What was once whispered from the margins is now being proclaimed from public stages by chief ministers sworn to uphold the Constitution, says AIMPLB spokesman Dr SQR Ilyas
NEW DELHI – The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Friday strongly condemned the “open and unconstitutional incitement” by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing him of publicly calling for the harassment, disenfranchisement, and economic boycott of Muslims in the state. The board urged the Supreme Court of India to take immediate suo motu cognisance of the matter, warning that such statements pose a grave threat to constitutional governance and social peace.
In a sharply worded statement, AIMPLB spokesperson Dr SQR Ilyas said hate speech against Muslims was no longer confined to the ruling BJP ‘s fringe elements but had become “normalised and institutionalised” within the ruling establishment. “What was once whispered from the margins is now being proclaimed from public stages by chief ministers sworn to uphold the Constitution,” he said, pointing to repeated inflammatory remarks by chief ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and now Assam.
He said the latest controversy arose from remarks reportedly made by Sarma at a government function in Tinsukia, where he allegedly called for sustained harassment of the ‘Miyan’ community, a derogatory term commonly used for Bengali-speaking Muslims, so that they are “forced to leave Assam.” According to the AIMPLB, Sarma went further by declaring that causing hardship to this community was his “responsibility” as chief minister.
More alarmingly, the AIMPLB said Sarma publicly encouraged citizens to file Form-7 — a provision meant for objections to electoral rolls — to remove four to five lakh Muslims from the voter list, and simultaneously issued a call for their economic boycott. Muslims constitute around 35 percent in the tribal dominated Assam which goes to the polls in mid-year.
“These are not stray comments or political rhetoric. This is a chief minister openly exhorting people to harass a community, strip them of voting rights, and socially and economically isolate them,” Dr Ilyas said. “Such conduct amounts to a direct assault on Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution, and undermines the very idea of India as a constitutional democracy.”
The board warned that if constitutional authorities, particularly the Election Commission of India, succumb to political pressure or fail to resist such unlawful calls, the credibility of free and fair elections would be irreparably damaged. “When the head of a state government publicly instructs people to weaponise electoral procedures against a religious community, it signals a breakdown of constitutional restraint,” the statement said.
The board has also appealed to the President of India to initiate appropriate constitutional action against the Assam chief minister for what it termed “dangerous and divisive” remarks. The Chief Justice of India has been urged to intervene without delay, with the board cautioning that inaction would only embolden further hate speech and create conditions conducive to social unrest and lawlessness.
Calling the remarks “a test case for India’s constitutional institutions,” the AIMPLB appealed to all secular political parties, civil society organisations, and “justice-loving citizens” to speak out against what it described as an open call for discrimination and collective punishment.
At the same time, the board appealed to Muslims in Assam to remain calm and resist provocation. “We urge our community to respond only through constitutional and legal means. The rule of law must prevail over intimidation and hatred,” Dr Ilyas said.
