Even though many people in our country presume that Assam is a tribal-dominated state like other states in the region, the reality is not far beyond people’s imagination. In next three decades Assam will be a Muslim-majority state. And as the Assam cm said in the next two decades the Hindu-Muslim population will be almost equal in the state. Credit to unhindered infiltration from Bangladesh in the last century and population blast amongst the Bangladeshi Muslims.
And with the growing Muslim population in every census the Assamese language-speaking population in Assam is also decreasing and decreasing fast. But the Bengali-speaking population in the state is growing rapidly every decade. The left-influenced professors will tell you that the increase of Bengali speaking population doesn’t indicate the illegal infiltration or migrant Muslim population blast.
Recently Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has express his concern on the Muslim population blast in the state. Talking to reporters in Jharkhand, CM Sarma said that the population growth amongst Muslims in every decade is over 30 per cent which is double of the decadal Hindu population growth.
He said, “Hindu population increase is 16 per cent”. In 2011, Muslims made up 1.40 crore of the Assam’s population. If that number rises by 30% by 2021, how many will there be? The number of Muslims surpasses that of Hindus by 16 per cent every decade. The number of Muslims increases by 22 lakh every ten years. He clarified that these are Census data, not figures he had created. It is a fact that Assam would have a majority of Muslims by 2041.”
If we see as per the census data, the difference in population growth is clearly visible. And if the Muslim population growth continues to remain so, in the next three decades it would suppress the Hindu population of the state.
Year: 2011
- Hindu: 1,91,80,759
- Muslim: 1,06,79,345
Year : 2021 (Expected)
- Hindu: 2,12,69,543
- Muslims: 1,38,39,363
Year: 2031
- Hindu: 2,35,85,796
- Muslims: 2,79,34,431
Year: 2041
- Hindu: 2,61,54,290
- Muslims: 2,32,41,222
Year: 2051
- Hindu: 2,90,02,492
- Muslims: 3,01,18,308
At 16 per cent growth rate Hindu population in Assam will reach 2 crore 90 lakhs in 2051 and at 30 percent growth rate the Muslim population in the state will cross 3 crores in the same time. That means now it is a matter of time when Assam becomes a Muslim-majority state.
With an exploding population of migrant Muslims in Lower Assam districts, the Assamese language is facing enormous threat in last few decades. Census reports from 1991 to 2011 proves the fear. Assam has a sizable Hindu Bengali population. The Southern Assam part known as Barak valley is home to around 12 lakhs of Hindu Bengali and Brahmaputra valley has almost 28 lakhs of Bengali population. According to the 2011 census 90 lakhs 20 thousand people have registered them as Bengali speaking, which means over 50 lakhs migrant Muslims registered Bengali as their mother toungue in the state. In 1991 linguistic census the number of Assamese-speaking population in the state was 57.81 per cent. But in two decades it has reduced to 48.37 per cent in 2011 census. In comparison to that the Bengali-speaking population increase from 21.67 in 1991 to 28.93 in 2011 census. But it doesn’t stops here and it is not because of the Hindu Bengali population growth.
Linguistic changes in 7 lower Assam Muslim-dominated district will make the picture clear for our readers. In Barpeta district of lower Assam the Assamese language-speaking population was 8 lakhs 66 thousand and 166 in 1991 census. Gradually in every decades the Assamese language-speaking population decreased to 6 lakhs 12 thousand 248 in 2011 census. But in comparison to that the Bengali-speaking population in the same district inflated to10 lakhs 45 thousand 698 in 2011 from 3 lakhs 95 thousand 063 in 1991 census. The situation is similar in some other districts of Assam which are migrant Muslim-dominated.
