“How small are you?”: Owaisi slams Himanta Biswa Sarma over ‘Miya’ remark

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on February 4 launched a sharp attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his remarks on the term “Miya,” accusing him of disrespecting the Muslim community in the state.

Speaking to ANI in Adilabad, Owaisi questioned the Chief Minister’s language and intent, saying the remark reflected prejudice against Muslims of Bengali origin in Assam. “The Chief Minister of Assam is of the BJP. Can any Chief Minister say something like this? If there’s a ‘Miya’ driver in the auto-rickshaw, and the bill is five rupees, then you give him four rupees? In Assam, ‘Miya’ refers to Muslims who were brought here by the British 150–200 years ago to cultivate the land and work. They are citizens of India. They speak Bengali. How small are you, the Chief Minister of Assam?” Owaisi said.

Targeting the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Owaisi alleged a contradiction between the government’s economic ambitions and its treatment of marginalised communities. He said that while the Centre speaks of building a developed India and becoming the world’s third-largest economy and a global superpower, it hesitates to pay “one rupee to an autorickshaw driver.” “You want to build a house on the moon, but you don’t want to pay one rupee to an auto,” he remarked.

Owaisi’s comments came in response to Sarma’s statement made on January 29, in which the Assam Chief Minister said that people who have come from Bangladesh should be referred to as “Miya,” claiming that the term was self-used by them. “Those who have come from Bangladesh call themselves ‘Miya’. I did not give them that name; it is how they call themselves,” Sarma had said.

During his speech, Owaisi also referred to a recent incident in Uttarakhand involving a gym trainer named Deepak Kumar. He alleged that Kumar was targeted after supporting a 70-year-old lawyer who had objected to the use of the word “Baba” on a shop display board.

According to Owaisi, members of the Bajrang Dal demanded that the word be removed, and when Deepak objected, he was allegedly assaulted. However, Kotdwar Assistant Superintendent of Police Chandra Mohan Singh said the situation was under control and police were conducting foot patrols following a dispute between two groups over a shop’s name in Pauri Garhwal district.

Police said the incident took place on January 26 when a group demanded that a shopkeeper change the name of his shop. A dispute arose after the shopkeeper refused to comply, following which protests broke out. FIRs have been registered based on video footage, and police have urged people not to sensationalise the matter on social media.