A group of retired civil servants and former diplomats has urged India’s Supreme Court and President Droupadi Murmu to intervene over recent remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about Bengali Muslims, saying the comments violate constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.
In an open letter released on Friday, the Constitutional Conduct Group said Sarma’s statements breached Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which ensure equality before the law and prohibit discrimination on grounds including religion.
Over the past two weeks, Sarma has made a series of remarks referring to Bengali Muslims in Assam, at one point saying it was his job to “make them suffer”.
The group said Sarma had described all Bengali Muslims in the state as “Miyas” – a term widely regarded as derogatory in Assam – and accused them of being Bangladeshis with no right to live in the state or in India.
“Such statements amount to a call for public harassment of an entire community,” the letter said, adding that the chief minister had assured people that the police would protect them if they troubled Bengali Muslims.
On January 27, Sarma said he was encouraging people to “keep giving troubles” to Miyas, citing examples such as underpaying rickshaw fares. The same day, he said four lakh to five lakh voters identified as “Miyas” would be removed during a special revision of electoral rolls and that arrangements had been made to prevent them from voting.
The Election Commission has said Assam is not among the states undergoing a special intensive revision of voter rolls, though routine updates are under way.
A day later, Sarma said workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party had filed more than five lakh complaints against suspected foreigners during the revision process.
The retired officials said most residents of Assam were aware that all Bengali Muslims in the state were not undocumented migrants, but warned that repeated allegations from a sitting chief minister could inflame tensions and lead to violence.
The group also criticised Sarma for saying he would file “at least 100 cases” against activist Harsh Mander, who had lodged a police complaint accusing the chief minister of hate speech.
The letter urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of Sarma’s remarks, and called on the president to advise both Sarma and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold their constitutional oaths.
Signatories include former Punjab police chief Julio Ribeiro, former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and former Indian ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya.