Mughal, Miya And Oxomiya

In Assam바카라�s history, the Mughals find reference mainly as the invading enemy바카라�pushed back 18 times, culminating in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat when the invaders were dealt the final humiliating defeat by the Ahom empire. The hero was Ahom general Lachit Barphukan, whose legend straddles history and folklore. Another soldier stood out in that victory바카라�Barphukan바카라�s lieutenant Bagh Hazarika aka Ismail Siddique, an Assamese Muslim who commanded 1,000 men. It was them and more before them who made certain that Mughal footprints on Assam were hardly any and for very brief periods. And that is the reason many in the state were left bemused when chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal claimed recently that 바카라�attacks of Mughals on Assam continues바카라� to this day.

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Grand conspiracy theories and even grander promises abound during elections. 바카라�But even I must say that this Mughal attack reference was a bit too much,바카라� says a BJP leader who doesn바카라�t wish to be named. 바카라�There is not a single Mughal monument in Assam. There is no reference to destruction of any Hindu places of worship by Mughals in our state unlike in other parts of the country. Which Mughal was he referring to?바카라� the leader questions. The BJP바카라�s rationale? 바카라�The reference to Mughals is not about any person but a mindset바카라�which is against India, against Assam,바카라� says state BJP spokesperson Ritu Baran Sarma.

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And the story of the BJP바카라�s tried-and-tested tactics of using polarisation as a tool begins. In 2016, when the party won for the first time in Assam, it scratched the old wound, 바카라�illegal immigration바카라�, and dangled the National Register of Citizens bait to woo the majority바카라�the Assamese-speaking voters. Five years later, and after the NRC revision didn바카라�t go the way it would have liked, the BJP has virtually dumped the issue of 바카라�illegal immigration바카라�. The final number of exclusions in the NRC바카라�just over 19 lakh바카라�was far less than the projected number of 바카라�Bangladeshis바카라� and it included many Hindus, whom the BJP had vowed to protect. It has also gone silent on the CAA, which sparked anger and violence across the state in 2020.

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But, facing stiff challenge from a Congress-led eight-party alliance that includes the AIUDF, the BJP has singled out perfume baron/MP Badruddin Ajmal as Enemy No. 1 of Assam. For the BJP, it바카라�s time to unroll the 바카라�Oxomiya versus Miya바카라� plank. In Assam, Miya is a derogatory reference to Bengali-speaking Muslims of East Pakistan/Bangladesh origin. Minister and BJP strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma says the 바카라�Miyas never tried to assimilate바카라� with the Assamese. The BJP is trying to portray Ajmal as the leader of the Miyas and, thus, against Assam바카라�s language and culture.

The Congress scoffs. 바카라�The BJP has no issues left now바카라�It cannot ask people to vote for the NRC, neither for CAA. Nothing to speak of development either. So it has gone back to polarising the elections. But it will not work this time. The people have seen through its agenda,바카라� says Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. The Congress-led alliance is banking heavily on anti-CAA anger and consolidation of Muslim votes against the BJP. The alliance is hoping that the combination of anti-BJP Hindu votes and the Muslim support to Ajmal바카라�s AIUDF will be enough to slice up the BJP바카라�s social engineering.

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If that바카라�s not enough, the party hopes that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka바카라�s visits to temples and naamghars바카라�Vaishnavite prayer halls바카라�would be enough to woo Hindu voters for whom religious identity is as important as their Assamese credentials.

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