22 Jul. 24: With the upcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was recently appointed as the BJP’s co-in-charge for the state, made a controversial claim regarding the Muslim population in Assam. Addressing a press gathering in Ranchi, Sarma asserted, “In 1951, the Muslim population in Assam was 14 percent; today, it has increased to 40 percent. I have lost many districts. For me, this is not a political issue but a matter of life and death.”
This statement was subsequently reiterated by Sarma on social media and widely reported by major news outlets, including Hindustan Times, Republic Bharat, Times of India, Dainik Jagran, The Economic Times, and Zee News.
AltNews Fact Check
AltNews investigated the veracity of Sarma’s claim by consulting the 1961 religious census report from the Union government’s Census India website. According to the report, the Muslim population in Assam in 1951 was 1,995,936, constituting 22.6 percent of the total population. By 1961, this number had increased to 2,765,509, representing 23.29 percent of the total population. This official data starkly contradicts Sarma’s assertion.
Additionally, the census document includes detailed notes on the Muslim population, confirming the aforementioned figures for 1951 and 1961.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s claim that the Muslim population in Assam was 14 percent in 1951 is incorrect. Official census data from the Indian government indicates that the Muslim population was actually 22.6 percent in 1951.
