Hindu population in Assam is declining, says CM Himanta Sarma

Kamrup (Assam) [India], August 10 (ANI): Amid the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has expressed concern about the declining Hindu population in Assam and Bangladesh. He also mentioned that a similar situation is expected in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

He mentioned that official census data up to 2011 from both Assam and Bangladesh show a demographic shift. He added that the census report said that in Assam, the Hindu population declined by 9.23 per cent from 1951 to 2011, and in Bangladesh, it declined by 13.5 per cent.

“Official census data up to 2011 of both places (Assam and Bangladesh) demonstrate a demographic shift. The situation in West Bengal and Jharkhand is expected to be similar. The census report said that, in Assam, from 1951 to 2011 Hindu population has declined 9.23 per cent and in Bangladesh, it declined by 13.5 per cent,” CM Sarma said.

The Dailystar reported that a group of local Madrasa students removed the nameplate of the “Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway”, commonly known as the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway in Bangladesh’s Munshiganj, with a banner reading “Father of the Nation Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) Expressway.”

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina, 5, tendering her resignation from her post on August 5 in the wake of mounting protests.

The protests, led majorly by students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs, took the shape of anti-government protests.

Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on August 8 night, three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned from the position of Prime Minister and left the country amid widespread unrest.

Seventeen members of Bangladesh’s interim government took their oath at a ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday. Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the country’s chief advisor.

Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief advisor, which is the equivalent to a Prime Minister.