A section of Bengali Muslims is trying to re-establish their identity in Assam. Some believe that the ‘Mia Museum’ may have been “a response to their suppressed desperation”.
Three people have been arrested for setting up Mia Museum.
The Assam Police has arrested three people under the stringent UAPA Act for setting up the controversial ‘Miya Sangrahalaya’ in Goalpara district of the state. The museum was also sealed on October 25, two days after its inauguration. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the museum a “threat” to the culture and identity of Assam. Among those arrested were the museum’s founder and Assam Miya. The council’s chairman M Mohar Ali, its general secretary Abdul Baten Sheikh and Ahom Royal Society member Tanu Dhadumiya inaugurated the private museum on Sunday.
The trio have been sent to two-day police custody and the Nalbari district police are investigating their alleged links with terrorist organizations. Police have claimed that they have been arrested by Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Bangladesh’s Ansarul Bangla. The information about the museum and the three accused came during interrogation of fundamentalists in a case registered under the UAPA for alleged links with the team (ABT). The police suspect that the three accused have links with both these terrorist organizations.
How did the arrests happen?
Before his arrest, several BJP leaders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had heavily attacked the museum and its people. BJP MLA Prashant Phukan termed it as a “wrong precedent” while Sarma said the government would investigate the source of funds for the museum. “What is new in this? Except for one ‘lungi’, the rest of the equipment kept there belongs to the people of Assam. They will have to prove to the government that ‘Nangol’ is used only by the Mia people and not others.” He asked the state’s intellectuals to reconsider their community.
He said, “The intellectuals of the state should think about it. When I raised my voice against Mia Kavita, they called me communal. Now Miya Kavita, Miya School, Miya Sangrahalaya have come up here…” He said, “Those who have established Miya Sangrahalaya will have to answer the questions of the government. If they are not able to respond then legal action will be initiated against them. We will investigate how they got the funds to set up and operate the museum.”
Soon after Sarma’s remarks, the Goalpara district administration sealed the museum and arrested Ali and Sheikh on October 25. Assam’s Special Director General of Police GP Singh later said that the police had discovered links between the Mia Museum and the militant outfits AQIS and ABT. will investigate.
Why is this a big deal?
A section of Bengali Muslims is trying to re-establish their identity in Assam. Some believe that the ‘Miya Museum’ may have been “a response to their suppressed desperation”. The native Assamese community has been using it as a derogatory term to highlight the non-Assamese origin of the settled Bengali Muslims.
Bengali Muslims or Muslims of Bengali origin were brought by the British to Assam for commercial farming. Their ancestors came from areas such as the Mymensingh, Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions in present-day Bangladesh and settled on both banks of the Brahmaputra river in what is today Assam. See them as migrants and are demanding to send them back. The NRC was only an attempt to weed out these so-called ‘illegal migrants’.
Government claims there are 50 lakh immigrants
The Assam government claims that there are more than 50 lakh illegal immigrants in the state, however, a recent NRC investigation found only 19 lakh illegal migrants across all religions. The ruling BJP government also took a harsh attitude towards Bengali Muslims in the state. and Chief Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma has openly accused the community of producing large number of children and encroachment. .
The Assam government has recently announced the census of the original Assamese Muslims. However, critics see the move as an attempt to divide the community, saying the government has not officially defined the term “original Assamese Muslim”. The Assam government is also keeping a close watch on the activities of AQIS and ABT in the minority concentration areas in eastern and central Assam. Going by the reports, at least 40 ABT members have been arrested this year.
: Language Inputs