Preserving and protecting the Assamese Muslim identity and heritage seems to be a part of BJP’s election rule book in Assam.
It is true that the BJP-ruled state government in Assam has officially launched a scheme to conduct a census of the Assamese Muslims in order to tag them along with the national development story while protecting the community’s cultural heritage.
The move is seen in sharp contrast with the party’s declared policy in Uttar Pradesh to change the names of cities, roads and markets having Muslim names. The move to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj and Mughalsarai station as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay station recently, evoked a myriad of memes on the internet.
However, the BJP’s electoral narrative has undergone a drastic shift in Assam, the largest northeastern state. Catering to the state's unique political culture informed by Assamese chauvinism, the BJP changes its lingo from 'mandir' and 'Mughals' to 'jaati' (Assamese identity) and 'maati' (land), and the protection of the same from immigrant Muslims from Bangladesh.