Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took part in an interaction with intellectuals and leaders of the indigenous Muslim community of the state at the Assam Administrative Staff College in Guwahati on July 4.
The interactive session named “Alaap-Alochana – empowering the religious minorities” witnessed participation of a number of luminaries and leaders from the minority community.
Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Sarma said that the Assam government organized the interactive programme with a view to give a major push to inclusive development in the state. He said that the indigenous Muslim population being an integral part of the Assamese society needs accelerated development so that the community becomes a significant contributor in the growth narrative of the state keeping its cultural identity intact.
Taking part in the discussion, several eminent personalities of the community including Padmashree Illias Ali, Padmashree Eli Ahmed, Syed SK Alam, Wasbir Hussain, SI Ahmed, Nekibur Zaman etc. highlighted socio-economic issues affecting the indigenous Muslim population of Assam and made several valuable suggestions.
After the discussion, the chief minister informed that the Assam government will form eight sub-groups with representatives of indigenous Muslim community to deliberate on issues such as health, education, skill development, preservation of cultural identity, financial inclusion, women empowerment etc. of the community.
The chief minister said that there will be a chairperson from the community and a member secretary from the government in each sub-group, which will come up with recommendations on their assigned matters after detailed discussion within 3 months.
Further, based on the recommendations, the state government will prepare a roadmap for empowerment of the indigenous Muslim population of the state which will be implemented over a period of 5 years, the chief minister informed.
Minister of welfare of minorities & development department Chandra Mohan Patowary, education minister Ranoj Pegu and MLA & political secretary to the CM, Jayanta Malla Baruah, were also present in the programme.
