Muslim Belonging in Assam: History, Politics and the Future

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6 Scopus citations

Abstract

How did the Muslims of Assam become outsiders in Assam? This essay attempts to answer this question by probing the colonial and post-colonial history of categorising people that has located Muslims outside the category of ‘Assamese’. The political effort to make the Assamese into a homogenous Hindu group undoes the xanmiholi or blended humanity of Assam. By focusing on two Muslim communities—the Goriyas or Assamese Muslims and the Miyas or Muslims of East Bengali origin—this essay explores the project of making Muslims outsiders in Assam. Finally, the essay examines the inclusion of the transplanted tea-tribe communities as a possible resolution to the Muslim situation in Assam.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)868-887
Number of pages20
JournalSouth Asia: Journal of South Asia Studies
Volume44
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Assam
  • CAA
  • Goriya
  • Hindus
  • Hindutva
  • Miya
  • Muslims
  • exclusion
  • xanmiholi

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • History
  • Development
  • Sociology and Political Science

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