Assam intellectuals move Gauhati HC against CM Sarma over hate speech
BJP CM targeting Bengali-origin Muslims, meddling in voter rolls: Petition
Gauhati: A group of 43 prominent writers, academics, former civil servants, journalists, and social activists from Assam have approached the Gauhati High Court, urging it to take suo motu cognisance of what they describe as repeated hate speech by BJP’s Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, executive interference in the voter list revision process, and serious violations of constitutional norms.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the written representation has been submitted to the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and is is led by noted Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain, former Assam Director General of Police Harekrishna Deka, and former Archbishop of Guwahati Thomas Menamparampil. The signatories include former IAS officers, retired judges, scientists, writers, editors, trade union leaders, artists, doctors, and poets, many of whom have held key public positions in Assam’s civic and intellectual life.
In their representation, the signatories say that the Chief Minister has repeatedly made public statements amounting to hate speech against the Bengali-origin Muslim community in Assam. It specifically cites statements attributed to Sarma calling for members of the community to be made to suffer economically and socially, including remarks suggesting discriminatory treatment in daily transactions.
The signatories argue that such statements go far beyond political rhetoric and enter a “constitutionally prohibited zone of dehumanisation, collective stigmatisation and threats of state-sponsored harassment.”
The representation also raises alarm over executive interference in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Assam. It refers to public statements made by the Chief Minister saying that he had directed BJP workers to file objections during the revision process, particularly targeting members of the Miyan community.
Such actions, the signatories argue, undermine the neutrality of a constitutionally mandated and quasi-judicial exercise, violate the principles of free and fair elections, and compromise the independence of election authorities. They further note that the Election Commission has failed to take cognisance of this interference despite its serious implications for electoral integrity.
Given that the alleged violator is the Chief Minister himself, the petitioners contend that the ordinary executive machinery is structurally compromised, making judicial intervention indispensable.
The signatories have urged the Gauhati High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter, direct the registration of cases related to hate speech and executive interference, and issue safeguards to protect the dignity, equality and security of the affected community. They warned that silence or inaction in the face of such constitutional violations risks normalising them and eroding the moral authority of the Constitution.
