'Miyas', not Assamese people, facing problem due to SR: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that no Assamese people are facing any problem due to the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls, and only the 'Miyas' (Bengali-speaking Muslims) who are finding the exercise difficult.
The ‘Miyas’ cannot be allowed to vote in the state, the CM said on the sidelines of a programme in Digboi.
Curtailing the names of 'Miya' voters from the electoral rolls was only a preliminary step, and when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is conducted in the state later, four to five lakh votes of Muslims from Bangladesh will be cancelled, Sarma claimed.
'Miya' is a derogatory term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam whose ancestors had roots in Bangladesh.
''Yes, we are trying to steal the votes of the Miyas. They should not vote in our country but in Bangladesh. We are making arrangements to ensure that they do not vote in Assam,'' Sarma said.
He asserted that there is no problem for Assamese people due to the SR, but the Miyas are facing hardship as they do not belong here.
''If Miyas are facing difficulties in this regard, why should we be concerned?” he asked.
This is the ''time for us to be cautious, and if we are not, then the Miyas will reach (places such as) Duliajan, Digboi and Tinsukia'', he alleged.
''Recently, I received a land sale list from Tinsukia. I found that more Hindus are selling off their lands and more Miya muslims are buying them. We have to be cautious and take steps now, or else they will reach all districts of Upper Assam,'' Sarma said.
The Congress can ''accuse me as much as they want, but my job is to trouble the Miyas so that they cannot vote in Assam'', he said.
Sarma had claimed earlier that only ‘Miyas’ are being served notices during the ongoing SR of electoral rolls to ‘keep them under pressure’.
He had asserted that there is no controversy surrounding the SR as no Hindu or Assamese Muslim had got notice, but only the 'Miyas'; ''else they will walk over our heads''.
The opposition parties in the state have alleged that the SR exercise is being used to harass genuine citizens, mostly religious minorities, by ‘BJP agents’, with Form 7 especially being used to complain against bona fide voters.
By using Form 7, one can request the deletion of one’s own name for any of three reasons: absent/permanently shifted, already enrolled or not an Indian citizen. Similarly, any voter of that constituency can apply for the deletion of names of others on the basis of two more reasons: death and underage.
The Election Commission had directed the conduct of SR in Assam to prepare an error-free electoral roll.
The Integrated Draft Roll was published on December 27, while the filing of claims and objections continued till January 22. The final electoral roll will be published on February 10.
The EC had ordered SR of electoral rolls in Assam as a Supreme Court-supervised exercise to verify citizenship, which is yet to be concluded. The state has separate provisions with regard to citizenship under the Citizenship Act.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
