Assam’s indigenous Muslim group appeal to Muslims to vote for BJP in LS poll

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 19, 2024

Assam Goria Parishad (AGP), a platform of the indigenous Muslim community of Assam, on Tuesday appealed to all Muslim people of the state to vote for BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

More than 40 lakh indigenous Muslims with five ethnic groups- Syed, Goria, Moria, Desi and Julah are living in different parts of the state.

“We appealed to the people of five ethnic groups of the Muslim community to vote for BJP candidates in all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is in turn to our gratefulness to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who has redeemed us from the death,” AGP general secretary Rahmasa Ali said while addressing a press conference at Guwahati Press Club on Tuesday.

“The Assam government under the leadership of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took the initiative to recognize us. The state cabinet approved the socio-economic survey on December 8, 2023, after recognising five communities — Syed, Goriya, Moriya, Desi, and Julha — as indigenous Assamese Muslims. The recognition was based on a Cabinet sub-committee’s report on the cultural identity of these five communities in December 2021,” Ali said.

Ali claimed that they have been taking the path of agitation since 2001 for recognition of indigenous Musslsim communities in the state.

“But no government heard of pour petition. Only the BJP-led government under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma recognized us. We are thankful to him. He has ordered for socio-economic survey of five ethnic groups. It will be incomplete if the party will not come to power in the upcoming elections,” Ali also said.

“The decision is expected to provide a push for our development in healthcare, cultural identity, education, financial matters, skill development and women empowerment among others,” Ali claimed.

Ali said there will be a consensus on the reservation of seats in educational institutes and jobs for unemployed youth of the community after the survey was carried out across the state.

The state government has constituted committees in all districts headed by district commissioners to conduct the survey, he said.

“The findings of the assessment will guide the state government to take suitable measures, aimed at comprehensive socio-political and educational upliftment of the indigenous minorities,” he said.

“The chief minister also instructed the authorities concerned to take necessary measures to ensure the upcoming socio-economic assessment on its completion can furnish adequate data that the state government can utilise to take steps for comprehensive socio-political, academic and economic uplift for the five indigenous Muslim communities,” he also said.

In 2023, the chief minister participated in an interactive session with the intellectuals and leading citizens of the indigenous Muslim communities.

This was followed by forming several sub-committees with representatives of indigenous Muslims to deliberate on various issues related to the community.

The sub-committees, in their reports, had recommended a comprehensive “Socio-Economic Survey” covering the members of the five indigenous Muslim communities.

Goria and Moria are indigenous Muslim communities and belong to the OBC category.