Former Planning Commission member and Congress loyalist Syeda Hamid has lit a firestorm with her astonishing defence of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Speaking in Guwahati, she declared, “What’s wrong if they are Bangladeshis? Bangladeshis are also humans. The world is so large. Bangladeshis can also be here. Not depriving anyone’s rights.”
Such casual justification of infiltration is not just naïve—it is dangerous. Hamid may cloak her words in the language of humanity, but what she and her Congress patrons are really promoting is demographic aggression. By legitimising illegal immigrants, she has not only mocked the sacrifices of those who died in the Assam Agitation of the 1980s but also endorsed the systematic erosion of Assamese identity.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma minced no words when he said, “People like Syeda Hameed, a close confidant of the Gandhi family, legitimise illegal infiltrators, as they seek to realise Jinnah’s dream of making Assam a part of Pakistan.” His anger is justified. Assam has already been transformed by unchecked infiltration. Hindus, once a comfortable majority, are now reduced to around 48 percent, while Muslims, including millions of illegal Bangladeshis, have swelled to 56 percent. This is not just a statistic—it is a living testimony of demographic change that threatens to wipe out indigenous culture, language, and identity.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju framed the issue starkly: “It is not about religion, but land. If Assam becomes demographically vulnerable, the other states of the Northeast will be in physical danger for the Indian Union.” What the Congress ecosystem pretends not to understand is that this is not a humanitarian debate—it is about national security and survival.
Why then does the Congress leadership and its allies continue to justify illegal immigrants? The answer lies in the cynical arithmetic of vote-bank politics.
In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has long depended on the loyalty of migrant Muslims, who are courted as a bloc vote. That explains why Banerjee has consistently opposed the NRC (National Register of Citizens) and the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), choosing appeasement over national interest.
In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)—Congress’s ally—has adopted a similar posture. Facing a stiff challenge from the NDA in the upcoming Assembly polls, the RJD has quietly welcomed infiltrators as an assured vote bank. For them, national security and demographic stability pale before the lure of ballot power.
The Congress itself has mastered this dangerous game. By defending Hamid’s remarks and looking the other way, the party once again proves that it has no qualms about bartering national integrity for electoral dividends.
Assam’s Warning to India
The outrage in Assam is neither exaggerated nor parochial. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) rightly called Hamid’s remarks “anti-Assam and anti-India,” reminding her that Bangladeshis have indeed robbed the indigenous people of their rights. The Gauhati High Court itself acknowledged that Bangladeshis managed to illegally enroll themselves in voters’ lists and have become “kingmakers.”
The late 1970s and ’80s saw 860 martyrs give their lives in the Assam Movement to protect their homeland from illegal infiltration. To now trivialise their sacrifice by saying “Bangladeshis are also humans” is not just insulting—it is an unforgivable betrayal.
The Assamese know the price of infiltration: shrinking land holdings, rising unemployment, erosion of local culture, and increasing ghettoisation. District after district has been overrun demographically, changing the balance irreversibly. And this is not just Assam’s burden. States like West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and even cities like Delhi and Mumbai are witnessing similar demographic churn due to illegal migration.
The Prime Minister’s Call
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recognising the existential threat, has spoken of a “demographic mission” to weed out illegal migrants. This is not about persecuting any religion. It is about ensuring that India does not become hostage to an organised influx designed to alter its very identity.
Those who oppose such measures—Congress, RJD, TMC—must be asked bluntly: Are you willing to sacrifice India’s unity for your vote banks? Are you prepared to reduce indigenous people to political irrelevance in their own homeland?
The Real Humanism
True humanism is about protecting the rights of lawful citizens, ensuring that their land, culture, and opportunities are not stolen by outsiders. It is about remembering that every illegal immigrant welcomed for votes displaces a poor Indian—be it an Assamese farmer, a Bengali Hindu refugee, or a Bihari labourer.
Syeda Hamid and her Congress mentors may preach “humanity” from air-conditioned stages, but the people of Assam, Bengal, and Bihar live the consequences. Their villages change, their jobs disappear, their identities are eroded—brick by brick, vote by vote.
The demographic invasion is real. Assam is already a warning. If India does not act decisively now, tomorrow’s map may show not just changed numbers but changed nations within the nation.
The Illegal Infiltration Crisis: Hard Facts
Assam’s Demographic Shift
- 1971 Census: Muslims formed 24.56% of Assam’s population.
- 2011 Census: Muslims rose to 34.22% (over 1 crore people).
- Current Estimates (Govt/Independent studies): In several districts like Dhubri, Barpeta, and Goalpara, Muslims (including illegal immigrants) form 55–65% of the population.
- Warning bell: Indigenous Hindus now hover around 48%, while Muslims are about 56% in key regions.
National Security Impact
- Gauhati High Court noted in 2008 that Bangladeshis “enrolled themselves in the voters’ list and became kingmakers.”
- Border districts of West Bengal (Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur) now record majority Muslim populations, driving TMC’s vote-bank politics.
- In Bihar, studies suggest districts like Kishanganj and Araria have seen a sharp rise in Muslim population due to cross-border inflows.
Assam Agitation Legacy
- The anti-infiltration movement of 1979–1985 claimed 860 martyrs’ lives, demanding detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshis.
- Yet, decades later, the problem has only worsened.
Economic & Social Fallout
- Land alienation: Indigenous communities losing farmland to settlers.
- Job competition: Unskilled Indian workers face wage depression due to illegal migrant labour.
- Political capture: Migrants enrolled illegally into electoral rolls, influencing elections in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and beyond.
Fact-Box: Assam’s Demographic Trajectory
Current Reality (as of 2011)
- Muslims (including migrants) made up 34.22% of Assam’s population (1.07 crore), of which only ~3% were indigenous Assamese Muslims; 31% were migrants. Hindus comprised about 61.47% (~1.92 crore)
- The number of Muslim-majority districts rose from six in 2001 to nine in 2011
- According to the Assam Minority Development Board, of the total 1.3 crore Muslims in the state, about 9 million are of Bangladeshi origin. Illegal immigrants across religions number around 1 crore, scattered across Assam
Projected Trends by 2041
- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warns that, if current trends continue, the Muslim population could near parity with Hindus—roughly 50:50—by 2041
- Sarma emphasized that this projection arises from extending 2011 census data through 2021, 2031, and 2041 phase-wise modeling
- He also warned of a demographic tipping point within a decade, where Assamese Hindus could become a minority if unchecked, Historical Growth Patterns
- Between 1971 and 1991, Assam recorded a 77.42% increase in the Muslim population, compared to only 41.89% among Hindus—a striking differential indicative of sustained, large-scale influx
- Over the 2001–2011 decade, the Bangladeshi-origin Muslim population grew by 5–7%, particularly in border districts
