Old fault lines? Citizenship Bill pits Hindu Bangladeshis against Assamese

BJP's Citizenship Bill pits Hindu Bangladeshis as Assam's saviour against migration, much like a pre-Partition era idea mooted by Rajendra Prasad by settling Bihari peasants in the state

To quell the unrest in Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley against the Narendra Modi government’s decision to pass the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2016 in the Lok Sabha, top BJP leader from Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, claimed to the Press on January 7, “If there is no citizenship bill, at least 17 (assembly) seats will go to the Jinnahs.”

Aside from hinting at the fact that the Bill could likely create an instant voter bank for the BJP in 17 of the 126 assembly seats of Assam, what Sarma wanted to highlight was the need to create such a voter base. He felt