‘No polygamy, child marriage’: Himanta Sarma sets condition for Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam

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Sarma's statement came after the Centre implemented the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last month. "Whether 'Miyas' are indigenous or not is a different matter. What we are saying is that if they try to be 'indigenous', we have no problem.

But for that, they have to forsake child marriage and polygamy, and encourage women's education," Sarma was quoted by PTI as saying on Saturday. ALSO READ: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma: 'I will resign if…' 'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam. The non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants.

In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance, the report added. Sarma said marrying two or three times is not an Assamese culture. "I always tell them, there is no problem in 'Miyas' being indigenous.

But they cannot have two-three wives. That is not an Assamese culture. How can one encroach Satra (Vaishnavite monastery) land and want to be indigenous?" he said.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election 2024: ‘No one wants to stay in Congress; everyone wants to join BJP,’ claims Himanta Biswa Sarma Sarma said these people who are referred to as 'Miyas' cannot marry off their minor daughters if they want to become indigenous Assameese. Moreover, according to an Economic Times report, the chief minister also urged them to send their children to schools instead of madrassas and encouraged them to pursue careers as doctors and engineers. ALSO READ: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's Hindutva politics and anti-Muslim stance: Five big controversies "If the Bengali-speaking Muslims can follow the Assamese customs, they too will be considered 'indigenous', the CM added.