Assamese-speaking population drops from 59% to 46% in five decades; experts weigh in

Guwahati, Oct 29: Dwindling percentage of Assamese speaking population in Assam has become a matter of serious concern, and if this trend continues, Assamese people will soon become minorities in their own State.

The percentage of the Assamese-speaking population in Assam in 1971 was 59.53, and it decreased to 48.38 in the 2011 census. Though no census was held in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, according to an estimate, the percentage came down to little more than 46 percent in that year.

When contacted by The Assam Tribune to comment on the issue, former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, Dr Dhrubajyoti Bora, said that Assamese-speaking people have already become minorities in their own State. He pointed out that the states were created on the basis of language, and Assamese is still the medium of instruction in the Brahmaputra Valley, while some private Assamese medium schools have also come up.

“But the problem is how to determine who is an Assamese? When I was the president of the Sabha, we gave a proposal that the persons who use Assamese as their first, second, or even third language should be treated as Assamese. For example, the tribal people in Assam use their own language as their first language and Assamese as their second language,” Dr Bora added.

Dr Bora further said that no one can be forced to use another language, but efforts should be made to stimulate all people of Assam to use Assamese as their second or third language. He said that the narrow-minded approach should be avoided and Government should declare an official policy in this regard.

On the other hand, the president of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Utpal Sarma, said that the percentage of Assamese-speaking people is dwindling because of infiltration from Bangladesh and population explosion among a particular community. He demanded that the Constitution of India should be amended to give constitutional protection to the Assamese language.

The AASU president also demanded that infiltration from Bangladesh should be stopped by completely sealing the international border, and the illegal migrants staying in Assam should be detected and deported. He also suggested that the Government should bring a strong population control law to protect Assamese people from being reduced to minorities in their own land.