The Miya Warning: Assam’s Nationalism at a Crossroads

Yesterday, leaders of the evicted Miya communities from Lower Assam issued a blunt warning:

"If humiliation and dispossession continue, we will abandon Assamese and declare Bengali as our mother tongue."

This dramatic declaration comes at a time when the state government, under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is intensifying its eviction drive in the char areas of the Brahmaputra Valley — officially to reclaim government land, but perceived by many as a targeted campaign against the Miya population, a Bengali-origin Muslim community settled in Assam since colonial times.

The CM dismissed the threat as mere blackmail. But history and demography tell us otherwise: the warning is a moment of reckoning for Assamese nationalism itself, exposing its fragile foundations and the dangers of alienating its allies.

🔷 Why This Warning Matters

For decades, the Miya community has been both scapegoated and indispensable to the Assamese cause. After the Assam Movement of 1979–85, many Miyas publicly embraced the Assamese language, identifying it as their mother tongue in censuses and integrating into Assamese cultural life.

They did this not just out of love for Assamese but also as a survival strategy — to avoid being labelled as illegal immigrants, to be seen as belonging. They contributed to agriculture, literature, and even became martyrs — most notably Mujamil Haque, the first martyr of the 1972 Medium Movement (Madhyam Andolan), allegedly killed by Hindu Bengali protesters while fighting to make Assamese the sole medium of education.

That very community now feels betrayed — evicted from their lands, vilified as outsiders, and dismissed by the political leadership. The warning to revert to Bengali is not just a threat to linguistic numbers; it is an indictment of a nationalism that takes loyalty for granted but denies dignity in return.

🔷 Assam’s Fragile Nationalism: Built on Borrowed Strength

The Assamese linguistic and cultural identity in the Brahmaputra Valley has always depended on a fragile coalition:

Ethnic Assamese Hindus & indigenous Muslims (Goria, Moria, Deshi): The historical core of Assamese nationalism.

Miyas (Bengali-origin Muslims): Adopted Assamese to integrate but always viewed with suspicion.

Tea Tribes/Adivasis: Migrants brought by the British, who learned Assamese but retained distinct cultural practices.

Bodos & Other Tribes (Rabha, Mising, Tiwa, Dimasa, Karbi): Bilingual but asserting separate identities over time.

Nepalis, Marwaris, Biharis: Minor communities contributing economically but often marginalized culturally.

The loyalty of these groups — particularly the Miyas and Bodos — was never unconditional. It was contingent upon respect, inclusion, and a shared vision of Bor Asom — a greater, plural Assam.

🔷 The Bodo Precedent: A Lesson Unheeded

The Bodos, Assam’s largest plains tribe (~6% of the population), once reinforced Assamese numbers by being bilingual and supportive. But after decades of neglect and marginalization, they demanded autonomy, culminating in the violent agitations of the 1980s–90s and the creation of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

The Bodo experience should have been a warning: communities that feel excluded will assert their own identities, fracturing the Assamese coalition. The Miya warning suggests history may repeat itself.

🔷 Aftershocks: What’s at Stake

If the Miya community formally switches to Bengali, the repercussions will be far-reaching — not just demographically, but culturally, economically, socially, and politically.

📜 Cultural Impact

Withdrawal of Miya contributions to Assamese literature, poetry, and arts.

Further shrinking of Assamese influence in the Brahmaputra Valley.

🤝 Social Impact

Heightened communal tensions in mixed villages.

Further marginalization of indigenous Assamese Muslims caught between camps.

💼 Economic Impact

Disruption of agriculture in char areas, where Miyas are the backbone.

Potential for rural unrest and migration.

🗳 Political Impact

A consolidated Miya-Bengali bloc could weaken regional Assamese parties.

National parties (BJP, Congress) could exploit the divide for short-term gains.

🔷 Demographics at a Glance (2011 Census)

Language % of Assam Population

Assamese ~48–50%

Bengali ~29–30%

Bodo ~4.5–5%

Sadri/Adivasi ~5–6%

Others (Hindi, Nepali, etc.) ~7–8%

In the Brahmaputra Valley, Assamese is the official language. But its survival there depends heavily on the loyalty of Miyas and Tea Tribes — both of whom feel increasingly alienated.

🔷 The Road Ahead

Yesterday’s Miya warning is not simply blackmail — it is a mirror held up to Assamese nationalism, forcing it to confront its contradictions. The state faces a choice:

✅ Double down on exclusion, evictions, and denial — and risk fracturing the Assamese coalition permanently.

✅ Or embrace inclusion, acknowledge the sacrifices of communities like the Miyas, and reaffirm the ideal of Bor Asom.

📌 Closing Thought

When Mujamil Haque died for Assamese in 1972, he believed in a homeland that welcomed him despite his origins. Today, his community no longer believes that Assam belongs to them — not because they’ve changed, but because Assamese nationalism has.

A nationalism that forgets its martyrs — and alienates their descendants — risks losing itself.