The above table shows that the increase of Assamese speaking population in 7 middle and lower Assam districts in two decades is 7.34 per cent. The total Assamese language-speaking population in these 7 districts were 53 lakhs 29 thousand and 29 in 1991 census, which increased to 57 lakhs 20 thousand, and 466 in 2011 census. Against this the Bengali speaking population in these 7 districts increased 115.99 per cent during 1991 to 2011. the Bengali-speaking population in these 7 districts increased from 17 lakhs 24 thousand 146 in 1991 to 37 lakhs 23 thousand and 955.
The reason behind this linguistic shift is clearly because of population blast of Migrant Muslims in these districts. The left liberals now will argue that the rise of Hindu Bengali population in these 7 districts might be one of the reason behind the sharp increase of Bengali speaking population. But our next table will clear the air for our readers which will show the population growth of these districts. During the period of 1991 to 2011 the Hindu population in these 7 lower and middle Assam districts mentioned in Table 1 reduced 6.41 percent. But the Muslim population in the same districts increased 62.65 percent between 1991 to 2011.
These Government of India Census data intelligibly shown the huge population growth of Muslims in these districts and simultaneously the growth of Bengali speaking population. During 1991 to 2011 the Hindu population in these 7 districts has gone down to 35 lakhs 92 thousand 819 in 2011 from 38 lakhs 38 thousand and 791 in 2011. The left liberals wants to put the theory that Bengali-speaking population growth is flicker by Bengali Hindu population growth and some influx. But the census data on Hindu population growth in these areas clearly nullify that claim by the left-influenced intellectuals. But during the same period in these 7 districts the Muslim population increased from 39 lakhs 13 thousand and 920 to 63 lakhs 65 thousand and 873.
It is worth mentioning that during 1991 to 2011 the total Muslim population growth in 7 lower and middle Assam districts Barpeta, darrand, Morigaon, Nagaon, Bongaigaon, Dhuburi and Goalpara the population growth was 62.65 percent. In these same districts the linguistic change was also very alarming. During the period the growth of Bengali speaking population in these districts were 115.99 per cent and Assamese speaking population growth was just 7.34 percent. These data have proved that with migrant Muslim population growth the Bengali speaking population has increased many folds in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam posing a great threat to the Assamese language. It is true that some of the migrant Muslims still registered Assamese as their mother toungue, but the number is decreasing with every passing decade.
If we look closely the linguistic data of 2011 census the picture will be more clear. In Baghbor revenue circle of the Muslim-dominated Barpeta district the Assamese-speaking population was 1,33,449 in 1991, which drastically reduced to 15,728 in 2011. on the other hand the Bengali-speaking population was 1,11,441 in 1991 in Baghbor circle which increased many folds to 2,90,158 in 2011. The Hindu population in the area was down to 10,789 from 14,112 in Baghbor during the same period and the Muslim population increased to 2,94,993 from 2,31,242. That means the entire Muslim population of the Baghbor revenue circle is Bengali speaking. These has again proved that with the migrant Muslim population growth the Assamese language is diminishing in many districts of Assam. Similarly in Dolgaon revenue circle in Darrang district the Assamese-speaking population was 1,73,288 in 1991 census which attenuated to 74,138 in 2011 census. But in opposite to it the Bengali-speaking population grown from 1,15,120 in 1991 to 3,86,595 in 2011 census.
People who are working to secure the Assamese language is in the view that till 1991 most of the migrant Muslims registered Assamese as their mother toungue for social security and affiliation. But due to constant efforts by radical groups these people are shifting to Bengali language to resemble their Bangladesh origin roots. Radical groups and institution are working constantly to reduce the Assamese language to a minority language in Assam. Even efforts are on to create rift between Bengali Hindu and Assamese by a vested section of people on the language issue. Left-influenced pandits still trying to set the theory that the decreasing Assamese-speaking population is the result of the fact that the tribal of Assam started registering their own language as their mother toungue. But the tribal languages are there in Assam for thousands of years which never poses a threat to the Assamese language. But the migrant Muslim population blast and their shift to Bengali language is now a serious threat faces by the thousand year old unique Assamese language.
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