GUWAHATI, July 23: The population of minorities in Assam is projected to shoot up to about 50 percent in a few years from now, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Wednesday on the basis of empirical data and past census records.
“Empirical data and past census records show that in a few years from now, Assam’s minority population will be close to 50 percent,” Sarma said.
Referring to the 2011 Census, the chief minister observed that minorities currently constitute 34 percent of Assam’s population. “So, if you remove the three percent indigenous Assamese Muslims, then 31 percent of the minority population are Muslims who migrated to the state,” he said.
“If you project that on the basis of the census of 2021, 2031 and 2041, you come to an almost 50-50 population position. This is not my take. I am just stating what is in the statistical census report,” the chief minister said.
Sarma had earlier warned of an existential threat in Assam owing to rampant illegal infiltration and a planned encroachment to alter demography of districts, not just in lower and central Assam, but in Upper Assam as well.