Bengali Hindu settlers drive poll math in three central Assam seats

Nagaon/Hojai: The roots of Hindutva in central Assam trace back to the pre-Independence period and the years immediately after 1947, with long-settled Bengali Hindus now forming a decisive electoral segment in three politically significant assembly constituencies.

In the Nagaon-Batadraba constituency, more than 15,000 Hindu Bengalis are concentrated within a two sqkm area. In Hojai and Lumding, they account for nearly half the electorate in each seat, giving the community a pivotal role in elections.

Nagaon-Batadraba has more than 1.97 lakh electors, Hojai over 2.5 lakh, and Lumding over 2.43 lakh.

Many in the community migrated decades ago from Dhaka, largely before Partition during British rule, citing religious persecution and business opportunities before settling in central Assam.

“Since they migrated from Dhaka in present-day Bangladesh, the locality where they settled was named and after Independence, officially recorded as Dhakapatty in Nagaon town,” said Surajit Kumar Bhagowati, 57, an educationist and social worker.

Bhagowati said besides the more than 15,000 Bengali Hindus in Dhakapatty — later renamed by the govt as Rupkonwar Chowk — Bengali Muslims who migrated around the same time from Sylhet and Mymensingh settled in Jamunamukh, now under Binnakandi constituency, and in Dhing, both considered AIUDF strongholds.

“The 2023 delimitation has changed the demography pattern in Nagaon-Batadraba constituency and turned it into Hindu majority seat from a minority majority seat before delimitation. Apart from the Hindu Bengalis, the Hindus in the constituency have felt a safe environment in post-delimitation,” he added.

In Hojai, RSS veteran Umasankar Goswami, 76, said minority-dominated areas that were earlier part of Hojai were moved into the newly created Binnakandi constituency after delimitation.

“Hojai district has three constituencies – Hojai, Lumding and Binnakandi. Both Hojai and Lumding are Hindu majority seats, with Bengali speaking majority electors,” he said.

Goswami said railway connectivity between Lumding and Silchar was one reason Bengali Hindus settled in Lumding after migrating from Bangladesh.

“Many might have come through other directions as well. For example, many might have come through Meghalaya, which falls near to Sylhet,” he added.

He said Bengali Hindus also settled in Hojai because of the availability of vacant land immediately after Independence.

Dhiraj Bora, principal of Sankardev Vidya Niketan in Hojai, said RSS activity in the area began before Independence, while formal RSS training started at Geeta Ashram in 1994.

The land for Geeta Ashram was handed over to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 1984 by Krishnananda Brahmachari for setting up an office.

The Bengali Hindu community has since emerged as a decisive electoral bloc in Nagaon-Batadraba, Hojai and Lumding, a shift members of the community attribute to political backing under the BJP govt. They allege neglect under earlier Congress govts.

Socially, the group has largely remained within its own community, with limited assimilation, including few inter-community marriages.

As Assam moves toward the assembly elections, the legacy of this migration is being politically recast. The BJP has highlighted its role in protecting Hindu refugees and linked that position to the CAA narrative for later migrants, while opposition parties have struggled to balance minority outreach with recognition of the community’s electoral and historical significance.