After Row Over Bangladeshi Remarks, Ex-Planning Commission Member's U-Turn

Days after she sparked a massive controversy by speaking in favour of Bangladeshis - which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said was proof of her supporting illegal infiltrators - activist and former Planning Commission member Syeda Saiyidain Hameed has made a U-turn and said people from the country who have entered illegally should be escorted back.

Speaking after an event in Guwahati on Sunday, Ms Hameed said Muslims in Assam are often branded 'Bangladeshis'. 

"And what is the crime in being a Bangladeshi? Bangladeshis are also humans. The world is so big, Bangladeshis can also live here. They are not depriving anyone of their rights. Saying that they are doing so is troublesome, mischievous and detrimental to humanity... The world was created by Allah for humans and not for monsters, if a person is standing on this land, why uproot him this way?" she said in an apparent reference to the anti-encroachment drive by the state government against illegal infiltrators. 

Mincing no words while responding to her comments on Monday, Chief Minister Sharma called Ms Hameed a confidante of the Gandhi family and said Assamese identity was under threat because of people like her. 

Sharing a video of her remarks, he wrote on X, "People like Syeda Hameed, a close confidant of the Gandhi family, legitimise illegal infiltrators, as they seek to realise Jinnah's dream of making Assam a part of Pakistan. Today Assamese identity is on the brink of extinction because of the tacit support of people like her... Let me make it very clear, Bangladeshis are not welcome in Assam, it is not their land. Anyone sympathising with them may accommodate them in their own backyards."

People like Syeda Hameed, a close confidant of the Gandhi family legitimise illegal infiltrators, as they seek of realise Jinnah's dream of making Assam a part of Pakistan.

Today Assamese identity is on the brink of extinction because of the tacit support of people like her.… pic.twitter.com/KTMdrNP38P

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 25, 2025

Addressing another event on Tuesday, Ms Hameed acknowledged that her remarks had created a flutter and appeared to change tack. 

"I have the most beautiful experience of Assam... Since 1997 as part of the Women's Commission and Planning Commission, I have been to every part of Assam. But I was never conscious of the fact that I am a Muslim and a woman... Suddenly, my name is all over India...Bangladeshi has become a curse word now. It has become a horrendous word now," she said. 

"Even if a few Bangladeshis have come in, sit down with them, negotiate with them, and escort them back," Ms Hameed added.