The Syed, Goriya, Moriya, Deshi, and Jolha subgroups of Assamese-speaking Muslims will now have indigenous status, according to the Assam Cabinet.
After chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said last month that the state government would take steps for distinct classification of indigenous minorities in the state, including Muslim communities, the action was taken to defend the interests of native Assamese Muslims.
It should be noted that the Cabinet’s decision came less than three months after the chief minister received the proposals from the seven subgroups/committees that had been established to lay out a plan for the general development of Assam’s indigenous minority.
The formation of the subcommittees on cultural identity, health, education, skill development, population stabilisation, financial inclusion, and women’s empowerment was a result of a meeting between the chief minister and more than 150 influential individuals from indigenous minority communities in various fields last year.
Following the Tuesday evening Cabinet meeting, Assam’s health minister, Keshab Kumar Mahanta, said that those who belong to these five Muslim communities will be classified as either indigenous Assamese Muslims or Assamese Muslim sub-groups.
