Written by Manoj Kumar Ojha
Guwahati: A sharp political exchange erupted on social media on Saturday morning between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over language rights, infiltration, and identity in Assam.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The controversy began with a strongly-worded post by Mamata Banerjee on X (formerly Twitter), accusing the BJP-led Assam government of discriminating against Bangla-speaking citizens in the state.
Mamata Banerjee took to X to express her solidarity with those who are allegedly being threatened for upholding their mother tongue—Bangla. Emphasizing that Bangla is the second most spoken language in both India and Assam, she called out what she termed an unconstitutional suppression of linguistic identity.
She wrote: “The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional.”
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Calling out the BJP, she added: “This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights.”
Within hours, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded to Banerjee’s remarks with an equally strong rebuttal, asserting that the state’s actions are aimed at protecting its demographic and cultural integrity, not targeting linguistic communities.
Sarma replied on X: “Didi, let me remind you—In Assam, we are not fighting our own people. We are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land.”
He also referred to a Supreme Court observation on infiltration, calling it “external aggression” and said such infiltration must be tackled decisively. He further accused Banerjee of politicizing the issue.
“This is not a political narrative—it’s a reality. Even the Supreme Court of India has termed such infiltration as external aggression. And yet, when we rise to defend our land, culture, and identity, you choose to politicize it.”
Reaffirming Assam’s Linguistic Harmony
Sarma dismissed allegations of linguistic discrimination and reaffirmed Assam’s legacy of peaceful coexistence among diverse communities and languages.
“We do not divide people by language or religion. Assamese, Bangla, Bodo, Hindi—all languages and communities have coexisted here. But no civilisation can survive if it refuses to protect its borders and its cultural foundation.”
A Political War of Narratives
In a blistering attack, Sarma accused Banerjee of compromising West Bengal’s future by encouraging illegal encroachment and appeasing a particular religious community for electoral gain.
“While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam’s identity, you, Didi, have compromised Bengal’s future—encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity—all just to stay in power.”
The exchange marks a deepening political rift between the two states’ leadership, with Banerjee focusing on linguistic and democratic rights, and Sarma framing the issue as one of demographic security and cultural preservation.
As the discourse sharpens, the people of Assam—especially Bangla-speaking communities—now find themselves at the center of a heated national debate over identity, migration, and coexistence.