Demography Mission decisive step to protect identity of India: Himanta

Guwahati, Oct 11 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the Centre's Demography Mission is a decisive step to protect the identity and cultural heritage of the country.

Maintaining that Assam was facing the brunt of illegal immigration, he claimed that over 38 per cent of the state's population is Muslim.

He said the high-powered committee on Demography Mission is a "historic and much-needed step" to scientifically study and counter this national challenge through the "3-D policy -- Detect, Delete and Deport".

"A decisive move to protect identity, security, and cultural heritage," he asserted in a post on X, sharing a table that showed the population share of Hindus and Muslims in the state since 1971.

According to the table, Hindus formed 72.51 per cent of the total population in 1971, which dipped to 67.13 per cent in 1991, 64.89 per cent in 2001 and 61.46 per cent in 2011.

During the same period, the Muslim population increased from 24.56 per cent in 1971 to 28.48 per cent in 1991, 30.92 per cent in 2001 and 34.22 per cent in 2011.

The Demography Mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day. PTI SSG SSG SOM