After NRC, Muslims in Assam now more secure: Himanta

Himanta Biswa Sarma, Minister for Finance, PWD and Health of Assam, India, on Tuesday said the Muslim people of Assam were now feeling more secure following the NRC as it (NRC) had given them legality to live in Assam.
They can now live in safe and secure manner with dignity, he said.
"It has been said that as many as 4 million people - many of them Muslims - may lose their Indian citizenship but the reality is the refugee Hindus do not have any documents but the Muslims have collected all the required documents," he said.
Now, they are getting Indian citizenship by showing these documents. Their names also appeared in the NRC...so NRC secured the Muslim people mostly in Assam," Himanta told the Daily observer at Cox's Bazar.
Himanta on Tuesday visited Cox's Bazar to take part at a two-day Bangladesh-India Friendship Dialogue.
"Now they (Muslims) are asking for gazette notification; this is the scenario of Assam; yes, some tension and uncertainty is there but it is not based on religion; both Hindu and Muslims are facing the same hurdle and anxious as far as the NRC is concerned," the Assam Minister said.
The updating of the NRC has become a hugely vexed issue in Assam where political parties have claimed the state's demography was getting changed because of illegal immigration from Bangladesh. The NRC has also created a linguistic divide in Assam, which always considered Bengali language a threat to Assamese identity.
The indigenous people of Assam have always viewed Bengali-speaking people with suspicion, whether Hindus or Muslims, and linked them to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
"Now this is very, very surprising because we had the impression that only suspected illegal Muslim immigrants were indulging in wrongdoing," he added.
"Our government repeatedly said that NRC is an internal issue of India, as there is nothing to be worried of any neighboring countries about the NRC; absolutely it is our internal issue and it is a fair step of the government to make a database of our people," Himanto said.
He said the people living in the Northeast (NE) part of India have a warm historical relation with Bangladesh for ages despite many odds. Nowadays we want to grow together to achieve economic emancipation, Himanta said.
NE people have huge land but we are landlocked. "We thanked Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to allow us to give some space for the NE people of India."
"Now we could enhance our business and trade both in public and private sector through taking some easy steps and regulation to materialize the plan," Himanto said.
Himanto is an Indian politician who has been serving as an MLA from Jalukbari constituency in Assam from 2001 till 2015 from Indian National Congress and from May 2016 as a Bharatiya Janata Party member.
He joined Bharatiya Janata Party in August 2015.
The BJP leadership appointed him the convener of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) of which the main objective is an all-round development of the North East and better coordination among the states and centre.
He said following the visit of Indian Prime Minister Norendra Modi and Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and India both the countries are now enjoying a solid relationship based on mutual respect and trust that set to push the two countries to grow together economically and socially.
He said they wanted to see Bangladesh as the 'gateway' to Indian landlocked seven sister states.
Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has extended her support to the landlocked north East part of India and now the private entrepreneurs' should come up to tap the benefit and opportunities of the business and trade there," Hemanto said.
Things are going to change. "We had several meetings with Bangladesh's Chambers and accommodated our entrepreneurs' into the meeting. Meghalaya and Tripura governments are also working the same way �.we are thinking about going ahead with the BBIN or BIN as soon as possible," he said.
He urged the Bangladesh's people to uphold the spirit of secularism which was the pride of Bangladesh.
"We are waiting for the crucial Babri mosque-Ram temple ruling. We urged all to be patient and abide by the law," he said.