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, and Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Rules, 1935.
Speaking today, the Chief Minister said, "You can check on Google what was the population of Muslims in Assam in 2011. Then check what was their population in 2001, 1991, and 1981. Check what percentage rise has occurred every year. Muslim population has been rising in Assam by close to 30 per cent every decade. It was around 35 per cent, then it came down to 34 per cent and then to 29 per cent. However, every 10 years, there has been roughly 29 to 30 per cent rise in Muslim population."
Sarma said that in 2011, there were 1.4 crore Muslims in Assam. "During that time, the population of Hindus has also increased. Compared to Hindus, the population of Muslims has risen by 16 per cent, which comes out to be 22 lakh Muslims every decade."
"If you sit down with a computer and find out the population of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, etc. This is all published data. It is not by data, but the reality of Assam that by 2041, Assam will become a Muslim majority state, and neither you nor me can do anything about it," added Chief Minister Sarma.
