Assam MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed On Congress Misrule, The Muslim Community’s Marginalisation And Being A ‘Rebel’

Sherman Ali Ahmed is an MLA of Baghbar Constituency, Assam. The outright and erudite MLA is not afraid to call a spade a spade and is often called a ‘rebel’ by his own party — Congress.

Ahmed is also the lone voice against the eviction drive in Assam. He is currently under suspension from his party, but his suspension has failed to stop him from speaking for the causes that he believes need attention. 

Ahmed is a Miya and, in this conversation, he has touched upon a variety of topics: Congress party’s role in the marginalisation of Muslims, his arrest, Miya poetry, the role of Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad (CCSP) in the upliftment of the Muslim society, and the Nellie massacre. Edited excerpts: 

You are often derided by terms like Miya Bangladeshi. What is your take on this?

We, around 1 crore Muslims mostly from the then East Bengal —it was undivided British India— are now in the state of Assam. Our forefathers came from East Bengal to Assam during the later part of 19th century and continued till the first part of 20th century. If I say, they came on their own, it would be incorrect. 

At that time, there was a lot of fallow land in Assam, so the British motivated our forefathers, who were poor in East Bengal, to come to Assam and cultivate the fallow land. For the British regime then, in Assam, it was necessary to increase the revenue, to produce adequate food to feed the British Army and industrial workers, and to supply raw materials to the jute industry in Manchester. Since our forefathers were very poor, they could not bear the expenses of railway fare and hence, the Colonial regime of that time introduced family ticket system through which by purchasing one ticket, the entire family could come from East Bengal to Assam. So our forefathers were brought by the British to Assam to cultivate the fallow land to serve their greater purpose of increased revenue, production of adequate food grains, and supply of raw materials to their jute industry at Manchester. 

On their arrival, our forefathers initiated a green revolution in Assam. If today, Assam is self-reliant in its food production, then it's because of the toil of our forefathers and their descendants, the so-called Miya people. They came to Assam and accepted Assamese language as their mother tongue. They started establishing schools in Assamese medium for education of their children and of course, I should admit that, the leadership of the Assam Sahitya Sabha at that point of time also approached our forefathers to accept Assamese as their mother tongue and our forefathers reciprocated accordingly. 

The first Assamese medium school by this group of people was established in 1899 when even the Assam Sahitya Sabha was not constituted and another Assamese medium school was established in 1902. In 1931 Census, for the first time, our forefathers en-masse recorded Assamese as their mother tongue and since then, in every subsequent Census, Assamese was recorded as their mother tongue by our forefathers and their descendants. But the irony of the fact is that after Independence, the mainstream people are not accepting us as Assamese. Sometimes, of course, Assam Sahitya Sabha half-heartedly announces that we are also Assamese but when we are derided by calling Miya or Bangladeshi or foreigner, the Assam Sahitya Sabha keeps quiet. This is very unfortunate. Despite that, the East Bengal-origin Muslims call themselves Assamese and record Assamese language as their mother tongue till today irrespective of whether the Assam Sahitya Sabha or the government gives them recognition or not. 

One more thing I would like to mention is that if these East Bengal-origin people stop recording Assamese as their mother tongue, the Assamese language will be a minority language and thus no longer will remain a state language. I think the mainstream media and the Assam Sahitya Sabha, if they really love the Assamese language, should accept these East Bengal-origin people as Assamese and should stop harassing them in the name of Miya or Bangladeshi.

You have embraced Assamese as your mother tongue, right? What's the place of the Bengali language in your life and your community?

As we accepted Assamese as our mother tongue and we have been identifying ourselves as Assamese, there is no question of Bengali language in our life. Of course, till now, many of these Miya community people speak in a colloquial language while communicating with their family members, but it’s neither Bengali nor Assamese. It’s a mixture of both. So, I feel that Bengali language has no role now in our day-to-day life. 

Why are the poets no longer writing Miya poetry — poetry in the Miya dialect? Is it for the fear of the present government? 

Some of the youngsters started writing Miya poetry reflecting the agony of the Miya Muslims. The state government and the police administration registered cases against them and were hounding them to arrest. They had to take bail from the court. I think that was a harassing tactic to stop the voice of the people. I don't know why Miya poets are not writing Miya poetry (in the Miya dialect) now. They are not writing Miya poetry anymore, perhaps, for the harassment tactic of the Assam government on them, but it will come up again. Who can stop their voices? There is no doubt about that.

