Opposition Decries Assam Govt Scheme Giving Gun Licenses to Indigenous People in Six Districts

The Wire

2 days ago

New Delhi: In poll-bound Assam, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has announced that a special scheme has been cleared by the state cabinet whereby arms licenses will be handed over to 'original inhabitants' living in 'vulnerable and remote areas' and those along the border with Bangladesh as a 'deterrent to unlawful threats'.
Making that announcement at a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday (May 28) after a cabinet meeting, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma named six districts where the special scheme will apply.
Most of these districts, however, don't border Bangladesh, while all of them are predominantly Muslim.
'It's a very important and sensitive decision. Indigenous people in these districts live in an atmosphere of insecurity due to the recent developments in Bangladesh. They face the threat of attacks from the Bangladesh side and even in their own villages,' said Sarma.
Underlining the fact that assembly elections are slated for early next year in the northeastern state, where the ruling BJP has been successfully polarising voters on the issue of 'illegal immigrants from Bangladesh', a Deccan Herald news report noted that the
'BJP in Assam considers the Bengali-speaking Muslims as 'illegal migrants' from Bangladesh and a threat to identity and culture of the indigenous Assamese people. The decision comes amid a drive for detection of illegal migrants (mainly Bengali-speaking Muslims) and 'push back' policy adopted by the government for sending them back to Bangladesh.'
The news report quoted Sarma as saying that 'the indigenous people who are in a minority in these vulnerable areas face threats and are in a sense of insecurity. The decision was taken in view of long-standing demand by indigenous people in these areas. The government won't help them buy arms but will give them the license to procure them.'
Hinting at the former Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government, the chief minister also said , 'Had previous governments given them arms licences, many people would not have to sell their lands and leave the places. We could have saved a lot of lands from being occupied.'
The BJP government's decision has been widely criticised by the opposition parties in the state.
Newly named state Congress president and deputy leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, called it a 'dangerous step' backwards towards 'lawlessness and jungle raj'.
Asking Sarma to take the decision back immediately, Gogoi, who is increasingly being seen in the state as a formidable opponent to Sarma in the coming polls, said the chief minister should rather focus on restoring public trust through his leadership.
On X, Gogoi also said , 'I strongly condemn Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's decision to distribute arms to civilians in border regions of the state.'
He said the people of Assam deserve jobs, affordable healthcare and quality education, not guns.
Gogoi, an MP from the state's Jorhat constituency, said, 'Instead of strengthening police and border forces, the government is intent on distributing arms amongst BJP-RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] sympathisers and local criminal syndicates. This will lead to gang violence and crimes based on personal vendettas. Local businessmen and traders are bound to be harassed.'
Congress leader and former state pradesh Congress president Bhupen Borah asked , 'Are we trying to emulate the United States, where gun violence is rampant? Do we want our children growing up in a society where firearms are normalised?'
Another fiery opposition leader in the state, Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, accused the Sarma government of orchestrating a 'dangerous political strategy' aimed at fuelling communal unrest ahead of the 2026 elections.
Akhil Gogoi, also MLA for the state's Sivasagar constituency, said, 'If the government says it cannot protect indigenous people, it amounts to an admission that the home department has failed. It's a shame.
'It is not a routine policy move; it has the potential to tear Assam apart and disturb communal harmony before the elections,' he said.
Opposition leader and president of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, also called it a ploy to divide communities ahead of the elections. 'First, it was Smart Police, then Police Raj and now a free-for-all-gun culture. This is not just incompetence, it's a deliberate attempt to stoke communal tensions as elections approach.'
Susmita Dev, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP and a native of Assam's Silchar town located close to the Bangladesh border, too questioned the government's move. 'He [Sarma] said that this will be done to let 'sons of soils' protect themselves from illegal immigrants. He is asking people to have arms licenses, meaning he does not have trust in [the] Assam police and Border Security Force (BSF). This is an insult to the BSF and Assam Police.'
A report in the Guwahati-based The Sentinel quoted All Assam Minority Students Union president Rezaul Karima Sarkar saying, 'We, the Assamese people – irrespective of being a minority or majority – are peace-loving. But this government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, seems determined to disrupt our peace with such decisions.'
Urging the government to reconsider its decision, Sarkar said, 'It is the government's sole responsibility to protect its citizens. The home department, which is run by none other than the chief minister himself, is there for this very purpose. But, pathetically, we are witnessing a situation where, instead of providing pens for community development and promoting peace, the government is offering guns, provoking violence.
'By doing so, the government is essentially admitting its own failure.'