Guwahati: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani on Tuesday slammed the Assam’s BJP-led government for what he called “unlawful actions and humiliating treatment of a particular community (read Muslims who account more than 40% of the state’s population).
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Madani also dared the CM, “If the Chief Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma wants, he can send me to Bangladesh or put me in jail. But the government must stop these discriminatory measures and derogatory behaviour.”
Since taking office in 2021, the Sarma government has been targeting the Muslims on one pretext or the other. Bulldozing their homes has become a norm in the state. Despite Supreme Court’s guidelines, the government launched a demolition drive displacing hundreds of families who have been there for decades. Madani visited the affected areas and shared the details with the press.
The Jamiat chief said, “I witnessed the despair on people’s faces. The most painful part is not just demolitions, but humiliation – branding an entire community as ‘Miya’ or ‘Doubtful’.”
Madani asserted, “If anyone is a foreigner, deport them. We have no sympathy for illegal migrants. But Indian citizens must not be uprooted. Where eviction is necessary, it should follow Supreme Court guidelines with basic compassion.”
He emphasised that hatred has no place in India: “Those who spread hatred and division have no right to remain in this country. India’s civilization is thousands of years old. It cannot be defaced by enmity.”
On reports of damage to Namghars, he underlined the shared cultural responsibility: “Assam’s heritage is built by saints like Shankar Dev and Azan Faqir. If Namghars are harmed, mosques will not remain safe. Protecting both is our collective duty.”
Madani also reminded the audience of Jamiat’s century-long role in the freedom struggle and its opposition to the Two-Nation Theory. “Our principle has always been service to the nation – not on the basis of religion, but on humanity and patriotism,” he said.
