A video posted on the Assam BJP unit’s official X handle on Saturday shows Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma symbolically shooting at Muslims at point-blank range, with captions such as “point blank shoot,” intensifying the hate campaign against Bengali-origin Muslims, led by the Chief Minister himself.
The video was widely condemned.
The video shows the Assam Chief Minister using rifles, appearing to be original footage, while point-blank shots are depicted through AI-generated images of Muslims.
The text displayed in the video reads: “foreigner free Assam,” “No mercy,” “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” and “There is no forgiveness to Bangladeshis,” among other phrases.
The video soon attracted massive criticism.
“Shameful. Whoever has made this ad needs to be IMMEDIATELY arrested,” said Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose.
Journalist Rana Ayyub posted: “Hate to amplify this but just exposes the depravity from the top. BJP twitter handle shares a meme of Himanta Biswa firing a bullet at Muslims while Prime Minister Modi talks about a grand reception in muslim majority, Malaysia.”
“The ruling party of this country – and Assam – has no qualm in openly making and sharing such videos of killing ‘Miya,’” said journalist M Reyaz.
The Chief Minister has faced criticism in recent weeks over what rights activists, Opposition leaders and Muslim community leaders describe as “hateful and divisive” rhetoric. At a recent event in Digboi, he said that during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he intended to “make the Miya people suffer.” He also urged people to “trouble” them, suggesting at one point that if a rickshaw fare is ₹5, one should pay ₹4.
In Assam, Muslims, particularly Bengali-origin Muslims, remain among the most socio-economically marginalised communities and are often portrayed as “outsiders” or “illegal immigrants.”
Rights activist Harsh Mander has filed a police complaint accusing the Chief Minister of hate speech against Bengali-origin Muslims, arguing that such rhetoric threatens constitutional principles and minority rights in the state.
On the other hand, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has approached the Supreme Court against these speeches made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, alleging that the statements are openly communal, unconstitutional, and amount to hate speech by a person holding a high constitutional office.
“The Chief Minister of Assam is of the BJP. Can any Chief Minister say something like this: ‘If there’s a ‘Miya’ driver in the auto-rickshaw, and the bill is five rupees, then you give him four rupees’? In Assam, ‘Miya’ refers to Muslims who were brought there by the British 150–200 years ago to cultivate land and work. They are citizens of India. They speak Bengali. How small are you, the Chief Minister of Assam?” asked Asaduddin Owaisi MP.
