Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday warned that unchecked illegal immigration from Bangladesh poses a serious demographic and security challenge, claiming Assam could face grave territorial implications if the trend continues.
Speaking to reporters after an official engagement, Sarma said people of Bangladeshi origin account for nearly 40 per cent of Assam’s population and cautioned that any further increase could alter the state’s political and geographical realities.
“If this figure rises by another 10 per cent, Assam could automatically be absorbed. I have been flagging this issue consistently for the past five years,” he said.
The chief minister made the remarks while reacting to recent comments by Hasnat Abdullah, a leader of Bangladesh’s newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), who reportedly suggested isolating India’s northeastern states and backing separatist forces if New Delhi attempted to destabilise Bangladesh.
Abdullah had also described the Northeast as strategically vulnerable due to its reliance on the narrow Siliguri Corridor, commonly known as the Chicken’s Neck, which links the region to the rest of India.
Sarma reiterated that demographic changes driven by illegal immigration have direct implications for Assam’s identity, political stability and national security, stressing the need for stringent measures to safeguard the state’s constitutional and territorial integrity.