With assembly elections in Jharkhand slated for later this year, the BJP has appointed Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as the co-in-charge for the state. In this capacity, Sarma attended a program in Jharkhand and addressed the press in Ranchi. During his address, Sarma stated, “I have come from Assam, and the change in demography is a significant issue for me. In 1951, the Muslim population in Assam was 14 per cent; today, it has increased to 40 per cent. I have lost many districts. For me, this is not a political issue but a matter of life and death.”
Sarma reiterated this claim in a tweet, stating that the Muslim population in Assam had risen dramatically from 14 per cent in 1951 to 40 per cent today.
Following this, several prominent media outlets reported this claim without cross-checking the facts. These outlets included Hindustan Times, Republic Bharat, Times of India, Dainik Jagran, The Economic Times, as well as Zee News.
Fact Check
To verify these claims, Alt News examined the 1961 religious census report available on the Union government’s Census India website. This document provides data on the population by religion for Assam and other states, comparing figures from 1951 and 1961. On Page 4 of this document, the Muslim population in Assam in 1951 is recorded as 1,995,936, which constituted 22.60 per cent of the total population. By 1961, the Muslim population in Assam had increased to 2,765,509, making up 23.29 per cent of the total population. This official data contradicts the claim made by the Assam chief minister.
Additionally, the document includes a brief note on six major religions in India, with information on page 22 about the Muslim population. It confirms that in 1951, the Muslim population in Assam was 1,995,936, which increased to 2,765,509 by 1961.
To sum it up, Assam Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made a false claim regarding the Muslim population in Assam. He stated that the Muslim population was 14 per cent in 1951, whereas the actual data from the Indian government’s 1951 Census indicates that the Muslim population was 22.6 per cent of the total population of the state.
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