‘Sabka Saath’ or ‘Paaijaan’? Assam BJP’s anti-Muslim video contradicts PM Modi’s message
Earlier this week, BJP Assam’s official X handle posted an AI-generated video showing a Muslim-majority Assam, with the caption: “Assam without BJP.” It sends a message that reduces an entire community to a threat in a generalised way, and tells people that the very existence of an entire group means danger. Technology here is being used not to imagine a better future, but to rehearse the same old fears in sharper, shinier form.
As expected, the video has sparked controversy, with the state Congress even filing a police complaint on Thursday. Meanwhile, Assam government spokesperson Pijush Hazarika rushed to defend it, claiming it was only about the “threat of illegal immigrants” and their impact on Assam’s demography. But if that’s really the case, why not look into it when people call out the communal undertones?
If the issue is illegal migration, then the message should have been clear and direct, without dressing it up in imagery that paints an entire community as a menace. The defence collapses the moment you look at the content itself—it doesn’t feel like a message about illegality, it feels like a message about identity.
The official BJP Assam handle has not stopped at one video. More clips have followed, this time with the tag “Paaijaan” and flashing images of minority communities at Congress rallies, as if their very presence were a threat. Another shows a Muslim pretending to be a Hindu. This is the party’s own verified account pushing a communal agenda in plain sight.
And maybe that is the point. Because let’s be honest: if the intention were only to warn about illegal migration, the BJP has the machinery and media to convey that without ambiguity. What speaks louder is what they actually chose to post. It’s less about solving the issue, more about feeding their base. After all, what easier way to hold on to power than to remind voters of a fear, draw a line between “us” and “them,” and present yourself as the only barrier? It’s not a promise to deliver, it’s a promise to protect from an enemy.
When the talk is about illegal immigrants in Assam, why does the imagination of the BJP immediately stop at Muslims? Even the NRC data tells a different story.
theprint.in