Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Big claim Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday claimed that the Muslim population in his state is increasing by about 30 per cent every 10 years and they will become a majority by 2041. The chief minister said this while addressing a press conference here. He said that according to ‘statistical sampling’, the Muslim population in Assam is 40 percent.
‘Assam will become a Muslim majority state by 2041’
Himanta Biswa Sarma said, ‘In 2011, there were 1.4 crore Muslims in Assam. By 2041, Assam will become a Muslim majority state. This is a reality and nobody can stop it.’ According to the 2011 census, the total Muslim population in Assam was 1.07 crore which was 34.22 percent of the total 3.12 crore inhabitants. There were 1.92 crore Hindus in the state which was about 61.47 percent of the total population.
The Chief Minister said, ‘Every 10 years the Muslim population in Assam increases by 11 lakh… This is not Himanta Biswa Sarma’s data, but the data of the Indian Census. These are all published data.’ He said that the population of the Hindu community is increasing by about 16 percent every 10 years. Sarma said that his government has taken steps to reduce the population growth of the Muslim community.
What did Himanta say about the population of the Hindu community?
The Chief Minister said, ‘Many people have also helped us. If the ‘Nijut Moina’ scheme is successful, girls will become doctors and engineers. Then they will not give birth (to children).’ Under this scheme, the Assam government provides a monthly honorarium of up to Rs 2,500 to girl students from class 11 to post-graduation for the next five years with the aim of preventing child marriage. He said, ‘The steps taken by our government in the last three years will give us some results, but the problem is very big.’
What did the Assam CM say about Rahul Gandhi?
CM Himanta said, ‘By 2041, Assam will become a Muslim-majority state. This is a reality and no one can stop it.’ He quipped, ‘Congress can play the most important role in stopping the population growth of Muslims… If Rahul Gandhi becomes the brand ambassador of population control, then this can be controlled because the community listens only to him.’ Sharma said, ‘Muslim political leaders themselves have two children, but they never advise the villagers to limit the number of children to two.’
He also said that if earlier chief ministers had “not been secular” and had spoken about the population explosion like him since 1971 or 1981, the state would have seen positive results. “This situation would not have arisen if the government had taken steps for the education of Muslim girls and against child marriage. I cannot do any miracle in just three years. If this (Muslims becoming a majority) is postponed till 2051, we will consider that we have done something,” he said.