Assam on High Alert After Remarks by Hasnat Abdullah on India’s ‘Seven Sisters’

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said his government has placed the state on “high alert,” citing renewed instability in Bangladesh, following controversial remarks by Hasnat Abdullah, a key coordinator of Bangladesh’s anti-discrimination student movement, regarding India’s northeastern “Seven Sisters” states.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Guwahati on Monday, Sarma said the Assam government was closely monitoring developments in the neighboring country.

“The state government is keeping a strict watch on the situation in the neighboring country,” he said.

The Assam chief minister claimed that Hindus in Bangladesh were facing persecution, alleging that they were being attacked and even burned alive. He further alleged that those currently in power in Bangladesh were talking about incorporating India’s northeastern region into their country.

Sarma also reiterated his long-standing claims about migration, saying, “At different times people have entered Assam from Bangladesh, and the state is now full of such people. We must remain alert and keep a sharp eye on the situation there.”

Meanwhile, according to a report by India’s Press Trust of India (PTI), prohibitory orders have been imposed along the India–Bangladesh border in Assam’s Cachar district to deal with illegal infiltration and any potential law-and-order situation.

The heightened tension follows remarks made by Hasnat Abdullah, a senior leader of Bangladesh’s National Citizen Party (NCP), at a rally in Dhaka last Monday. During the gathering, organized by the Inqilab Mancha platform, Hasnat warned of separating India’s seven northeastern states—collectively known as the “Seven Sisters”—from India.

The comments came in the backdrop of the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Osman Hadi on December 12, when assailants reportedly arrived on a motorcycle, shot him, and fled. There has been speculation that the main suspects crossed into India after the attack.

In his speech, Hasnat accused India of backing forces seeking to destabilize Bangladesh, undermine elections, and violate human rights. He alleged that India shelters and supports those who do not respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty.

Addressing India directly, he said that if India continued to support such elements, Bangladesh could, in turn, provide shelter to separatists and work to detach the “Seven Sisters” from India.

Last week, Assam Chief Minister Sarma issued a sharp reaction to Hasnat’s remarks, calling them irresponsible and dangerous. He claimed that “Bangladeshi elements” were repeatedly suggesting that northeastern India should be merged with Bangladesh, and warned that India would not remain silent on the issue.

“India is a vast country, a nuclear power, and the world’s fourth-largest economy,” Sarma said at the time. “How can Bangladesh even think along these lines?”

The exchange has further strained rhetoric between political figures on both sides amid an already sensitive regional security environment.