What’s the role of Congress party in the question of your identity and the overall upliftment of your community?

You have raised a very good question. You see, since Independence, Muslims en masse —and not only the East Bengal-origin Muslims— supported Congress and voted for the party. The Muslim population could be said to be the vote bank of Congress since Independence till 1985. But Congress has caused maximum damage to this fold of people. They have never given justice to these people. They are primarily responsible for the backwardness of these people in matters of education, social-economic condition, and in every sphere of development. 

You have asked another question regarding the identity of these Miya people. They (the Congress party) have done nothing. On the contrary, they have taken reverse action so that these people remain under fear and vote for Congress. That’s why they kept the issues like foreigner’s issue, settlement of land, erosion of river, etc alive. The Congress regime is responsible for the D-voter issue and also for the people now languishing in detention centres. 

You see, when I moved a proposal in the Assembly committee that the cultural heritage of the Miya people, who identify themselves as Assamese, should also be preserved in Sankardev Kalakshetra which was established to preserve the cultural heritage of Assamese people as per Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. In the Assembly Committee meeting, I argued, as the Miya people identify themselves as Assamese, why not a single item of our culture shall be preserved in Sankardev Kalakshetra as has been done in case of other smaller communities, such as Ahoms, Tiwas, Tea-Tribes etc within the fold of greater Assamese community. Accordingly, a resolution was passed in the Assembly committee that the cultural heritage of the people living in Char-Chapori shall be preserved in Sankardev Kalakshetra.

Thereafter, when I mentioned in my Facebook post that the name of the proposed museum reflecting the cultural heritage of the char-chapori people be “Miya Museum”, there were a lot of hullabaloo and even my Congress party issued a show-cause notice to me. I am now asking my Congress party, are we not Assamese? Why are you objecting to my proposal? What’s the wrong in uttering the word ‘Miya’? You people have been deriding us by calling Miya for the last 60-70 years. Now if I say I am Miya, what's the wrong with it? The Congress party kept mum.

I am giving you another example. In 1983, in the Sipajhar area, the AASU activists killed several thousands of people. The mob was led by one Dayanath Sarma. He went with a gun and killed many people. When in defense, the people attacked him, he was killed. Dayanath Sarma later was given the status of a martyr. I raised the question in 2021 that how could Dayanath Sarma be given the status of a martyr. I was arrested for this by the BJP government of Assam. And my Congress party instigated the government to arrest me. Our president Bhupen Borah challenged the Chief Minister as to why he has not arrested me alleging that I have defamed a martyr. Such is the stand of Congress. I must say, Congress is more dangerous for the Miya people.

The people of your community are victims of riverine erosion on a daily basis? Does the present government support them enough?

Your question that if the present government supports the river-eroded people does not arise at all. The BJP government works under the direction of the RSS. How can we expect that BJP will do something for the Muslims? From the very beginning, we all know the principles and policies on which RSS was formed and its cherished goal of Hindutva.

I have seen a female social worker/activist approaching you about their project on reusable sanitary napkins. It’s extremely unusual for an MLA to discuss such thing in a public space with such comfort — that too in Muslim dominated space. How do you create such comfort level among female workers?

Regarding the reusable sanitary napkins that we talked about in the Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad Adhiveshan, I would like to mention that besides being a public representative, I also want to be a part of the reformation process of our society. Our women are marginalised both economically and socially. On the one hand, they are unaware of hygiene, and on the other hand, poor Muslim women can’t afford to buy sanitary napkins. If we can introduce reusable sanitary napkins to them, it will go a long way in maintaining their health. 

So, when in the Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad Meeting, the founder of Amrapari told me about reusable sanitary napkins, I seized the opportunity so that we can popularise the use of reusable napkins amongst the women of our community. I am sure reusable sanitary napkins will be of great help to the rural women folk. 

As an MLA, I always try to address the critical issues of my society. Even in open public meetings, I have been appealing to my people that they should not get their daughters married before 21 years of age, though the official marriageable age is 18 years, so that our daughters can complete their higher studies. I have also been trying to make them aware about the importance of family planning.

