'Muslims of India Are Indians Too': NCP Chief Nahid Islam Condemns Assam Evictions, Urges Global Action

 

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam has strongly condemned the recent demolition of over 1,100 Bengali Muslim homes and more than 10 mosques in Assam, India, calling on the international community to intervene.

In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday night, Nahid expressed deep concern over the two-day eviction drive in the Nagaon, Hojai, and Golaghat districts, which left thousands displaced.

While Indian authorities justified the operation as a measure to reclaim forest land from "encroachers," residents and rights groups have contested the claims, noting that many families have lived on the land since before India's independence and were settled there by the state in the 1970s.

Nahid drew a direct parallel between the Assam demolitions and the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, stating that religious minorities in India, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and lower-caste Hindus, are inadequately protected under the current government. His statement aligns with a January 2026 report from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which expressed serious concern over the systematic forced evictions of Bengali-speaking Muslims in the region.

In his post, Nahid Islam wrote:

I express my deep concern and strongly condemn the recent demolition of more than 1,100 Bengali Muslim homes in Assam, India. The demolition drive also reportedly destroyed more than 10 mosques, some of which had stood for over 50 years.

While the authorities have justified these actions as an effort to reclaim government and forest land from alleged 'encroachers,' Indian media reports indicate that many affected families have deep-rooted ties to the region, having lived on these lands since long before India's independence.

Instead of ensuring adequate resettlement and rehabilitation, the authorities have left many families displaced and vulnerable, with some reportedly placed in detention centres.

This latest operation is part of a disturbing pattern of discrimination and persecution of Bengali Muslims in India, fuelled by Hindutva-driven politics. Approximately 19,000 families have reportedly been displaced over the past decade.

For years, Bengali Muslims in India have faced crackdowns, forced push-ins and exclusion from voter lists.

These actions suggest that the current government is pursuing a targeted agenda against Muslim minorities and actively enforcing measures that threaten their rights and security.

This evokes the unlawful demolition of the historic Babri Masjid in 1992, an event that remains an enduring symbol of religious intolerance and communal division.

Under Hindutva fascism, India has categorically failed to protect its minority communities, including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, as well as lower-caste Hindus.

I call upon the international community to take immediate cognizance of the systematic persecution of Muslims by the Indian authorities.

The Indian government must be held accountable for these serious human rights violations and infringements on religious freedom. It must uphold the principles of justice and equality for every Indian citizen, regardless of caste, religion or cultural identity.

Muslims of India are Indians too.

The NCP chief concluded by urging the Indian government to uphold justice and equality for all citizens, irrespective of caste, religion, or cultural identity.