Religion in Assam is closely related to ethnicity, closely around 65% of Assamese people, 90% of Bodo tribe, 83% of Karbi tribe, 95% of Ahom tribe, 94% of Rabha tribe, 97% of Mishing tribe, 99% of Dimasa tribe are mainly Hindu by religion. Christianity is mainly practised by 9% of Assamese Community, 10% of Bodo tribe, 20% of Tea Tribe & 15% of Karbi tribe respectively.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] About 26% of all Ethnic Assamese are Muslim by faith.[12] Majority of 66% of the Assam Bengalis are Muslim by faith, & a significant population of them about 34% adheres to Hindu faith.[13] Immigrants from other parts of India, like Marwaris, Biharis, Nepalis, Uttar Pradeshis, Odias etc are mostly Hindu with minority being Muslims.[14][15][16]
According to the 2011 census, 61.47% were Hindus, 34.22% were Muslims.[17][18] Christian minorities (3.7%) are found among the Scheduled Tribe and Castes population.[19] Other religions followed include Jainism (0.1%), Buddhism (0.2%), Sikhism (0.1%) and Animism (among Khamti, Phake, Aiton etc. communities). Many Hindus in Assam are followers of the Ekasarana Dharma sect of Hinduism, which gave rise to Namghar, designed to be simpler places of worship than traditional Hindu temples.[2]
Assam's Religious diversity as of the 2011 census[20]
Out of 32 districts of Assam, 11 are Muslim-majority and 5 districts have significant population according to the 2011 census of India. The districts are Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon, Nagaon, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Darrang, South Salmara, Hojai and Bongaigaon. Significant Muslim populated districts are Cachar, Nalbari, Kokrajhar, Chirang and Kamrup.[21][22][23]
Demography
The issue of illegal influx has a 40-year history, starting with the anti-foreigner agitation that began in 1979 under the leadership of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). In 1985, after hundreds of people died in course of Independent India’s biggest mass uprising, the AASU, and other agitation groups signed an agreement with the Centre called the Assam Accord. It fixed 25 March 1971 as the cut-off date for detection and expulsion of illegal migrants, meaning anyone found entering India after this date were to be detected and sent back.
According to an Assam government white paper, between 1985 and 2012, 2,442 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been expelled from the state. On 1 September 2020, when Assam final NRC list was released, It was found that 19,06,657 people names have been excluded (which is about 6% of the state population), out of total 3.11 crore state population.[24][25]
The population of the Brahmaputra Valley is 27,580,977 according to the 2011 census report by the Assam government. Assamese is the official language of the Brahmaputra Valley and is spoken by 15.1 million people comprising 55.65% of the valley population. Bengali is spoken by 6.09 million people representing 22.1% of the valley, Hindi is spoken by 2.1 million comprising 7.61% of the region, Bodo is spoken by 1.41 million comprising 5.13% of the valley's population and 2.88 million people speak various indigenous tribal languages of Assam, such as Santali, Karbi, Lalung, Hmar, Deori, Rabha, Mishing, Koch, Rajbangshi, Sadri, Garo, Dimasa, Gondi, Savara, Gorkha, Halam, Rengma, Ao and Motak.[29]
As per (2011) language census report, Bengali is the official as well as the most spoken language of the region with approximately 2,930,378 native speakers.[30]
Hindi, Manipuri, Bishnupriya and Dimasa are the next most widely spoken languages with 362,459, 126,498, 50,019 and 21,747 native speakers, respectively. Tripuri, Odia, Nepali and Marwari are also spoken by a considerable minority, while 2.43% of the total population speaks other tribal languages.[30]
Demographic changes
As per as census of India report 2011, around 14,816,414 Assamese speaking population lives in India, thus constituting 1.26% of the nation's population.[31]
As per 2011 census, Assam state had around 31.2 million people, out of which (15 million) were Assamese speakers comprising 48% of the state population, while (9 million) were Bengali speakers comprising 29% of the state population, and 3.21% spoke Hindi and its dialects.[34][35]
Decadal percentage of Assamese speakers in Assam[32]
Year
Percent
Increase
1951
56.29%
-
1961
57.14%
+0.85%
1971
59.53%
+2.39%
1991
57.81%
-1.72%
2001
48.81%
-9%
2011
48.37%
-0.44%
