On October 25, Deputy Commissioner, Golpara, Assam, sealed the house of Mohar Ali s/o Somesh Ali of Village Dapkarbhita. It was a Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojna house. It was the same house where a private ‘Miya Museum’ was inaugurated on October 23.
The #Goalpara district administration today sealed the Miya Museum which was inaugurated two days before.#MiyaMuseum #Assam pic.twitter.com/MNev0Qnw2x
— Hemanta Kumar Nath (@hemantakrnath) October 25, 2022
A day prior to the action taken by the administration, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam, questioned the funding of the museum. News Agency quoted CM Sarma saying, “What’s new in it [Miya Museum]? Tools and equipment kept there belong to Assamese people except for ‘Lungi’. They must prove to govt that ‘Nangol'(plough) is used only by Miya people and not others, otherwise the case will be registered.”
Assam | The intellectuals of the state must think about it. They called me communal when I raised my voice against Miya poetry. Now Miya poetry, Miya school, Miya Museum are here…The govt will take action on the matter after the office opens: CM Himanta Biswa Sharma pic.twitter.com/XvXbRLpXFC
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2022
He further added, “The intellectuals of the state must think about it. They called me communal when I raised my voice against Miya’s poetry. Now Miya poetry, Miya school, and Miya Museum are here…The govt will take action on the matter after the office opens.”
Sarma has stated that the funding for the so-called museum will be investigated.
BJP leaders sought action
Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in the state had sought action against those who opened the museum that claimed to showcase the “culture of migrant Muslims” in the district.
BJP MLA Prasanta Phukan of Dibrugarh was among the first to raise his voice against the museum. He said, “I request the State government to bring down this museum.” Firmer BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev also sought strict action against those who set up the museum.
As per reports, the term ‘Miya’ is used for the Muslims who migrated from Bengal and settled in Assam in the late 1890s. The British had bought them allegedly for commercial farming. There have been attempts by community academics, professionals and writers to reclaim the word as a synonym of ‘sir’ or ‘gentleman’.
CM Sarma rejected a proposal for a Miya museum in 2020
Notably, in 2020, Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed proposed for a Miya Museum to be set up in Guwahati’s Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra. At that time, CM Sarma had rejected the proposal.
