Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that firearm licences for indigenous people in “vulnerable and remote” locations will be issued from February 2026. The decision, shaped by months of cabinet deliberation, comes ahead of next year’s state assembly elections.
Sarma said the initiative is intended to bolster the sense of safety in districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Nagaon and South Salmara-Mankachar, as well as localities including Rupahi, Dhing and Jania. He told reporters that demand for licences had risen steadily. “We have received a lot of applications for firearm licences from indigenous people. The government will issue them very selectively,” he said at a press briefing following a cabinet meeting in Guwahati.
The cabinet had first resolved on May 28 to permit firearm licences in specific areas identified as sensitive because of their geography, population spread and history of law-and-order concerns. Officials said the home department had since examined the administrative and regulatory requirements to ensure stringent screening.
Sarma also used the briefing to frame the policy in a wider socio-economic context, arguing that demographic and economic trends were transforming the state. “I have noticed that demographic change has taken place rapidly in the economic aspect as well. In a way, a chapter of the Assamese people’s surrender has begun,” he said, referring to changes noted in data from 2001–2011. He claimed that while the Hindu population’s growth rate has declined, the Muslim population has increased across all blocks.
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The Chief Minister linked these shifts to evolving land ownership patterns. “We are seeing that the sale of land from Hindus to Muslims is very high, while the vice versa is less,” he said, adding that land transactions now require prior government permission under a directive issued last year.
Sarma insisted that the government’s scrutiny was not directed at any community. “A lot of Assamese and indigenous Muslims are involved, and we have no problem with that,” he said, noting that the administration is examining wealth and land distribution patterns.
Alongside the firearms decision, the cabinet cleared the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, which will be placed before the assembly on 25 November. The proposed legislation seeks to ban polygamy, prescribing up to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for offenders. Sarma said the offence would be cognisable and non-bailable.
However, the Bill exempts Scheduled Tribe populations and areas under the Sixth Schedule, including the Bodoland Territorial Region, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. “If a Muslim has been living in a Sixth Schedule area prior to 2005, he will also be exempted,” Sarma clarified.
The government will create a compensation fund for women affected by polygamy. “We have decided to create a fund to support the victim women financially so that no woman faces hardship in her life,” he said, adding that rules would specify compensation mechanisms and provisions for children’s welfare. The law will come into effect after notification, without retrospective effect.
Sarma said he intends to hold a separate briefing to present detailed data on demographic and economic indicators. “You can sometimes accept demographic change, but witnessing an economic shift signals complete destruction,” he remarked.
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