Guwahati. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a singer has been arrested for trying to popularise ‘Miya Bihu’. He said no Assamese person would tolerate any attempt to make their traditional Bihu songs ‘too different’.
Sharma said in a Facebook post late Saturday night, “Some people are trying to popularise ‘Miya Bihu’. One such singer, Altaf Hussain, has been arrested by the police today.” In a 2.27 minute video clip shared by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Sunday, Sharma stressed that as long as Assamese society survives, he will do so with respect.
He said, “We will not tolerate any attack on our social system. And there should be no such attempts to attack us.” The Chief Minister said that no Assamese person would accept any attempt to present culture, heritage, food, songs, dance forms in a ‘very different way’.
He said, “If our Gaurav Bihu songs are changed to ‘Miya Bihu’, which Assamese will accept it?” ‘Miya’ is basically an offensive term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and non-Bengali-speaking people generally consider them Bangladeshi migrants.