No, Assam CM did not say Sania Mirza’s son will not get Indian citizenship

By: Soham Shah
January 22 2024

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Posts and news organizations claiming Sarma said Sania Mirza’s son should not be given Indian citizenship. (Source: X, News18 Gujarati, Navbharat/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

Reports by media outlets including Navbharat Hindi and News 18 Gujarati claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that tennis player Sania Mirza's son should not be granted Indian citizenship following her divorce from Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Archived versions of these reports are available here and here.

News reports by News18 Gujarati and Navbharat Hindi (Source: News18 Gujarati, Navbharat Hindi)

This claim was also echoed in multiple posts on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) and in YouTube videos. Archived versions of these can be accessed here and here. 

A viral post on X that was shared with the false claim (Source: X)

This narrative emerged against the backdrop of Malik's recent announcement of his marriage to Pakistani actor Sana Javed. On January 21, 2024, Mirza's family released a statement confirming that Malik and Mirza had divorced a few months earlier.

While Sarma has previously been criticized for making anti-Muslim and Islamophobic remarks, our investigation revealed that the quote in question originated from a parody account of Sarma.

What is the truth?

The reports by Navbharat Hindi and News 18 Gujarati cited an X account, @HimantaBishwaa, as the source. This now-deleted account was named ‘Himanta Bishwa Sharma Satire,’ clearly indicating that it was a parody account. A cached version of the account showed that its bio read: “̌मुख्यमंत्री असम प्रदेश - हिन्दू, राष्ट्र सर्वप्रथम l Satire, Bharat 🇮🇳," further confirming that the account is a parody account. 

Screenshot of the post by the parody account. (Source: X)

Sarma’s official account, @himantabiswa, with 2.2 million followers, shows no such post about Mirza. 

Comparison of Sarma's real and satirical account. (Source:X)

Nabajit Patgiri, Officer on Special Duty (PR, Protocol & Communication) to Sarma, clarified to Logically Facts that the content and claim attributed to Sarma originated from a parody account and have no connection to the chief minister.

We also did not find any other credible source for this quote.

According to a 2018 Deccan Chronicle report, Malik and Mirza's son Izhaan, born in Hyderabad, India, holds Indian citizenship. A 2021 Indian Express report noted the Indian government's request to the U.K. government for Izhaan's visa, affirming his Indian citizenship.

The verdict

The viral claim stems from a parody account impersonating Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam's chief minister. Sarma’s official account made no statement regarding Sania Mirza and her son's Indian citizenship. Thus, we have marked this claim as false.