16 FIRs filed against Syeda Hameed in Assam over Bangladesh remarks
text_fields
Assam: Sixteen FIRs have been registered against activist and former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed across 16 districts of Assam following her controversial remarks on Assamese Muslims and Bangladeshis in India.
According to a report by Muslim Mirror, the FIRs were lodged after Hameed’s statement at an event on August 24, where she said, “If Bangladeshis live in Assam, then what is the problem?” The remark triggered protests from regional groups, who accused her of insulting Assamese identity and attempting to incite communal tensions. Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) spokesperson Jiyaur Rahman confirmed the complaints, stating, “We are demanding her arrest for her anti-Assam and communal statements. Our workers will continue to file complaints in various police stations.”
On August 26, Hindu Sena workers staged a protest against Hameed at the Constitutional Club of Delhi, where she was attending a seminar titled The State of the Nation with Special Reference to Assam, organised by Asom Nagarik Sanmilan. Protesters carried placards with slogans such as, “Hemant ji ka ik hi sapna, ghuspaithiyon se mukt ho Assam apna” and “Assam ki sanskriti, Assam ka shaan, nahi hone denge koi nuksaan.”
A video clip from the seminar, which has since circulated online, shows Hameed voicing concern over the treatment of Muslims in Assam, who she said are often labelled as Bangladeshis. She was heard saying, “What is the crime in being a Bangladeshi? Bangladeshis are also humans. The world is so big. Bangladeshis can also live here, they are not depriving anyone of their rights.”
Hameed further remarked that the world was created for humans, not for “monsters,” and questioned why people should be uprooted, apparently referring to the Assam administration’s anti-encroachment drives against illegal Bangladeshis.
Reacting sharply, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condemned Hameed’s remarks, arguing that such statements legitimise infiltrators and seek to “realise Jinnah’s dream of making Assam a part of Pakistan.”
