Miya Muslims of Assam: Identity, Visuality and the Construction of “Doubtful Citizens”

Abstract The stereotyping of the Miya Muslims as “illegal immigrants” is an everyday phenomenon in Assam, a state in the north eastern part of India. This paper seeks to understand this phenomenon in the context of British colonial politics and the history of migration in this region. The acrimonious question of citizenship is raised from time to time, especially in the course of political debates that attempt to identify “illegal citizens”. This entails a dominant politics of aesthetics in the making of the unwanted or “doubtful Bangladeshis”. This paper explores the construction of “doubtful Bangladeshis”, based on certain visual attributes like lungi (sarong), dari (beard) and topi (skullcap). Interrogating the nuances of everyday visual identity, the paper argues that the stereotype of a “doubtful Bangladeshi” is manufactured and reproduced through upper class and caste aesthetics manufactured by Assamese nationalism, framed within a radicalized discourse.