In Assam’s Mankachar, BJP’s infiltrator rhetoric causes hurt amidst geographical isolation, joblessness, and trouble with neighbouring Meghalaya
It is a sunny, calm afternoon in Mankachar town of South Salmara-Mankachar district, located at the southwesternmost tip of Assam. A group of traders sat near a tea shop opposite wall graffiti of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg, while the more religious population of the city center prepared to close their shops and head to the mosque for afternoon prayers.
With over 95% of the district’s population practicing Islam, around 4.15 lakh voters in the district were electing two legislators, one from South Salmara and the other from Mankachar, by the 2021 Assembly elections in the state. But when the State goes to the polls on April 9, voters there will choose a candidate to represent them; This is a result of the 2023 delimitation exercise in Assam, which saw the two constituencies merged into a single constituency called Mankachar.
The district, which has elected a combination of MLAs from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the Indian National Congress for at least the last decade, is now set to see a contest between the AIUDF, the Congress and its Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) for the sole seat in the Assam legislative Assembly.
Residents who identify as Khilonjia (indigenous) Muslims, settled here in 1951 or earlier and registered in the 1951 National Register of Citizens, cite the lack of roads, healthcare and jobs even as they find themselves pondering how to respond to the ruling BJP’s “anti-Miya” and “anti-Miya” sentiment.GuspaithiyaWhile some residents say the pain caused by this rhetoric will turn into an even fight between the Congress and the AIUDF, others rationalize the pain as part of the insults Muslims have always faced in Assam.
The region is bounded to the west by the international border with Bangladesh and to the north by the wide area of the lower Brahmaputra, from which lies Dhubri and the rest of Assam. To the east lies the State of Meghalaya, which acts as a hub for much of the region’s trade. The only highway connecting the region to the rest of Assam is through Meghalaya, and the boat ride to Dhubri takes about three-four hours.
At a meeting of traders in the town centre, 60-year-old Zakiul Islam paints a bleak picture. “What have we got in the last ten or twenty years? There is no development; the roads are the same, we have to travel for hours for something as simple as an
In neighboring Meghalaya, escalating communal violence between Garo tribal communities and Bengali-speaking Muslims in the West Garo Hills in the last few months has further escalated tensions between Assam and Meghalaya, which are already in dispute over the State border. “I don’t know whether it is because we are Muslims or because we speak Bengali. But none of us could go to our regular markets in Meghalaya’s Tura district or outside for business,” said Abdul Wahid, a 49-year-old cloth merchant.
A few hundred meters away, Mohammed Abdul Hussain (59) lives in his market. “I am an Indian citizen, right? When the CM starts speaking this language, it will only hurt his party’s ally in this region. At the end of the day, this is all just politics. Politicians will fight among themselves and we will remain as we are with nothing changing,” Mr. Hussain said.
Ruling BJP’s ally AGP is contesting the Mankachar seat with Zabed Islam as its candidate. He is pitted against Mohibur Rohman of the Indian National Congress and Abdul Salam Shah of the AIUDF. Although both Mr Islam and Mr Rohman had previously been MPs from this constituency, Mr Shah has not and is replacing AIUDF’s incumbent MLA, Aminul Islam, who made a series of party changes just ahead of the elections before settling with the Congress.
AIUDF’s selection of Mr Shah, who contested as a BJP candidate in 2016, comes even though the party has a history of sending party president Badruddin Ajmal and his son Abdur Rehman Ajmal to the Assembly from here.
Mr Zakiul Islam, who trades dry fruits and betel nuts near his tea shop in the city centre, speaks highly of Zabed Islam and his parents, both of whom have represented Mankachar in the Assam Assembly for many terms. “Of course, we feel hurt when we hear the CM talking like this. It all started with Hindu-Muslim politics, then Himanta’s (Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma) anti-Miya speeches and now the central leadership of the BJP is putting pressure. Guspaithiya language. So what do we do? Now ruling party leaders are visiting us and promising peace in Meghalaya and the roads. I don’t believe them. But what I believe in is Zabed Islam,” said Mr. Zakiul Islam.
Continuing Mr. Islam’s remarks, Mr. Wahid said, “We do not know how to explain the lack of development in our region over the decades. This is because the MLAs are apathetic or incompetent, are in Opposition parties or have won as independent candidates.”
“But what I know is that every person in our town who works in the government, works in Anganwadis or works as an ASHA worker got these jobs because Zabed Islam’s parents guaranteed them,” Mr. Zakiul Islam said.
It was published – 07 April 2026 08:13 IST
