: From history to lungis: How this Assam politician is battling for a distinct Miya Muslim identity #IndiaNEWS On September 1, Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed uploaded a photo to his Facebook account

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From history to lungis: How this Assam politician is battling for a distinct Miya Muslim identity #IndiaNEWS
On September 1, Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed uploaded a photo to his Facebook account that created a furore. Taken on the premises of Assam Bhawan, a state government property in Delhi, it showed Ahmed wearing a lungi. The MLA was smiling gently, perhaps aware that this innocuous picture could scandalise an entire state. A wrap-around lower garment worn though large parts of South and South East Asia, the lungi is a politically charged outfit in the state of Assam. The reason: its association with the marginalised Bengal-origin Muslims of the state. Indeed, that is exactly the point Ahmed was making with the photo, which he captioned “traditional Miya attire�. Used as a way to stereotype Miyas, as the Bengal-origin Muslim community is often called in Assam, Sherman was reappropriating the lungi as a marker of pride. Ahmed’s Facebook photo was an example of how the politician has moved aggressively to represent Assam’s one crore-strong Miya Muslim community. His belligerence comes at a time when Hindutva is rising in the state. Other Miya politicians have thought it wise to stay low and let even egregious attacks on the community pass by without comment. As a result, Ahmed is now seen as one...Read more

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