The recent eviction drive in Assam targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims has exacerbated the ethnic divide in India. Nationalist groups and government authorities have initiated the selective campaign. According to reports, the eviction drive has impacted approximately 350 families living in the reserve forest area of Golaghat District.
Assam has forced more than 5300 Bengali-speaking Muslim families out of their homes since June. These evictions appear to be influenced by political and economic goals linked to rising nationalist sentiments. Crony capitalism is another factor behind it, as in Dhubri District, around 1,200 families from the villages of Chirakuta, Charuabakhra, and Sonteshpur were removed from their homes to clear land for a planned Adani thermal power plant.
The campaign has been justified by propagating false narratives and rhetoric, such as Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, labelling them as illegal immigrants or suspected Bangladeshis. Such statements provoke the ethnonationalist organisation, and some people volunteer for the eviction.
The ground reality has been further exposed by the delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey. The delegation toured three districts in Assam: Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur. From 2 to 4 September 2025, a team visited families hit by recent demolitions in Assam. They found many Bengali-speaking Muslims forced to leave their homes, even though they had valid ID papers like Aadhaar, voter cards, ration cards, PAN cards, and National Register of Citizens (NRC) certificates.
The team noticed that Bengali-speaking Muslims, often called Miya Muslims, were being removed from their homes again and again, even though they are listed in the NRC. The Socialist Party said these actions were meant to create division before the upcoming elections.
These expelled residents have charged the state government with discrimination and selective targeting of them as per their religion and ethnic identity, indicating that although the Bengali-speaking Muslims are evicted, the non-Muslim residents with similar situations are not treated the same.
Organised violence and hate speech campaigns at the rallies and protests all over Assam have also been reported, and the slogans have been directed against Bengali Muslims, who are being expelled. It appears that Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam are facing a coordinated campaign, driven by a combination of government agencies, Hindu nationalist groups, and local Assamese ethnonationalist parties, which portrays them as a threat to Assamese culture and security. This campaign is held in the context of political struggle and social instability ahead of the upcoming elections, during which ethnic and religious tensions are heightened.
Opposition parties and human rights groups have widely condemned the eviction drive; the people were not migrants but indigenous people and were actively participating in the state economy. Their local identity is sabotaged by vigilantism by nationalist organisations. For that matter, the residents of Assam blame the government for failing to uphold the tenets of fundamental rights and the Constitution.
The ongoing crises have further worsened the demographic sensitivity. The campaign is an attempt to curtail the indigenous identity of the Assamese population, and the migration has sparked fears of cultural erosion, which will indeed create a rift in the ethnographic facade of India. Furthermore, I have creativity insecurity among the Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, as many of them worry about their legal status and about the NRC policies.
Though a minimum of 50,000 has been given to each family, this cannot compensate for the loss of Assam’s people. Ethnic targeting has elevated the tensions; it will fuel division as the communities are still struggling to find a place for themselves. If these grievances are left unaddressed, these tensions could escalate into a larger conflict.
The need of the hour is to promote constructive dialogue and to involve all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process. On the other hand, campaigns that promote crony capitalism and are fueled by nationalist sentiments will likely worsen the situation and erode the diverse fabric of Indian society.
