Since early June, the northeastern state of Assam has witnessed a sharp and deeply concerning escalation in hate speech, targeted harassment, violence, and state-led evictions against ethnic Bengali Muslims, under the campaign to remove “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.”
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has played a central role in legitimizing this campaign. In a press briefing on May 28, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a new scheme to issue arms licenses to indigenous residents of “vulnerable and remote areas,” particularly those living along the Bangladesh border. He specifically named five districts with significant Muslim populations as the initial focus areas, stating that the initiative was intended to “tackle unlawful threats from hostile quarters.”
In a public speech delivered on June 9, Sarma claimed that “newly arrived” Muslims have weaponized the consumption of beef and the call to prayer as tactics to drive out local Hindus. On July 21, at a state event in Darrang, he referred to ethnic Bengali Muslims as “suspected Bangladeshis,” dismissed slogans of communal harmony as naive, and claimed that reclaimed land from Muslims was being put to better use. Responding to a question about whether this situation might turn violent, Sarma chillingly replied that he wanted the “situation in Assam to be explosive,“ adding that Assamese people could only survive if armed. This rhetoric was repeated by the local ethnonationalist organization, Bir Lachit Sena, whose chief Shrinkhal Chaliha stated that his group would carry out evictions themselves if the police failed to act.
This campaign against Bengali-speaking Muslims branded “illegal infiltrators” from Bangladeshis is being driven by the state machinery, Hindu nationalist groups, and local ethno-nationalist organizations. Critics view it as a distraction from the ‘Gir Cow Scam’ — a controversy involving allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and favoritism in a government-backed dairy initiative under the Gorukhuti Bahumukhi Krishi Prakalpa (GBKP), which implicates BJP ministers and has sparked protests across the state. The state is also scheduled to go to polls in 2026.
Between July 9 and July 30, India Hate Lab (IHL) has documented 18 rallies and protests across 14 districts in Assam. These events, many organized or supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders or supporters, featured hate-filled speeches, celebrations of violent evictions, and calls for further demolitions of alleged “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” homes and businesses. In many instances, demonstrators carried symbolic bulldozers, glorifying state violence as a patriotic act.
In Jonai, Golaghat, Hajo, Jorhat, and Kamrup, slogans such as “Bangladeshis go back” and “evict Miyas” were raised repeatedly. BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Rupjyoti Kurmi from Mariani, Jorhat referred to Bengali Muslims as “suspected citizens,” accused them of attempting to destabilize Assam, and claimed they were conspiring to alter the “geographical and political situation” by marrying “more than ten women.” Assam cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, whose firm is named in the ‘Gir Cow Scam’, compared those opposing the evictions to the Muslim League, declaring that the evictions would continue. He claimed that those actively opposing on social media could be identified by their titles, alleging them to be Bangladeshis. In multiple locations, groups demanded that Muslims allegedly evicted in recent drives be denied shelter or resettlement in surrounding areas.
Hate speech across these events and social media platforms relied heavily on harmful language. ethnic Bengali Muslims were repeatedly referred to as “Bangladeshis,” “encroachers,” “illegal infiltrators,” and “Miyas.” The term “Miya” is used pejoratively and often as a slur. The target community members were accused of “weaponizing” beef consumption, polluting Hindu areas, and threatening Assamese identity. These labels served as a justification for violence, exclusion, and dispossession.
India Hate Lab also documented nine cases of targeted violence and harassment between July 19 and July 30. In Chapaidang, Muslim workers were physically attacked and their homes vandalized after being accused of harboring evictees. In Kaliabor, members of the Assamese ethno-nationalist group Bir Lachit Sena stopped Muslim families from settling with relatives. In Mariani, the group conducted door-to-door ID checks of ethnic Bengali Muslims, ordering that documents be submitted to the police within two days. In Dergaon, Golaghat, the Hindu nationalist group Sachetan Yuva Mancha pressured a landlord to expel his Muslim tenants, claiming such evictions were in line with the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s vision.
Over the past month, five major demolition and eviction drives have been conducted, displacing thousands of Bengali-origin Muslim families. In Dhubri alone, over 1,600 families were evicted on July 8 to make way for Adani Group’s thermal power project. In Goalpara, on July 12, more than 1,000 homes and a mosque were razed, followed by police firing on protesters resisting the eviction on July 17, which left one dead and several injured. On July 26, structures including a mosque were demolished in Dima Hasao under the pretext of clearing forest land. On July 29, in Uriamghat, over 250 homes were torn down, with Muslim victims alleging that only their community had been targeted.
Many of the rallies, assaults, and demolitions were livestreamed or uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, and X, rapidly spreading hatred and reinforcing the false narrative of a state under siege by “illegal infiltrators.” India Hate Lab’s review of dozens of these videos confirms that digital platforms played a key role in amplifying this campaign, while failing to take any action against content that clearly violates platform’s hate speech and incitement policies.
Recommendations
- The state authorities in Assam should immediately halt all eviction and demolition drives targeting ethnic Bengali Muslim communities and ensure due process and rehabilitation for all those evicted as well as hold accountable state officials and political leaders who incite hate or enable communal violence through speech or action.
- The National Human Rights Commission should launch a fact-finding mission into human rights violations related to demolitions, hate speech, and displacement.
- The Election Commission of India should investigate the politicization of evictions and hate speech during the pre-election period in Assam.
- The local authorities in Assam should protect minority communities from vigilante groups such as Bir Lachit Sena and Sachetan Yuva Mancha through effective policing and prosecutions.
- Indian courts should take suo moto cognizance of mass evictions and hate mobilizations to ensure safety and security of minorities in Assam
- Social media platforms like Meta, X, YouTube, Telegram should Immediately remove or downrank content that glorifies evictions or promotes hate speech targeting ethnic Bengali Muslims.
- Platforms should strengthen moderation of regional language content, particularly in Assamese, and Bengali to detect and remove violent extremist content.
- Platforms should label and demote state-sponsored hate content and livestreams that glorify demolitions or include harmful speech targeting minorities in Assam.
- Platforms should work with civil society partners to build early warning systems and flag hate campaigns that may lead to offline violence.
This report is part of India Hate Lab’s Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) initiative. India Hate Lab is a project of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH).
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