MT Desk: In total contravention of established policies in secular, democratic India, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has made a controversial distinction between Bangladeshi migrants based on religion. The chief minister, known for his strident anti-Muslim remarks and Islamophobic slurs, asserted that Hindu migrants should be treated as refugees, while Muslims should be identified as infiltrators.

Speaking on citizenship and migration, Sarma said that Hindus and Muslims from Bangladesh cannot be viewed as a single community. “Bangladeshi Muslims are one community, and Bangladeshi Hindus are another. These are two separate communities,” he stated, underlining what he described as the political and legal differences between the two groups.

Speaking during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign on Saturday, the chief minister asserted that while Hindu refugees fleeing persecution are regularised as Indian citizens under the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA), Muslim entrants are illegal “infiltrators” who must be deported.

Sarma criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for putting both groups in “one basket,” claiming this propagates misconceptions. He alleged that unchecked infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims is causing a demographic shift and is a threat to national security. He claimed the Muslim population in Assam has reached nearly 40%.

He vowed a relentless crackdown, noting that 20 illegal Bangladeshis were “pushed back” during the past 24 hours and over 400 have been deported in recent months. Referring to the CAA, the Assam chief minister pointed out that the legislation provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim minorities — including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

Sarma emphasised that the CAA recognizes Bangladeshi Hindus as refugees eligible for Indian citizenship, while excluding Muslims from its scope. “When we say infiltrators, we are referring to Bangladeshi Muslims, not Hindus. Hindus are refugees, not infiltrators,” he said, reiterating the BJP’s position on the issue.

According to Sarma, the BJP’s approach is to protect persecuted Hindu refugees while taking firm action against what he termed as “illegal infiltration.” He described this stance as part of the party’s “decisive politics,” especially in Border States like Assam and West Bengal, where migration continues to be a sensitive and politically charged issue.