According to reports, in 1971 the number of Assamese-speaking populace was 60.89% in the census, with a population of (8.9 million), higher than their numbers in 2011. While the Bengali and Hindi-speaking population were at 19.70% (2.8 million) and 5.42% (7.9 lakhs).[36][37] The Assamese speakers constituted 48% of the State population according to the 2011 Census, and it is predicted that the 2021 Census (currently under way) will reveal the percentage to dip lower below 40%.[38] However, If Bengali-majority Barak valley region is excluded, then the percentage of native Assamese speakers in Assam alone will rise directly to 55.65% from 48% as per 2011 census figures calculation.[39][34]
Illegal Immigration
In January 2019, the Assam's peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) claimed that there are around 20 lakh (2 million) Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam.[40] According to the census data, the number of Hindu immigrants is difficult to ascertain and have been largely exaggerated.[41]
Census of India between (2001-2011) have shown that Bangladeshi Muslim population grows 5-7% in Assam specially in the bordering districts over the past decade.[42] In February 2020, the Assam Minority Development Board announced plans to segregate illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants from the indigenous Muslims of the state, though some have expressed problems in identifying an indigenous Muslim person. According to the board, there are 1.3 crore (13 million) Muslims in the state, of which 9 million are of Bangladeshi origin.[43][44] Allegedly the number of 'illegal immigrants' in Assam of all religions is about 1 crore (10 million) and are scattered across the length and breadth of the state.[45][46] A report reveals that out of total 33 districts in Assam, Bangladeshis dominate almost 15 districts of Assam.[47]
↑ Hanse, H.M. (2007). Traditional Dwelling Process of Karbis. In P.C. Patniak & D.Borah (Eds), Tribes of India: Identity, Culture, and Lore (pp.61–79) Guwahati: Angik Prakashan
↑ Phangcho, P.C. (2003). The Karbis of North-East India. Guwahati: AngGik Prakashan.
↑ Terang, C.K. (2007). "Festival and Beliefs of the Karbi Tribe". In P.C. Patnaik; D. Borah (eds.). Tribes of India: Identity, Culture, and Lore (Special Focus on the Karbis of Assam). Guwahati: Angik Prakashan.
Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi). It is the second largest state in northeastern India by area and the largest in terms of population, with more than 31 million inhabitants. The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22-kilometre-wide (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam. Meitei (Manipuri) is recognised as an additional official language in Hojai district and for the Barak Valley region, alongside Bengali, which is also an official language in the Barak Valley.
Boro, also called Bodo, is an ethnolinguistic group native to the state of Assam in India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Boros inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.
West Garo Hills is an administrative district in Garo Hills of the state of Meghalaya in India. Tura town is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 3714 km². In 2011, its population was 643,291. As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of Meghalaya, after East Khasi Hills.
Kokrajhar district is an administrative district in Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam. It is predominantly inhabited by the Boro tribe. The district has its headquarters located at Kokrajhar Town and occupies an area of 3,169.22 km2 (1,223.64 sq mi). It has two civil sub-divisions namely Parbatjhora and Gossaigaon and five revenue circles namely Kokrajhar, Dotma, Bhaoraguri, Gossaigaon and Bagribarilll
Dima Hasao district, is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam.
Sonitpur district [Pron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə] is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur.
Diphu is the headquarter of Karbi Anglong district in the state of Assam in India. This small town is a popular tourist hill station for people of nearby cities.
The Dimasa language is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Dimasa people of the Northeastern Indian states of Assam and Nagaland. The Dimasa language is known to Dimasas as "Grao-Dima" and it is similar to Boro, Kokborok and Garo languages.
Bodo–Kacharis is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal. These peoples are speakers of either Bodo–Garo languages or Assamese. Some Tibeto-Burman speakers who live closely in and around the Brahmaputra valley, such as the Mising people and Karbi people, are not considered Bodo–Kachari. Many of these peoples have formed early states in the late Medieval era of Indian history and came under varying degrees of Sanskritisation.