You are actively involved in Assam Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad. What is the role of this literary body in mainstreaming the Miya culture and ethos?

You see, I call our people Miya within the greater Assamese fold. We have distinct historical background and also have different socio-economic conditions. I want to appropriate the term Miya. Though in the past, Miya was used as a pejorative term, the term is now gaining popularity not only amongst the people of the community but also amongst the mainstream people. In many Assamese literatures now a days, we often come across the word Miya. Even one President of Assam Sahitya Sabha, namely, Homen Borgohain, used the word Miya in one of his writings to denote this community. 

Initially, these Miya people were associated with Assam Sahitya Sabha. During our school days, I was associated with Assam Sahitya Sabha and we had participated in a lot of ‘alochona chakras’ during those days. We used to recite poems etc in those programmes. Gradually, we began to feel that we are not getting the spaces that we should have and our community was portrayed in negative light. In this backdrop, Assam Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad came into being in 2004 and since then it has been rendering yeoman's service in mainstreaming Miya culture and Miya society. This literary body has been highlighting the issues that are plaguing our society.

Do you think the mainstream Assamese literary society sees Assam char Chapori Sahitya Parishad as the “other”?

As I told you that Miya people are not getting enough space in the Assam Sahitya Sabha and so is the Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad. You will observe that, unlike other literary bodies representing separate socio-ethnic groups under the greater Assamese society, Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad is hardly invited to any function of Assam Sahitya Sabha. Yes, Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad is being treated as the “other”.

You are often accused of spreading violence and polarisation. What is your take on this?

I have always been portrayed wrongly by the media and the vested political interests. As per Clause 6 of Assam Accord, Shankardev Kalakshetra was established to preserve the cultural heritage of Assamese people. When I raised the issue in 2020 that the cultural heritage of the Miya people should also be preserved in Kalakshetra as they are also identifying themselves as Assamese, where did I commit wrong? But the media and the government blew it out of proportion and tried their level best to portray me as a communal person.

Similarly in 2021, I spoke the historical truth that Dayanath Sarma was a killer. Dayanath Sarma and his accomplices were on a killing spree with guns and other lethal weapons in Chaulkhawa Chapori during 1983 and killed more than a thousand innocent Miya people.

When the Miya people in defence retaliated, Dayanath Sharma was killed. Later on, Dayanath Sharma and many others who were guilty of heinous crime of killing innocent people were declared as martyrs and were compensated with hefty amounts by the government, but thousands of innocent Miya people killed by them are yet to get justice. How can a killer be called a martyr? I was jailed for about two months. My party, Congress, left no stone unturned to portray me as a communal person. Similarly, when I speak about the recovery of huge Waqf property in the state, how can it have a communal tone?

Similarly when I talk about settlement of land and giving patta to the people living in Char areas for several decades, how can it be communal? When I talk about the rights of deprived and oppressed people, they try to suppress my voice by portraying me as a communal person.

Another example is Nellie. In 1983, several thousands of innocent Miya people were killed in Nellie on the false pretext of being foreigner, but they didn’t get justice. On the contrary, Sikhs killed in Delhi Riots in 1984 got justice after many years, but the people of Nellie are yet to get justice. When I speak for justice for these innocent people, if people call me communal, I don’t care because I am with the truth.

At the very entrance of Barpeta railway station, a very tall statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee can be seen. It was placed in 2021 during the Himanta Biswa Sharma government. Does this show that Assamese society is going towards deep Hindutva ideology?

One thing I must admit is that Assamese people are basically non-communal, but two factors, one, the misrule and the large-scale corruption of the Congress regime, and, two, the all-India wave in support of the BJP, have played a pivotal role in turning the Assamese people towards BJP. Yet, though the Assamese people are now with the BJP for the right or the wrong reasons, I don't think that the Assamese people are communal. Although, they are now turning towards the Hindutva fold, I don't think they will remain with the BJP in the long run.

Assamese people, being basically non-communal, will understand the reality that the BJP is destroying our country in the name of religion and is working for the corporate sector and they will leave BJP and again turn towards secular parties. Once again, I repeat that Congress misrule after Independence was the main reason why Assamese mainstream people are now turning towards BJP.