Deport foreigners but stop harassing Indians, says Jamiat chief on Assam evictions

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) president Maulana Mahmood Madani said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government should deport identified foreigners and not harass genuine citizens in the name of eviction.

He told journalists in Guwahati on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) that the ongoing drive to free government lands of encroachment in Assam was targeted at a community. He also sniffed a design to retain power by dividing people on religious lines.

“A section of people is being called ‘Miya,’ ‘unknown,’ and ‘doubtful’. Derogatory words are being used for them. This is more painful than the barbaric manner in which the eviction is being carried out,” Mr. Madani said.

“There is a way of clearing doubts about people said to be doubtful citizens. We are not opposing the deportation of foreigners. We cannot tolerate foreigners staying here,” he said.

Rehab plan

The JUH president, however, said the government should stop harassing genuine Indian citizens. “If such people are evicted, the government should come out with a rehabilitation plan, as sought by the Supreme Court in several cases.

Mr. Madani had led a seven-member JUH delegation to the Goalpara district on Monday (September 1, 2025) to meet the evicted people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims. Local authorities carried out an anti-encroachment drive in the district’s Paikan Reserve Forest to evict more than 1,000 families.

Reacting to the Jamiat president’s visits, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threatened the Jamiat chief with arrest if he crossed the limits.

“Madani has power when the Congress rules. He has no power when the BJP is at the helm. He will be arrested if he crosses the limits,” he said.

He vowed to evict “strangers” found to have occupied lands in forests, village grazing reserves, and professional grazing reserves.

The All Assam Students’ Union, which spearheaded a violent movement demanding the ejection of foreigners staying illegally in the State, slammed Mr. Madani for allegedly protecting illegal Bangladeshi migrants and fundamentalists.

“Madani is known to be anti-national. The government should take strong action against those working in favour of illegal Bangladeshi nationals and fundamentalists, and against the nation,” the union’s adviser, Samujjwal K. Bhattacharya, said.

The union had earlier slammed Syeda Hameed, a Delhi-based activist and former Planning Commission member, for stating that Bangladeshi nationals have the right to stay in Assam.