The Brahmaputra Valley is a region situated between hill ranges of the eastern and northeastern Himalayan range in Eastern India.
The People of Assam inhabit a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious society. They speak languages that belong to four main language groups: Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan, Tai-Kadai, and Austroasiatic. The large number of ethnic and linguistic groups, the population composition, and the peopling process in the state has led to it being called an "India in miniature".
The Barak Valley is the southernmost region and administrative division of the Indian state of Assam. It is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley consists of three administrative districts of Assam namely - Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. The main and largest city is Silchar, which seats the headquarter of Cachar district and also serves as administrative divisional office of Barak valley division. The valley is bordered by Mizoram and Tripura to the south, Bangladesh and Meghalaya to the west and Manipur to the east respectively. Once North Cachar Hills was a part of Cachar district which became a subdivision in 1951 and eventually a separate district. On 1 July 1983, Karimganj district was curved out from the eponymous subdivision of Cachar district. In 1989 the subdivision of Hailakandi was upgraded into Hailakandi district.
This is a list of States and Union Territories of India by Bengali speakers at the time of the 2011 Census.
The Bengali Hindu diaspora is the worldwide population of the Bengali Hindus of Indian and Bangladeshi origin.
Islam is the second largest and fastest-growing religion in Assam. The Muslim population was approximately 10.68 million, constituting over 34.22% of the total population of the state as of the 2011 census, giving Assam, the second-largest Muslim percentage in the country after Jammu and Kashmir (state). After Jammu and Kashmir became Union Territory, Assam became the state with largest Muslim percentage in the country. Islam reached the region in the 13th century and Muslims are a majority in almost eleven districts of Assam and highly concentrated in four districts. In 2021, estimations have predicted that the Muslim population in the state has reached 40%, numbering 14 million, out of total population of 35 million.
Hojai District is a district in Assam, India. It was formed on 15 August 2015. The headquarters of the district is situated at Sankardev Nagar, which is about 8 km away from Hojai town. Hojai District was formed from three tehsils of Nagaon District, namely Hojai, Doboka and Lanka. Hojai was a part of undivided Nowgong district of then Assam Province.
The Dimasa Kachari plains tribe of Cachar are known as Barman, forming one of the indigenous tribes of undivided Cachar. The Dimasas, inhabiting in the Cachar district are officially recognized as one of the Scheduled Tribes under the plains category in Assam in the name called “Barmans in Cachar”.
Hinduism is the dominant religion practised in the state of Assam. According to some scholars, it is home to some of the most complex and poorly understood traditions in Hinduism. People follow traditions belonging to Shaivism, Shaktism, Tantra, and an indigenous form of Vaishnavism called Ekasarana Dharma; taken together the practitioners constitute around 61% of the state population as per the 2011 Census. Hindus form a majority in 17 out of the 29 districts of Assam. By region, there is a significant diversity among the ethnic groups that profess the Hindu faith, traditions, and customs. As per as 2011 Census, In Brahmaputra valley of Assam, Hindus constitute 62% of the population, the majority being ethnic Assamese. In the autonomous Bodoland region of Assam, Hindus constitute 71.3% of the region's population, most being of the Bodo tribe. In the Barak valley region of southern Assam, Hindus constitute 50% of the region's population, most being ethnic Bengalis. The Hill Tribes of Assam, particularly the Karbi people of Karbi Anglong and Dimasa people of Dima Hasao, are mainly Animists.
The Bengali Hindus are the second-largest Hindu community just after Assamese Hindus in Assam. As per as estimation research, around 6–7.5 million Bengali Hindus live in Assam as of 2011, majority of whom live in Barak Valley and a significant population also resides in mainland Brahmaputra Valley. The Bengali Hindus are today mostly concentrated in the Barak Valley region, where they were historically a minority, and now are politically, economically and socially dominant. Assam hosts the second-largest Bengali Hindu population in India after West Bengal.
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