Will the Assamese-speaking population continue to show a decreasing trend?

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: At a time when the Miyan issue is grabbing headlines, a crucial question is whether the Assamese-speaking population will decrease or increase in the Census 2027, the process for which is starting in April. Since the 1971 Census report, the Assamese-speaking population has been showing a gradually decreasing trend.

Post-Independence, the Assamese-speaking population in the Census reports from 1951 to 1971 had displayed a rising trend. According to the 1951 Census report, the Assamese-speaking population stood at 56.29%. In the census report for 1961, the population was 57.14%, and in 1971, the Assamese-speaking population was 59.53%. But, after the Census 1971, the state has been witnessing a decreasing trend, with the Assamese-speaking population in the Census 2011 standing at 48.38%. On the other hand, the Bengali-speaking population in the state has displayed an increasing trend, with this population in the Census 1991 report standing at 21.67%, which increased in the Census 2011 report to 29.91%. Similarly, the Hindi-speaking population in the state has also been gradually increasing in the census reports.

Since the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, there has been a huge flow of migrants to Assam, which is a probable cause for the rise in the Bengali-speaking population.

Coming to the present, religious minority leaders have been urging people from their community to state their language as Bengali in the upcoming census. Earlier, a section of people in sar areas in the state used to state their language as Assamese, what with the proliferation of Assamese-medium schools in these areas. But the present political atmosphere centred around the Miyan population may result in the minorities stating their language as Bengali instead of Assamese.

Since 1971, when many Bangladeshis migrated, their population has grown faster than that of the native Assamese. This has now led to a disparity between the Assamese and Bengali-speaking populations. Moreover, people from tribal communities like the Bodos, Karbi, Mishing, etc. state their mother tongue according to their language.

Already, a demographic change is taking place in the state, with many districts now dominated by people from the religious minority. With a corresponding increase in the Bengali-speaking population, the Assamese-speaking people will become a minority in their own state. It is now time for organizations like Asom Xahitya Xabha, AASU and others to put in efforts to ensure that the Assamese-speaking population does not decrease further, belying all hopes for a greater Assamese community.

Also Read: Demographic change and the future of the Assamese people