After the All Assam Miya Parishad opened a privately owned Miya museum in Goalpara district last week, a controversy has arisen. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) bungalow, which the state government claims was not designated for use as a museum, has been sealed off.
Mohor Ali, the parishad's chief, and Abdul Baten, another leader, were detained in connection with a case brought in the Nalbari district regarding their alleged connections to an Al Qaeda module. Tanu Dhadumia, another attendee at the contentious museum's opening, is also being held in connection with the same case. Dhadumia is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, however that party has disassociated itself from the controversy.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, has questioned how the fictitious museum was financed.
The museum issue is significant since the Bengali-speaking Muslims, who are often accused of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, are referred to as "Miya" in Assam in a pejorative way. They comprise 30 percent of the 3.12 crore population of Assam. In the last assembly election, the BJP's main campaign was to protect the "bumiputras" of Assam against illegal immigrants.
After Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma broke his silence about the museum, which was opened on Sunday by the All Assam Miya Parishad, the government took action today against the controversial Miya museum.
"From where they got the money to do this [set up museum], the police will investigate. It is time for the Assamese people or people of Indian origin to think. There will be a case in this regard," Mr Sarma told reporters in Guwahati.
"How come nangol [a tool used to plough land] be exclusive to Miya museum when agriculturists in Sibsagar also use the same to plough their land? These people will have to explain to the expert committee. The tool to keep fish is not exclusive to them. Except lungi (a type of sarong), which is exclusive to them, there is nothing in the museum which they can claim to be theirs," Mr Sarma said.
"Even the gamosa (scarf) which they displayed there belongs to desi Muslims. These people have even set up a Miya school. One year back when I spoke on this a section of people and intellectuals were accusing me of being communal," Mr Sarma said.
A suggestion from former Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed to open a Miya Museum in Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in 2020 was rejected by Mr. Sarma.
The sealing notice outside the museum states, "As per Direction of DC Goalpara this is PMAY-G house of Mohar Ali S/o Somesh Ali is hereby sealed unit further order."
The beneficiary, Mohor Ali, said he does cultural research in one of the rooms. "The government has any objection and they can seize the items. But I am sad, they have made me homeless. I opened the museum here; the government had allocated me this house as I was in BPL (below poverty line). This is an injustice and I request the Chief Minister to help," Mr Ali said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, was the subject of a poem written by ten people that claimed Muslims were being targeted. The Assam Police visited many social media networks to confirm the poem's validity in July 2019. Poetry written in the Miya dialect, which has roots in Bangladesh, is based on this dialect.
