ABSTRACT
The East Bengal origin Muslims presently living in Assam (popularly in the derogatory term known as Miya) were brought or migrated during the colonial period and were mostly settled in the char areas. There has been a constant debate in the polity and public sphere on this issue of migration and settlement of the Miya peasantry since colonial times. The idea of the Assamese nation and nationalism, a product of the colonial times, that emerged in the late nineteenth century found the Miyas as other to articulate its own identity from the early twentieth century. With the formation of new nation-state, partition, and other socio-political developments, the process of othering the Miyas continued by constantly questioning and doubting their citizenship. This further led to a process of discrimination and marginalisation of the Miyas. The Assamese middle class instead of raising the fundamental questions of the peasantry took shelter under identity politics and with the help of the affluent media and nationalist organisations, it could expand its hegemony. This study looks into some of such nuances keeping in view how to do the Miyas place themselves in the discourse of Assamese nationalism.
