Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s latest remark linking Bengali as a mother tongue with foreigner status has sparked outrage, raising fears of disenfranchisement among Bengali-speaking citizens during the voter roll revision.
BY Navin Upadhyay
July 10, 2025 — In a remark that has triggered outrage and constitutional debate, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that individuals declaring Bengali as their mother tongue in electoral rolls would be considered foreigners. The statement, made in response to a protestor’s comment in Kokrajhar, comes amid heightened scrutiny over Assam’s voter verification processes, and just days after the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on electoral roll revision in Bihar.
Sarma was reacting to a remark by Mainuddin Ali of the All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU), who said Bengali-speaking Muslims would now record Bengali — not Assamese — as their mother tongue. Sarma hit back sharply:
“Language cannot be used as a tool for blackmail. In Assam, Assamese is permanent — both as the state and official language. But if they write Bengali in electoral rolls, it will only quantify the number of foreigners in the state.”
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The Chief Minister’s remarks have been condemned by opposition parties, legal scholars, and civil society groups for being unconstitutional, divisive, and a blatant overreach of state authority.
During a protest against eviction drives, an ABMSU student leader said Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam will stop using Assamese in records and switch to Bengali.
CM @himantabiswa responded that doing so will only expose the number of illegal foreigners in the state.
He made… pic.twitter.com/RFNkIUYeM8
— Niraj Bora (@NirajBora3) July 10, 2025
Bihar Verdict Casts Shadow Over Assam’s Voter Strategy
The controversy comes just after the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, and ration cards as valid proof of identity and citizenship during voter roll revisions in Bihar. The Court emphasized that the ECI cannot arbitrarily restrict documentation, setting a precedent that limits its discretion — especially concerning language, ethnicity, or religion.
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The Bihar ruling undermines the kind of stringent criteria Assam authorities have historically applied, such as during the NRC process. Sarma’s attempt to link linguistic identity to citizenship status appears to defy both the ECI’s mandate and the SC’s recent clarification.
🧾 Legal & Constitutional Red Flags
📌 A BOXED FEATURE
| Issue | Observation | Legal Standing |
| Citizenship via language | Assam CM suggests Bengali speakers are foreigners | Citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955, not by linguistic identity |
| Authority over electoral rolls | CM implies control over ECI processes | The Election Commission of India, not the state government, oversees voter rolls |
| Use of Aadhaar/Voter ID | Assam yet to align with SC ruling | SC has ruled these must be accepted as valid proof across states |
| Discrimination risk | Bengali speakers singled out | Violates Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 29 (protection of cultural rights) |
Who Determines Foreign Status? Not the CM
Legal experts assert that language preference is protected under India’s constitutional framework, and cannot be a basis for identifying foreigners. The Election Commission, not state governments, is empowered to maintain electoral rolls and determine the validity of documentation.
“Citizenship is a central subject. A state CM has no authority to declare someone a foreigner based on their mother tongue,” said a senior constitutional lawyer, who requested anonymity.
Political and Civil Reactions
Political and civil society reactions to the Assam Chief Minister’s statement have been swift and polarised. Utpal Sharma of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) acknowledged that Mainuddin Ali’s original comment was indeed provocative but cautioned against using it to malign the entire Bengali-speaking community, emphasizing the importance of nuance and restraint. Meanwhile, Gunakanta Gogoi of the Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad Assam (TAYPA) took a more hardline stance, accusing the All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) of working against Assamese interests and even going so far as to suggest that those unwilling to assimilate with Assamese culture should “settle elsewhere.” In an attempt to de-escalate tensions, ABMSU President Taison Hussain issued a statement clarifying that Ali’s remarks were made in a personal capacity and do not reflect the organisation’s official position, reaffirming ABMSU’s respect for the Assamese language and its longstanding commitment to peaceful coexistence.
Context: Rising Tensions Amid Evictions and Identity Politics
Assam has seen a fresh wave of eviction drives targeting “encroached government land.” These have intensified anxieties around land, ethnicity, and identity, especially in regions with sizable Bengali-speaking Muslim populations.
The state has a fraught history of citizenship verification, most infamously during the NRC exercise, which excluded nearly 19 lakh residents — many of them Bengali-speaking.
CM Sarma’s remark appears to be an attempt to politically mobilize Assamese sentiment, but it runs counter to constitutional protections and the Supreme Court’s recent directions. As Assam prepares for upcoming elections, the ECI will face pressure to uphold neutrality and ensure that voter roll revisions remain fair, inclusive, and free from linguistic or communal bias.
The Bihar verdict is likely to be invoked by rights groups to push back against any future attempt in Assam to link language with legality, and the ECI may now have to issue clarifications to prevent misinterpretation of its role.
