With less than a month to go for the Assam assembly elections, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has reiterated his stance on “Miya Muslims” while defending the Assam BJP’s February 7 post on X in two back-to-back interviews. The post featured a controversial video showing Sarma appearing to “shoot point blank” at AI-generated images of two men in skullcaps, triggering a political storm.
The term “Miya” is widely regarded as a pejorative for Bengali-origin Muslim communities in Assam, who have frequently been targeted by the BJP with allegations of land encroachment, demographic change, ‘Love Jihad’, child marriage, ‘Fertiliser Jihad’, and so on.
The 18-second video combined real footage of Sarma handling an air rifle with AI-generated visuals of two bearded men in skullcaps being shot at. Captioned “Point blank shot,” the post was later taken down, but the party did not issue any clarification or statement.
READ: All charades dropped: Assam BJP’s AI video shows Himanta ‘shooting point-blank’ at Muslims
On March 12, Sarma appeared at ‘Panchayat Aaj Tak’ organised by Aaj Tak in Guwahati, and again on March 15 on ‘Power Play’ hosted by NDTV. In both interviews, he was asked about the video and his remarks on “Miya Muslims.” The Assam CM defended the post, saying it would be re-uploaded with a “correction” to specify that the individuals depicted were “Bangladeshis.”
March 12: Panchayat Aaj Tak
Himanta Biswa Sarma appeared at Panchayat Aaj Tak on March 12 in an interview conducted by Anjana Om Kashyap and Kaushik Deka. During the interaction, Kashyap raised Sarma’s remarks on “Miya Muslims,” and referred to responses from the courts and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Sarma dismissed the claim, asserting that no high court or Supreme Court had commented on the issue and maintained that his statements were “legally and constitutionally correct.”
He, however, soon contradicted himself. Addressing the controversial video posted by the Assam BJP, Sarma said it was “fine” but should have explicitly mentioned “Bangladeshis.” “Everything else was fine,” he said, adding that the post was deleted only because the omission made it “constitutionally and legally wrong.”
He further stated that the video would be corrected and re-uploaded, possibly from his personal handle. When Kashyap questioned the optics of a chief minister appearing to “shoot” individuals, Sarma responded that it was symbolic and could imply the use of non-lethal means such as rubber bullets.
Kashyap also questioned Sarma over his remarks suggesting people pay less to “Miya Muslim” rickshaw pullers. Sarma defended the statement saying he was kind enough not to call for their social boycott. “Which Assamese person cannot differentiate between a Bangladeshi and an Assamese person… they might be able to show documentation, but that is not enough. This is what I am fighting,” Sarma said, adding that such documents could be forged, allegedly with the help of activists like Harsh Mander. He also described his earlier remark about paying less to “Miya Muslims” as “metaphorical,” saying it was intended to highlight what he claimed was the pressure faced by Assamese people.
Despite pushback from both interviewers, Sarma maintained his position throughout the exchange.
March 15: NDTV Power Play
On March 15, NDTV aired a one-hour interview with Himanta Biswa Sarma on Power Play, featuring Rahul Kanwal, Padmaja Joshi and Manogya Loiwal.
At the 6:39-minute mark, Loiwal asked whether Sarma had an issue with “Miya Muslims” and if Muslims were safe in Assam. Sarma responded that the question was “twisted” and denied having any issue with Muslims, saying, “India is a secular nation. Everyone has equal rights.” He added that his objection was to “Miya,” “Bangladeshi Muslims” or “ghuspethiyan,” not Muslims as a whole.
To support his claim, Sarma said his driver of 30 years is a Muslim and that around 30% of his office staff are Muslims. “My problem is with Bangladeshis. No Indian can have sympathy for a Bangladeshi or a ghuspethi by the rule of the Constitution, by the parameter of law. Assam’s war isn’t against Muslims. It is against Bangladeshi Muslims,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.
At the 9:21-minute mark, Padmaja Joshi raised the BJP’s now-deleted video, referring to it as the one that was “posted and deleted,” and noting the absence of any mention of “Miyas.” Sarma immediately acknowledged a “mistake,” saying the video would be reposted with “Bangladeshis” clearly specified. When Joshi pressed further—“And you will aim again? Point blank?”—Sarma responded, “Yes, one has to aim and hit the Bangladeshis. Point blank,” framing it as part of a larger “war” and warning of demographic change. The audience responded with laughter and applause.
As Joshi attempted to cite criticism from the Congress, Sarma cut in, claiming that the Prime Minister, the Supreme Court, and the President’s address echoed similar concerns about illegal immigration. He framed the issue as one of protecting India’s demographic balance.
Rahul Kanwal then raised concerns about the geopolitical implications of such rhetoric, particularly for India’s ties with Bangladesh. Sarma dismissed this, saying he would “think about Bangladesh later” and focus on Assam first. He later moderated his stance slightly, suggesting the use of “rubber bullets” instead of real ones, arguing that even police forces use such measures.
Kanwal then told his colleague that in the video, Sarma was “not trying to shoot with real bullets but rubber bullets.” Sarma reiterated that one should begin by using rubber bullets, drawing applause from the audience. Responding with a smile, Rahul Kanwal remarked, “Arre baapre! Ye toh aapne ekdum mafiya style dhamki de di hain” (Oh my God! You’ve just given a full-on mafia-style threat). Sarma continued to justify his position, arguing that the Constitution permits such action by border security forces.
Notably, the panel did not raise questions about the broader context of rising communal tensions or the potential impact of such messaging. Throughout the exchange, the interviewers offered some pushback, but Sarma remained firm in his position.
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