Assam to issue 'minority certificates' to Muslims, others

Story by ATV | Posted by Aasha Khosa | Date 30-05-2022

Assam Chief Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma (File)

New Delhi

In a pioneer attempt to address the problems of religious minorities, especially Muslims, the Hemanta Biswa Sarma government in Assam has come up with a novel idea of issuing “Minority certificates’ to all members of the religious communities.

The decision taken by the Sarma cabinet on Sunday evening applies to six religious minority groups: Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis. However, the move is directly aimed at the Muslims who are 34.22 percent of the population of the border state.

Also, Assam has the second largest population of Muslims in the country, the first being Jammu and Kashmir. The rate of growth of the Muslim population in the state is also the highest in the country.

Announcing the decision health minister Keshav Mahanta said the government has decided to ensure that genuine minorities in the state get benefits of government schemes and other facilities.

The Assam Minority Affairs Department that had recommended the move has welcomed the decision. A department official said the move to issue certificates to minorities was a long-standing demand. “This decision will help in identifying the right minority community members. This will ensure that only genuine minorities will be able to access government benefits.”

Earlier, many people from other communities faked their identification to avail of the benefits under schemes meant for the minorities. The issuance of certificates will end that practice.

Welcoming the move Habib Mohammed Chowdhury, chairman of the Assam Minorities Development Board, said: “This is a historic development taken by the government of Himanta Biswa Sarma. We had suggested that such a move was required so that minorities in Assam could get benefits which are meant for them,” said he said.

He said, “We have a separate board for the development of minorities and various schemes meant for them. But there was no way of identifying who was a minority? Now they will have the certificates and will be able to avail benefits of government schemes,” he added.

The board officials said there was a misconception that only Muslims are a minority community in Assam but the government's decision will change this perception and Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, and Buddhists will also get equal rights in this regard.

The 2011 census shows the religion-wise population of Assam as Hindus 61.47%, Muslims 34.22%, Christians 3.74%, Sikhs 0.07%, Buddhists 0.18%, and Jains 0.08%. According to the Assam Minorities Development Board, 16 million people are belonging to the six communities in the state at present.

However, Congress opposed the move and alleged ‘it’s part of the ruling party’s divisive agenda.”

“This will further the BJP’s divisive agenda. It will create division among various minority communities and help further the ruling party’s plans of creating more cracks in society,” Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said.

Momahhad Aminul Islam, organizing secretary of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), said there was no need for the state to provide separate identity documents to minorities and suspected the ruling BJP could have a “divisive agenda” behind the decision.