If the Assamese people remain “silent”, in two decades, the Independence Day flag will be hoisted by an “unknown Chief Minister”, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma declared in his Independence Day speech on Friday, exhorting people to “resolve” not to sell land or rent houses to “unknown people”.
In his last Independence Day speech before the state goes to elections next year, Sarma doubled down on his rhetoric of a “demographic threat” in the state.
“At the time of Independence, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (the first Chief Minister of Assam) had a sense of how safe our future would be. At the time of grouping, he had seen the Muslim League’s movement. Gopinath Bordoloi had seen a Prime Minister like Saadulah (Muslim League leader and Prime Minister of Assam during British rule). And because of this, Gopinath Bordoloi had taught our people to be cautious,” he said.
“But in the last 75 years, it is like we compromised somewhere or the other. At the time, Gopinath Bordoloi and Bishnuram Medhi (the second CM of Assam) had appealed not to give shelter to unknown people, but it is like we invited and brought them to our home. Their courage increased, they gathered unending strength. Not just in char (riverine) areas, they had the courage to encroach on our sattras (Vaishnavite monasteries) and our culture. They did not just stop here. They subjected our girls to conversion by different means and heinous things like love jihad. These unknown people have moved towards occupying political power. They have occupied economic strength,” he said.
He echoed the BJP’s poll refrain of jati mati bheti (community, land and foundation), declaring, “If we remain silent, one day we will have to lose our jati mati bheti in our own state. That day is not very far… Today, standing below the sacred flag on Independence Day, as Assam’s CM, I say that if Assamese youth remain silent and if Assamese continue to compromise, then in just ten years we will lose jati mati bheti. In 15 years, 80% of Assam’s ministers will be from among them, and after two decades, this Independence Day flag will be hoisted by an unknown chief minister. This is Assam’s future.”
He declared that there will need to be an “existential fight.”
“We will have to fight as one. We will pledge that we will not become extinct. We will fight. We will fight again to remain alive. This is not a fight to be done with weapons. It is a fight of will and determination. We will not sell any land to unknown people, we will not rent out any house to unknown people. And we will not allow government land to be encroached,” he said.
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Speaking about the widespread eviction drives undertaken by his government, which have largely affected Bengali-origin families, he said these would continue till “every piece of encroached land is freed.”
“Today, various types of jihad have presented themselves in our Assam, like love jihad and land jihad. The government has been running a major eviction programme from Burha Chapori to Uriamghat, from Gorukhuti to Goalpara… And today, standing below the sacred flag on Independence Day, we, the Assamese people, will resolve that we will not be at peace till every last piece of Assam’s land is freed from unknown encroachers,” he said, adding that the government would take action against district officials in the event of future encroachments.